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Colony
Territory governed by people from another country, generally with its own subordinate colonial government
The concept of a colony is derived from the ancient Romancolonia, which in turn was based on the apoikia (Ancient Greek: ?, lit. 'home away from home'), referring originally to territories (usually relatively small urban areas) settled by ancient Greek city-states. The city that founded such a colony became known as its metropolis ("mother-city"). Since early-modern times historians, administrators and political scientists generally use the term "colony" to refer mainly to the many different overseas territories of particularly European states between the 15th and 20th centuryCE, with colonialism and decolonization as corresponding phenomena.
Some historians use the term informal colony to refer to a country under the de facto control of another state, although this term is often contentious.
Etymology
The word "colony" comes from the Latin word col?nia, used as concept for Roman military bases and eventually cities. This in turn derives from the word col?nus, which was a Roman tenant farmer.
The terminology is taken from architectural analogy, where a column pillar is beneath the (often stylized) head capital, which is also a biological analog of the body as subservient beneath the controlling head (with 'capital' coming from the Latin word caput, meaning 'head'). So colonies are not independently self-controlled, but rather are controlled from a separate entity that serves the capital function.[]
Roman colonies first appeared when the Romans conquered neighbouring Italic peoples. These were small farming settlements that appeared when the Romans had subdued an enemy in war. Though a colony could take many forms, as a trade outpost or a military base in enemy territory, such have not been inherently colonies. Its original definition as a settlement created by people migrating from a central region to an outlying one became the modern definition.[]
Settlements that began as Roman colonia include cities from Cologne (which retains this history in its name), Belgrade to York. A tell-tale sign of a settlement within the Roman sphere of influence once being a Roman colony is a city centre with a grid pattern.[2]
French Indochina was formed in October 1887 from Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina (which together form modern Vietnam) and the Kingdom of Cambodia; Laos was added after the Franco-Siamese War in 1893. The federation lasted until 1954. In the four protectorates, the French formally left the local rulers in power, who were the Emperors of Vietnam, Kings of Cambodia, and Kings of Luang Prabang, but in fact gathered all powers in their hands, the local rulers acting only as figureheads.
Greenland was a colony of Denmark-Norway from 1721 and was a colony of Denmark from 1814 to 1953. In 1953 Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979 and extended to self-rule in 2009. See also Danish colonization of the Americas.
Guinea-Bissau: a colony of Portugal since the 15th century. Independent since 1974.
Indonesia was a Dutch colony which differs in each region, but gain full independence as a whole nation in 1945.
Jamaica was part of the Spanish West Indies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It became an English colony in 1655; independence in 1962.
Liberia a colony set up in 1821 by American private citizens for the migration of African American freedmen. Liberian Declaration of Independence from the American Colonization Society on July 26, 1847. It is the second oldest black republic in the world after Haiti.
Macau was a Portuguese colony (from 1976 a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration") from 1557 to 1999. In 1999, two years after Hong Kong, it became a Special Administrative Region of China.
Malta was a British protectorate and later a colony from the French Revolutionary Wars in 1800 to independence in 1964.
Mozambique: a colony of Portugal since the 15th century. Independent since 1975.
Philippines, previously a colony of Spain from c. 1565[6] to 1898 as part of the Spanish East Indies, was a colony of the United States from 1898 to 1946. Achieved self-governing Commonwealth status in 1935; independent in 1946.
Puerto Rico has been a colony of Spain from 1493 to 1898 and of the United States from 1898 to the present.[disputed (for: has had some democratic self-rule since 1952) – discuss]
South Africa consisted of territories and colonies by various different African and European powers, including the Dutch, the British, and the Nguni. The territory consisting the modern nation was ruled directly by the British from 1806 to 1910; became self-governing dominion of Union of South Africa in 1910.
The United States was formed from a union of thirteen British colonies. The Colony of Virginia was the first of the thirteen colonies. All thirteen declared independence in July 1776 and expelled the British governors.
Current colonies
Dependent territories and their sovereign states. All territories are labeled according to ISO 3166-1[note 1] or with numbers.[note 2] Colored areas without labels are integral parts of their respective countries. Antarctica is shown as a condominium instead of individual claims.
Human outpost – Artificially-created, controlled human habitats located in environments inhospitable for humans, such as in space
Notes
^Each territory in the United States Minor Outlying Islands is labeled UM- followed by the first letter of its name and another unique letter if needed.
^"colony". Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2021. Retrieved 2021. 1. [...] a country or an area that is governed by people from another, more powerful, countryCS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
^In 1521, an expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan landed in the islands, and Ruy López de Villalobos named the islands Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Spain's Prince Philip (later to become Philip I of Castile). During a later expedition in 1564, Miguel López de Legazpi conquered the Philippines for Spain. However, it can be argued that Spain's legitimate sovereignty over the islands commenced following a popular referendum in 1599.[5]