View source for Colony

{{Short description|Territory governed by another country}}
{{About |the political concept|the concentrated dwelling|Human settlement|the concentrated dwelling of animals|Colony (biology)|other uses|Colony (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date= May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Politics}}
[[File:Non-Self-Governing.png|thumb|400px| Chart of current [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|non-self-governing territories]] ({{as of|2012|6|lc=on}})]]

A '''colony''' is a [[territory]] subject to a form of foreign rule.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/colony |title= colony |date= 2021|publisher= Oxford University Press|website= [[Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]]|accessdate= 8 January 2021 | quote = 1. [...] a country or an area that is governed by people from another, more powerful, country}}</ref><ref name="Overseas">{{Cite book |last=Stanard |first=Matthew G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZlNDwAAQBAJ |title=European Overseas Empire, 1879 - 1999: A Short History |date=2018 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-119-13013-0 |pages=4 |language=en}}</ref> Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, the rule remains separate to the original country of the colonizers, the ''[[metropole|metropolitan state]]'' (or "mother country"), which together have often been organized as [[colonial empire]]s, particularly with the development of modern [[imperialism]] and its [[colonialism]]. This [[coloniality]] and possibly colonial administrative separation, while often blurred,<ref name="Overseas"/> makes colonies neither [[annexation|annexed]] or [[Territorial integration|integrated]] territories nor [[client state]]s. Colonies contemporarily are identified and organized as [[Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter|not sufficiently self-governed]] [[dependent territory|dependent territories]]. Other past colonies have become either sufficiently incorporated and [[self-governed]], or [[independence|independent]], with some to a varying degree dominated by remaining [[settler colonialism|colonial settler societies]] or [[neocolonialism]].

The term colony originates from the [[ancient rome|ancient Roman]] {{Lang|la|[[colonia (Roman)|colonia]]}}, a type of Roman settlement. Derived from ''colonus'' (farmer, cultivator, planter, or settler), it carries with it the sense of 'farm' and 'landed estate'.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nayar|first=Pramod|title=Postcolonial Literature – An Introduction|publisher=Pearson India|year=2008|isbn=9788131713730|location=India|pages=1–2}}</ref>
Furthermore, the term was used to refer to the older Greek ''apoikia'' ({{Langx|grc|ἀποικία||home away from home}}), which were [[Greek colonisation|overseas settlements by ancient Greek city-states]]. The city that founded such a settlement became known as its ''[[wikt:metropolis|metropolis]]'' ("mother-city"). Since early-modern times, historians, administrators, and political scientists have generally used the term "colony" to refer mainly to the many different [[overseas territory|overseas territories]] of particularly European states between the 15th and 20th centuries [[Common Era|CE]], with colonialism and [[decolonization]] as corresponding phenomena.

While colonies often developed from [[Factory (trading post)|trading outpost]]s or [[territorial claim]]s, such areas do not need to be a product of [[colonization]], nor become colonially organized territories. Territories furthermore do not need to have been militarily [[conquered]] and [[military occupation|occupied]] to come under colonial rule and to be considered de facto colonies, instead neocolonial exploitation of [[Dependency theory|dependency]] or imperialist use of [[Power (international relations)|power]] to [[Interventionism (politics)|intervene]] to force policy, might make a territory be considered a colony, which broadens the concept, including [[indirect rule]] or [[puppet state]]s (contrasted by more independent types of client states such as [[vassal state]]s). Subsequently, some historians have used the term ''informal colony'' to refer to a country under a ''de facto'' control of another state. Though the broadening of the concept is often contentious.

==Etymology==
The word "colony" comes from the Latin word {{lang|la|[[Colonia (Roman)|colōnia]]}}, used for [[Ancient Rome|ancient Roman]] [[Outpost (military)|outpost]]s and eventually for cities. This in turn derives from the word {{lang|la|[[Colonus (person)|colōnus]]}}, which referred to a Roman [[tenant farmer]].

Settlements that began as Roman {{lang|la|coloniae}} include cities from [[Cologne]] (which retains this history in its name) to [[Belgrade]] to [[York]]. A telltale sign of a settlement within the Roman sphere of influence once being a Roman colony is a city centre with a grid pattern.<ref>{{cite book|author=James S. Jeffers|title=The Greco-Roman world of the New Testament era: exploring the background of early Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YGmKaXiUDiYC|year=1999|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-1589-0|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YGmKaXiUDiYC&pg=PA52 52–53]}}</ref>

==Ancient examples==
{{Further|Colonies in antiquity}}
* [[Carthage]] formed as a [[Phoenicia]]n colony
* [[Cadiz]] formed as a [[Phoenicia]]n colony
* [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]] was a colony of the [[Greeks]] of [[Santorini|Thera]]
* [[Sicily]] was a part Greek, part [[Phoenicia]]n colony
* [[Sardinia]] was a [[Phoenicia]]n colony
* [[Marseille]] formed as a [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] colony
* [[Malta]] was a [[Phoenicia]]n colony
* [[Cologne]] formed as a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] colony and its modern name refer to the Latin term "Colonia".
* [[Kandahar]] formed as a [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] colony during the Hellenistic era by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.

==More modern historical examples==
{{Main|List of colonies}}
{{see also|Timeline of national independence}}
* '''[[L'Anse aux Meadows]]''': a [[Norse colonization of North America|Norse]] colony which existed {{circa}} 1025 AD.
* '''{{flag|Angola}}''': a [[Portuguese Angola|colony]] of [[Portugal]] from the 16th century to its independence in 1975.
* '''{{flag|Australia}}''' was formed as a [[British Dominion]] in 1901 from a [[Federation of Australia|federation]] of six distinct British colonies which were founded between 1788 and 1829.
* '''{{flag|Barbados}}''': was a colony of Great Britain that was important in the Atlantic slave trade. It gained its independence in 1966.
* '''{{flag|Brazil}}''': a [[Colonial Brazil|colony of Portugal]] since the 16th century. Independent since 1822.
* '''{{flag|Canada|1868}}''': was colonized first by [[Kingdom of France|France]] as [[New France]] (1534–1763) and England (in [[Newfoundland Colony|Newfoundland]], 1582) then [[Canada under British rule|under British rule]] (1763–1867), before achieving [[Dominion status]] and losing "colony" designation. 
* '''{{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}''': a [[Belgian Congo|colony]] of [[Belgium]] from 1908 to 1960; previously under [[Congo Free State|private ownership]] of [[King of Belgium|King]] [[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]].
* '''{{flag|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 conflict of 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 gathered all powers in their hands, the local rulers acting only as figureheads.
* '''{{flag|Ghana}}''': Contact between [[Europe]] and Ghana (known as the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]]) began in the 15th century with the arrival of the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]]. This soon led to the establishment of several colonies by European powers: [[Portuguese Gold Coast]] (1482–1642), [[Dutch Gold Coast]] (1598–1872), [[Swedish Gold Coast]] (1650–1663), [[Danish Gold Coast]] (1658–1850), [[Brandenburger Gold Coast|Brandenburger and Prussian Gold Coast]] (1685–1721) and [[British Gold Coast]] (1821–1957). In 1957, Ghana was the first African colony south of the Sahara to become independent.
* '''{{flag|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]].
* '''{{flag|Guinea-Bissau}}''': a [[Portuguese Guinea|colony]] of [[Portugal]] since the 15th century. Independent since 1974.
* '''{{flagcountry|British Hong Kong}}''' was a British [[British Hong Kong|colony]] (from 1983 British Dependent Territory) from 1841 to 1997. Is now a [[Special administrative regions of China|Special Administrative Region]] of China.
* '''{{flagcountry|British Raj}}''' was an imperial political entity comprising present-day India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan with regions under the [[British Raj|direct control of the British Government]] of the United Kingdom from 1858 to 1947. From the 15th century until 1961, [[Portuguese India]] ([[Goa]]) was a [[Portuguese India|colony]] of [[Portugal]]. [[Pondicherry]] and [[Chandernagore]] were part of [[French India]] from 1759 to 1954. Small Danish colonies of [[Tharangambadi]], [[Serampore]] and the [[Nicobar Islands]] from 1620 to 1869 were known as [[Danish India]].
* '''{{flag|Indonesia}}''' was a [[Dutch East Indies|colony]] of the [[Netherlands]] gained full independence in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en/nsgt|title = Non-Self-Governing Territories &#124; the United Nations and Decolonization}}</ref>
* '''{{flag|Jamaica}}''' was part of the [[Spanish West Indies]] in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It became an [[United Kingdom|English]] [[Colony of Jamaica|colony]] in 1655 and; independence in 1962.
* '''{{flag|Liberia}}''' a colony set up in 1821 by American private citizens for the migration of [[Free Negro|African American freedmen]]. Liberian Declaration of Independence from the [[American Colonization Society]] on 26 July 1847. It is the second oldest black republic in the world after [[Haiti]]. 
* '''{{flagcountry|Portuguese Macau}}''' was a [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Portuguese Macau|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 regions of China|Special Administrative Region]] of China.
* '''{{flag|Malaysia}}''' was initially colonized by the [[Portuguese Empire]] in 1511 after capturing [[Malacca]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/5/1/timeline-malaysias-history|title=Timeline: Malaysia's history|website=www.aljazeera.com}}</ref> After 1511, Britain established colonies and trading ports on the [[Malay Peninsula]]; Penang was leased to the [[British East India Company]]. The [[Dutch Empire]] encountered Malaysia when it was looking for spices to trade with.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.malaysia-traveller.com/dutch-in-malaysia.html|title=Dutch In Malaysia|website=Malaysia Traveller}}</ref>
* '''{{flag|Malta}}''' was a British [[Malta Protectorate|protectorate]] and later a [[Malta Colony|colony]] from the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] in 1800 to independence in 1964.
* '''{{flag|Mozambique}}''': a [[Portuguese Mozambique|colony]] of [[Portugal]] since the 15th century. Independent since 1975.
* '''{{flag|Philippines}}''', previously a [[Captaincy General of the Philippines|colony]] of [[Spain]] from {{circa|1565}}{{refn|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.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Damaso|last1=De Lario|first2=Dámaso|last2=de Lario Ramírez|title=Re-shaping the world: Philip II of Spain and his time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r8eIuAJpTAC|year=2008|publisher=Ateneo de Manila University Press|isbn=978-971-550-556-7|chapter=Philip II and the "Philippine Referendum" of 1599|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r8eIuAJpTAC&pg=PA93}}</ref>}} to 1898 as part of the [[Spanish East Indies]], was a [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands|colony]] of the [[United States]] from 1898 to 1946. Achieved self-governing [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealth]] status in 1935; independent in 1946.
*'''{{flag|Puerto Rico}}''' was a [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|colony]] of [[Spain]] from 1493 to 1898, when it passed to be a colonial possession of the [[United States]],<ref>[http://www.voluntownpeacetrust.org/a-peace-of-history-blog/the-recolonization-of-puerto-rico-part-1 ''The Recolonization of Puerto Rico, Part 1.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914030429/http://www.voluntownpeacetrust.org/a-peace-of-history-blog/the-recolonization-of-puerto-rico-part-1 |date=14 September 2021 }} The Voluntown Peace Trust. 22 July 2021. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref><ref>[https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=lacs_fac_scholar ''Colonialism in Puerto Rico.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914030429/https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=lacs_fac_scholar |date=14 September 2021 }} Pedro Caban. SUNY-Albany. Latin American, Caribbean, and US Latino Studies Faculty. 2015. p. 516. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref><ref>C.D. Burnett, et al., ''Foreign in a Domestic Sense: Puerto Rico, American Expansion, and the Constitution.'' Duke University Press. 2001. {{ISBN|9780822326984}}</ref> classified by the United States as "an unincorporated territory".<ref>[https://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/politicatypes ''Definitions of Insular Area Political Organizations.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731200047/https://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/politicatypes |date=31 July 2019 }} U.S. Department of the Interior. Office of Insular Affairs. 2021. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref> In 1914, the Puerto Rican House of Delegates voted unanimously in favor of independence from the United States, but this was rejected by the U.S. Congress as "unconstitutional" and in violation of the U.S. 1900 [[Foraker Act]].<ref>Juan Gonzalez. ''Harvest of Empire'' Penguin Press. 2001. pp.60–63.{{ISBN|978-0-14-311928-9}}</ref> In 1952, after the US Congress approved Puerto Rico's constitution, its formal name became "Commonwealth of Puerto Rico", but its new name "did not change Puerto Rico's political, social, and economic relationship to the United States."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html#M1121_2_1 |title=7 FAM 1120 Acquisition of U.S. Nationality in U.S. Territories and Possessions |access-date=13 September 2021 |date=January 3, 2013 |work=U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 - Consular Affairs |publisher=U.S. Department of State |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222081013/https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html#M1121_2_1 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2002/vol6n30/LetPRDecideHow2End-en.html "Let Puerto Rico Decide How to end its Colony Status: True Nationhood Stands on the Pillar of Independence."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914030430/http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2002/vol6n30/LetPRDecideHow2End-en.html |date=14 September 2021 }} Rosalinda de Jesus. ''The Allentown Morning Call''. Republished by The Puerto Rico Herald. July 21, 2002. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 13 September 2021.</ref> That year, the United States advised the United Nations (UN) that the island was a self-governing territory.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Puerto Rico - The debate over political status|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Puerto-Rico|access-date=2021-09-11|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>{{efn|During its 8th session, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] recognized Puerto Rico's self-government on November 27, 1953, with Resolution 748 (VIII).<ref>[https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/8/ares8.htm Resolution 748 (VIII)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506000907/https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/8/ares8.htm |date=6 May 2019 }}. [Note: To access the text of the UN document, scroll down the list that appears until Resolution "748 (VIII)", dated "November 27, 1953", is found. Click on the link "748 (VIII)" to view the text of the Resolution. Important: This is a UN document database query server; documents are served on-the-fly. Saving the link that appears when the document opens will not provide access in the future.] Retrieved 13 September 2021.</ref> (UN Resolution "748 (VIII)", adopted on November 27, 1953, during its 459th Plenary Meeting.) This removed Puerto Rico's classification as a [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories|non-self-governing territory]] (under article 73(e) of the Charter of the United Nations). The resolution passed, garnering a favorable vote from some 40% of the General Assembly, with over 60% abstaining or voting against it (20 to 16, plus 18 abstentions). Today, however, the UN "still debates whether Puerto Rico is a colony" or not.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-17-4-c.html#|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610210536/http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-17-4-c.html%23|url-status=dead|title=''Puerto Rico: Commonwealth, Statehood, or Independence?'' Constitutional Rights Foundation|archive-date=June 10, 2009}}</ref>}} The United States has been "unwilling to play in public the imperial role... it has no appetite for acknowledging in a public way the contradictions implicit in frankly colonial rule."<ref>Sidney W. Mintz. ''Three Ancient Colonies.'' Harvard University Press. 2010. pp. 135-136.</ref>{{efn|Sidney Mintz's quote goes on to state, "Something in our history makes the idea of our ruling other people very difficult to deal with. Puerto Rico's political status certainly has evolved in its century inside the North American 'family.' But the permanent interim political status of which Tomas Blanco wrote still has not ended."}} The island has been called a colony by many,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-24|title=Why Puerto Rico has debated U.S. statehood since its colonization|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/puerto-rico-debated-statehood-since-colonization|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224231359/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/puerto-rico-debated-statehood-since-colonization|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2021|access-date=2021-09-11|website=History|language=en}}</ref> including US Federal judges,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/us/juan-torruella-groundbreaking-us-appeals-judge-dies-at-87.html ''Juan Torruella, Groundbreaking U.S. Appeals Judge, Dies at 87.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911004323/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/us/juan-torruella-groundbreaking-us-appeals-judge-dies-at-87.html |date=11 September 2021 }} Sam Roberts. The New York Times. 28 October 2020. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref> US Congresspeople,<ref>[https://theglobepost.com/2020/07/16/us-puerto-rico/ ''Can't We Just Sell the World's Oldest Colony and Solve Puerto Rico's Political Status?''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914030429/https://theglobepost.com/2020/07/16/us-puerto-rico/ |date=14 September 2021 }} Luis Martínez-Fernández. 16 July 2020. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref><ref>[https://thehill.com/latino/517921-hopes-for-dc-puerto-rico-statehood-rise ''Hopes for DC, Puerto Rico statehood rise.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819000559/https://thehill.com/latino/517921-hopes-for-dc-puerto-rico-statehood-rise |date=19 August 2021 }} Marty Johnson and Rafael Bernal. The Hill. 24 September 2020. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref> the Chief Justice of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court,<ref>José Trías Monge. ''Puerto Rico: The trials of the oldest colony in the world.'' Yale University Press. 1997. p.3. {{ISBN|9780300076189}}</ref> and numerous scholars.<ref>Angel Collado-Schwarz. ''Decolonization Models for America's Last Colony: Puerto Rico.'' Syracuse University Press. 2012. {{ISBN|0815651082}}</ref>{{efn|For additional references to Puerto Rico's current (2021) colonial status under U.S. rule, see Nicole Narea,<ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/live-results-for-puerto-ricos-statehood-referendum/ar-BB1aF94A ''Live results for Puerto Rico's statehood referendum.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914030428/https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/live-results-for-puerto-ricos-statehood-referendum/ar-BB1aF94A |date=14 September 2021 }} Nicole Narea. MSN Microsoft News. 5 November 2020. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref> Amy Goodman and Ana Irma Rivera Lassén,<ref>[https://www.democracynow.org/2020/11/6/puerto_rico_ana_irma_rivera_lassen ''Puerto Ricans Vote to Narrowly Approve Controversial Statehood Referendum & Elect 4 LGBTQ Candidates.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908232158/https://www.democracynow.org/2020/11/6/puerto_rico_ana_irma_rivera_lassen |date=8 September 2021 }} Amy Goodman and Ana Irma Rivera Lassén. Democracy Now! 6 November 2020. Accessed 13 September 2021.</ref> David S. Cohen<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/the-political-travesty-of-puerto-rico-196852/ ''The Political Travesty of Puerto Rico: Like all U.S. territories, Puerto Rico has no real representation in its own national government.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908232211/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/the-political-travesty-of-puerto-rico-196852/ |date=8 September 2021 }} David S. Cohen. RollingStone. 26 September 2017. Accessed 15 December 2020.</ref> and Sidney W. Mintz.<ref>Sidney W. Mintz. ''Three Ancient Colonies: Caribbean Themes and Variations.'' Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 2010. p. 134.</ref>}} 
* '''{{flag|South Africa}}''' consisted of territories and colonies by various African and European powers, including the Dutch and the British, and the Nguni. The territory consisting of the modern nation was ruled directly by the British from 1806 to 1910; became a self-governing dominion of [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910.
* '''{{flag|Sri Lanka}}''': a British colony from 1815 to 1948. Known as [[Ceylon]]. Was a [[British Dominion]] until 1972. Also a [[Portuguese Ceylon|Portuguese colony]] in the 16th–17th centuries, and a [[Dutch Ceylon|Dutch colony]] in the 17th–18th centuries.
*'''{{flag|Korea}}''' was a colony of [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] from 1910 to 1945. North and South Korea were established in 1948. 
* '''{{flag|Taiwan}}''' has a complex history of colonial rule under various powers, including the [[Dutch Formosa|Dutch]] (1624–1662), [[Spanish Formosa|Spanish]] (1626–1642), [[Taiwan under Qing rule|Chinese]] (1683–1895) and [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese]] (1895–1945).<ref name="gutenberg-e.org">{{cite web| url = http://www.gutenberg-e.org/andrade/conclusion.html| author1=Tonio Andrade|author1-link=Tonio Andrade|title=How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century|publisher=Columbia University Press}}</ref> The [[Prehistory of Taiwan|precolonial]] (pre-1624) inhabitants of Taiwan are the ethno-linguistically [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples]], rather than the vast majority of present-day [[Taiwanese people]], who are mostly ethno-linguistically [[Han Chinese]]. Twice throughout history, Taiwan has served as a ''quasi'' [[rump state]] for Chinese [[Government in exile|governments]], the first instance being the [[Transition from Ming to Qing|Ming-loyalist]] [[Kingdom of Tungning]] (1662–1683) and the second instance being the present-day [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] (ROC), which officially claims [[Pan-Blue Coalition|continuity]] or [[Pan-Green Coalition|succession]] from the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)]], having [[Republic of China retreat to Taiwan|retreated from mainland China to Taiwan]] in 1949 during the final years of the [[Chinese Civil War]] (1927–1949). The ROC, whose ''de facto'' territory consists almost entirely of the [[Geography of Taiwan|island of Taiwan]] and [[List of islands of Taiwan|its minor satellite islands]], continues to rule Taiwan as if it were a separate country from the [[China|People's Republic of China]] (consisting of [[mainland China]], Hong Kong, and [[Macau]]).
* The '''{{flag|United States|1777}}''' was formed from a union of thirteen British [[Thirteen Colonies|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==
[[Image:Dependent territories.svg|thumb|600px|Dependent territories and their sovereign states. All territories are labeled according to [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2|ISO 3166-1]]{{efn|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.}} or with numbers.{{efn|The following territories do not have [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2|ISO 3166-1]] codes:<br>'''1''': [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia]]<br>'''2''': [[Ashmore and Cartier Islands]]<br>'''3''': [[Coral Sea Islands]]}} Colored areas without labels are integral parts of their respective countries. [[Antarctica]] is shown as a [[condominium (international law)|condominium]] instead of [[territorial claims in Antarctica|individual claims]].]]
The [[Special Committee on Decolonization]] maintains the [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories]], which identifies areas the United Nations (though not without controversy) believes are colonies. Given that [[dependent territory|dependent territories]] have varying degrees of autonomy and political power in the affairs of the controlling state, there is disagreement over the classification of "colony".

==See also==
* [[Colonialism]]
* [[Colonization]]
* [[Decolonization]]
* [[Democratic peace theory]]
* [[Exploitation colonialism]]
* [[Scramble for Africa]]
* [[Settler colonialism]]
* [[United Nations list of non-self-governing territories]]
* [[Development town]]
* [[Spice Trade]]
* {{annotated link|Border outpost}}
* {{annotated link|Outpost (military)}}
* {{annotated link|Military base}}
* {{annotated link|Waypoint}}
* {{annotated link|Mountain pass}}
* {{annotated link|Caravanserei}}
* {{annotated link|Stage station}}
* {{annotated link|Mission (station)}}
* {{annotated link|Diplomatic mission}}
* {{annotated link|Trading post}}
* {{annotated link|Bridgehead}}
* {{annotated link|Crossroads village}}
* {{annotated link|Railway town}}
* {{annotated link|Special economic zone}}
* {{annotated link|Entrepôt}}
* {{annotated link|Factory (trading post)}}
* {{annotated link|Free economic zone}}
* {{annotated link|Exclusive economic zone}}
* {{annotated link|Free-trade area}}
* {{annotated link|Mill town}}
* {{annotated link|Industrial park}}
* {{annotated link|Frontier}}
* {{annotated link|Frontier thesis}}
* {{annotated link|Border}}
* {{annotated link|No-go area}}
* {{annotated link|Terra nullius}}
* {{annotated link|No-mans land}}
* {{annotated link|Human outpost}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Aldrich, Robert. ''Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion'' (1996)
* Ansprenger, Franz ed. ''The Dissolution of the Colonial Empires'' (1989)
* Benjamin, Thomas, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism Since 1450'' (2006).
* Ermatinger, James. ed. ''The Roman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia'' (2 vol 2018)
* Higham, C. S. S. ''History Of The British Empire'' (1921) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.109837 online free]
* James, Lawrence. ''The Illustrated Rise and Fall of the British Empire'' (2000)
* Kia, Mehrdad, ed. ''The Ottoman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia'' (2017)
* Page, Melvin E. ed. ''Colonialism: An International Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia'' (3 vol. 2003)
* Priestley, Herbert Ingram. (''France overseas;: A study of modern imperialism'' 1938) 463pp; encyclopedic coverage as of late 1930s
* Tarver, H. Micheal and Emily Slape. ''The Spanish Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia'' (2 vol. 2016)
* Wesseling, H.L. ''The European Colonial Empires: 1815–1919'' (2015).

==External links==
{{wiktionary | colony}}
{{wikiquote-inline|colony}}
* [https://www.un.org/en/decolonization/nonselfgov.shtml Non-Self-Governing Territories Listed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002]
* [https://www.un.org/en/decolonization/nonselfgovterritories.shtml Non-Self-Governing Territories Listed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012]
* [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0861075.html Siberia : History] (covers Siberia as Russian colony)

{{Colonization}}
{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities}}
{{Autonomous types of first-tier administration}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Types of administrative division]]
[[Category:Colonialism| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]