mother countries
Colonizers' home nations
Mother countries are nations that have established colonies or territories abroad, viewed from the perspective of those colonies.
The term emphasizes the relationship between an imperial power and its dependent territories, often carrying connotations of both nurturing authority and colonial control.
Citizens of colonies might speak of the mother country when referring to the European nation that colonized their land.
The phrase appears frequently in historical discussions of the British Empire, where Britain served as the mother country to dozens of colonies worldwide.
- nation-stateSovereign political territory
- colonial powersNations that colonized others
- homelandOne's native land
- back homeReturned to one's residence
- birthplaceLocation of one's birth
metropolis · empire · decolonization · colonialism · origin · imperialism · mercantilism · ancestry · suzerainty · diaspora · across the water · dominion · protectorate · fatherlands · heritage · national identity · resource extraction · native soils
mother countriescolonies
Territories under foreign control
dependencies · colonial territories · overseas territories · protectorates · dominions
mother countriessatellite states
Nations controlled by another
puppet states · client states · territories · possessions · successor states
mother, country, mothers, countries, motherhood, motherly, mothering, mothered, maternal