European colonies
Overseas imperial territories
European colonies are territories historically controlled by European powers—Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and others—in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific.
The term usually appears in historical contexts discussing imperialism, independence movements, or the lasting effects of colonial rule: Many European colonies gained independence in the mid-twentieth century.
- AmericasWestern Hemisphere landmasses
- AsiaLargest continental landmass
- white man's burdenImperialist ideology disguising exploitation
- AfricaSecond-largest continent
- MercantilismColonial wealth-hoarding economic doctrine
cash crops · rubber plantations · Scramble for Africa · Caribbean · Oceania · Middle East · India · Columbian Exchange · Latin America · Southeast Asia · spice trade · trading posts · Pacific Islands · Enlightenment · British Empire · Industrial Revolution · French Empire · Dutch East Indies
- African historyNubia, Dahomey, Oyo Empire, Scramble for Africa, scramble for Africa
European coloniessovereign nations
Self-ruling states with autonomy
mother countries · colonial powers · home rule · self-determination · protectorates
European coloniescolonial powers
Nations that colonized others
European empires · colonial masters · home countries · mother countries · colonizers
European, Europe, colony, colonies, colonial, colonialism, colonialist, colonize, colonized