overseas empire
Distant colonial holdings
An overseas empire consists of colonial territories controlled by a nation across oceans, distinct from contiguous land empires.
The term typically describes European powers that established dominion over distant lands from the 16th century onward: The British overseas empire once spanned a quarter of the globe.
The phrase emphasizes geographic separation between the imperial center and its possessions.
- colonialOf occupied territories
- colonial ruleForeign power's territorial dominion
- dominionAuthority to rule
- crown colonyLand ruled by monarch's government
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
conquest · flag planting · crown · possession · outpost · trading post · motherland · subjugation · native peoples · trading · East India Company · ports · navy · expansion · scramble for Africa · exploitation · indigenous · missionaries
overseas empirehomeland
One's native land
mother country · metropole · mainland · heartland · native land
overseas, empire, over, sea, seas, oversea, imperial, imperialism, imperialist