A colony is a settlement formed in one country by the inhabitants of another. Colonies may either be formed in dependence on the mother country or in independence. In the latter case the name of colony is retained only in a historical sense. Properly, perhaps, the term should be limited to a settlement which carries on a direct cultivation of the soil, as in the former British colonies of Canada and Australia in contrast to the former in Hindustan or Malta which were the mere superposition on the natives of a ruling race which took little or no part in the general industry of the country.
The motives which lead to the formation of colonies, and the manner of their formation, are various. Sometimes the ambition of extending territory and the desire of increasing wealth have been the chief impulses in colonization; but colonies became a necessity for the redundant population of European states in the 19th century.
Among ancient nations the principal promoters of colonization were the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans; the greatest colonizers in modern times have been the English and the Spaniards, next to whom may be reckoned the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. The Germans during the 19th century contributed largely to the tide of emigration, particularly in the direction of America;
but did little directly as colonizers.
The Phoenician colonies were partly caused by political dissensions and redundant population, but were chiefly commercial, serving as entrepots and ports of repair for Phoenician commerce along the coasts of Africa and Spain, in the latter of which they numbered, according to Strabo, more than two hundred. But it was in Africa that the most famous arose, Carthage, the greatest colonizing state of the ancient world.
The Greek colonies, which were widely spread in Asia Minor and the islands of the Mediterranean, the coasts of Macedonia and Thrace, in South Italy and Sicily, were commonly independent, and frequently soon surpassed the mother states in power and importance.
The colonies of Rome were chiefly military, and while the empire lasted were all in strict subordination to the central government. As the Roman power declined the remains of them amalgamated with the peoples among whom they were placed, thus forming in countries where they were sufficiently strong what are known as the Latin races, with languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian) which are merely modifications of the old Roman tongue.
Before America and the way by sea to the East Indies were discovered, the only colonies belonging to European states were those of the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians in the Levant and the Black Sea, flourishing establishments on which the mercantile greatness of Italy in those days was largely built.
The Portuguese were the first great colonizers among modern states. In 1419 they discovered Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands; the Congo and the Cape of Good Hope followed; and before the century was out Vasco de Gama had landed at Calicut on the Malabar coast of India. The first Portuguese colonies were garrisons along the coasts where they traded: Mozambique and Sofala on the east coast of Africa, Ormuz and Muscat in the Persian Gulf, Goa and Damao on the west coast of India. Colonies were established in Sri Lanka in 1505, in the Moluccas in 1510. Brazil was discovered in 1499, and this magnificent possession fell to Portugal, and was colonized about 1530. Bad government at home and the subjection of the country to Spain caused the loss of most of the Portuguese colonies.
Soon after the Portuguese the Spaniards commenced the work of colonization. In 1492 Columbus, on board of a Spanish vessel, discovered the island of San Salvador. Haiti, or San Domingo, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba were soon colonized, and before the middle of the 16th century Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, New Granada (Colombia), Peru, and Chili were subdued, and Spain took the first rank amongst the colonizing powers of Europe. But the Spaniards never really attempted to develop the industrial resources of the subject countries. The pursuit of mining for gold or silver occupied the colonists almost exclusively, and the enslaved natives were driven to work themselves to death in the mines. Cities were founded, at first along the coasts, for the sake of commerce and as military posts; afterwards also in the interior, in particular in the vicinity of the mines, as Vera Cruz, Cumana, Porto Bello, Carthagena, Valencia, Caracas; Acapuico and Panama, on the coast of the Pacific; Lima, Goncepcion, and Buenos Aires. The colonial intercourse with Spain was confined to the single port of Seville, afterwards to that of Cadiz, from which two squadrons started annually - the galleons, about twelve in number, for Porto Bello; and the fleet, of fifteen large vessels, for Vera Cruz. When the power of Spain declined, the colonies declared their independence, and thus were formed the republics of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, etc. Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands passed to the United States in 1898; the Caroline Islands, etc, were sold to Germany in 1899; and by 1900 hardly any colony remained to Spain.
The hate of Philip II, who prohibited Dutch vessels from the port of Lisbon, forced the Dutch to import directly from India or lose the large carrying trade they had acquired. Several companies were soon formed, and in 1602 they were united into one, the Dutch East India Company, with a monopoly of the East Indiatrade and sovereign powers over all conquests and colonies in India. The Dutch now rapidly deprived the Portuguese of nearly all their East Indian territories, settled a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in 1650, established a West India Company, made extensive conquests in Brazil between 1623 and 1660, which were soon lost, and more permanent ones on some of-the smaller West India Islands, as San Eustatia, Curacoa, Saba, etc. The growing power of the British and the loss of Holland's independence during the Napoleonic wars were heavy blows to the colonial power of the nation. But the Dutch still possesed numerous colonies in the East Indies at the start of the 20th century, among which the more important were Java, Sumatra, Dutch Borneo, the Molucca Islands, and part of New Guinea, also several small islands in the West Indies, and Surinam.
No colonizing power of Europe had a career of such uniform prosperity as Great Britain. The English attempts at colonization began nearly at the same time with the Dutch. After many fruitless attempts to find a north-east or north-west passage to the East Indies, English vessels found their way round the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies in 1591. The East India Company was established in 1600. English commerce with India, however, was not at first important, and they possessed only single factories on the continent up until the beginning of the 18th century. The ruin of the Mogul Empire in India after the death of Aurengzebe in 1707 afforded the opportunity for the growth of British power, as the British and French were compelled to interfere in the contentions of the native princes and governors. The French appeared at first to maintain the superiority; but the British in turn got the upper hand, and the victory of Clive at Plassey in 1756 laid the foundation of an exclusive British sovereignty in India. By the middle of the next century the British territory embraced, with the exception of a few dependent states, nearly the whole of India, and this vast territory was still under the government of the East India Company - a mercantile company, controlled indeed by parliament, but exercising many of the most important functions of an independent sovereignty. On the suppression of the Indian mutiny in 1857-1858 the government of India was transferred to the crown by act of parliament in 1858.
The discoveries of the Cabots, following soon after the voyages of Columbus, gave the English crown a claim to North America, which, though allowed to lie dormant for nearly a century, was never relinquished, and which, in the reign of Elizabeth I, led to colonization on a large scale. Walter Raleigh's settlement on Roanoke Island (North Carolina) in 1585 failed to become permanent, but in 1607 the colonists sent out by the London Company to Chesapeake Bay founded Jamestown, on the James River, in Virginia. The next great settlement was that of the Pilgrim Fathers, who landed on the 21st of December 1620, in Massachusetts Bay. The colonization of New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, soon followed. In the State of New York and the Hudson River Territory the British found the Dutch already in possession; but in 1664 they seized the colony of New Amsterdam by force, changing its name to New York in honour of James, Duke of York. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, and colonized with Quakers in 1682; Maryland in 1631 by a party from Virginia; Carolina in 1670 and Georgia in 1732 by colonies from England.
Colonies were early established in the West India Islands, including Barbados, half of St. Christopher's in 1625, and soon after many smaller islands. Newfoundland was taken possession of in 1583, colonized in 1621 and 1633. Canada was surrendered to Britain at the Peace of Paris in 1763. In 1764 began the disputes between Britain and its North American colonies, which terminated with the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States, Canada remaining a British dependency.
Australia was discovered in the beginning of the 17th century. The first Australasian settlements of Britain were penal colonies. New South Wales, discovered in 1770, was established as a penal colony in 1788; Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), discovered by Tasman in 1642, followed in 1803; West Australia, also first used as a penal settlement, became a free colony in 1829; Victoria was colonized in 1835, and made an independent colony in 1851; South Australia was settled in 1836. In 1851 the discovery of gold in Victoria gave a great impetus to the Australian Colonies. Queensland was made a separate colony from N.ew South Wales in 1859. New Zealand, discovered by Tasman in 1642, began to be used for whale-fishery about 1790, was settled in 1839, and made a colony in 1840. In 1874 the Fiji Islands, and in 1884 part of New Guinea, were annexed as crown colonies. In South AfricaCape Colony, first settled by the Dutch in 1652, finally became a British colony in 1815. Natal followed in 1843. Later annexations were Bechuanaland in 1885, Zululand in 1887, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1888-89, and the Orange River Colony and Transvaal in 1900. In Western Africa were the colonies of the Gold Coast, Gambia, and SierraLeone - ancient possessions of the British crown; with Lagos and Nigeria acquired in 1885 and after. Other possessions were British East Africa (Kenya), with Uganda and Somaliland. Gibraltar was acquired in 1704, Malta in 1800.
According to their government relations with the crown the colonies were arranged under three heads: (1.) Crown colonies, in which the crown had the entire control of legislation, while the administration was carried on by public officers under the control of the home government. (2.) Colonies possessing representative institutions but not responsible government, in which the crown had no more than a veto on legislation, but the home government retained the control of public officers. (3.) Colonies possessing representative institutions and responsible government, in which the crown had only a veto on legislation, and the home government had no control over any officer except the governor. All colonies were, however, disabled from such acts of independent sovereignty as the initiative in war, alliances, and diplomacy generally.
France was somewhat late in establishing colonies. Between 1627 and 1636 the West Indian islands of St Christopher's, Guadeloupe, and Martinique were colonized by private persons. Champlain was the pioneer of the French in the exploration of the North American continent, and founded Quebec in 1608. Colbert purchased several West India islands, as Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, etc, and sent out colonists in 1664 to Cayenne. In 1670 the East India Company formed by Colbert founded Pondicherry, which became the capital of extensive possessions in the East Indies. At the beginning of the 18th century France had extensive settlements in Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, the most flourishing of the West India islands, and she seemed to have a prosperous career before her in India. Ere long, however, the rival interests of British and French colonists brought about a conflict which terminated in the loss of Canada and other North American possessions, as well as many of the West India Islands, while the dominion of India passed into the hands of the British.
During the 19th century Germany made an effort to take rank as a colonial power, and acquired in Africa the territories of Damaraland, Great Nama Land, etc, on the south-west coast, north of Cape Colony; the Cameroons District; a large portion of territory formerly claimed by the Sultan of Zanzibar, extending inland to Victoria Nyanza, etc; also in the Pacific a portion of New Guinea, then subsequently called Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, the BismarckArchipelago, Marshall Islands, etc.
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
After the overthrow of the empire of the first Napoleon, France, Russia, Prussia and Austria formed an alliance for preserving the balance of power and suppressing revolutions within each other's dominions. The Spanish colonies in America having revolted, it was rumoured that this alliance contemplated their reduction, although the United States recognized their independence. George Canning, the English Secretary of State, proposed that the United States join England in the prevention. of such suppression.
After consulting with Jefferson, Madison, John Quincy Adams and Calhoun, President James Monroe embodied in his annual message to Congress in 1823 a clause which has since become celebrated as the 'Monroe Doctrine'. Referring to the proposed intervention of the allied powers the message stated that America 'should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety'; and again, 'that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers'. The doctrine thus set forth has been maintained by the United States on many subsequent occasions, notably in matters relating to the Isthmus of Panama and in the case of the French intervention in Mexico under Maximilian. Research Monroe Doctrine
The Panama Congress was called by the Spanish-American Republics in 1826. The United States sent delegates too late for the preliminary meeting and the adjourned congress for 1827 never occurred. Among the objects of the proposed congress interesting to the United States were: The establishment of liberal doctrines of commercial intercourse; assent to the doctrine that free ships make free goods, and an agreement that 'each will guard against the establishment of any future European colony within its. Borders'. The failure of the Congress showed that an alliance between the United States and the smaller Republics was inadvisable. President John Quincy Adams was warmly in favour of the proposed meeting, but Congress did not favour it. Research Panama Congress
The Ecuadorian Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum micropholis) is the largest species of the Milk snakes, reaching a length of 148 cm, and is the most southerly occurring species being found in Panama and Ecuador. The Ecuadorian Milk Snake has a short series of ten to eighteen broad dorsal rings and yellow scales on the head. Research Ecuadorian Milk Snake
Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French engineer. He was born in 1832 at Dijon and died in 1923. He attended, from 1852 to 1855, the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures at Paris, and devoted himself chiefly to the designing of large structures in iron, especially bridges and viaducts, the great bridge over the Douro being one of his works. In 1865 he founded an iron works at Levallois-Perret. He built the Garabit viaduct in 1882 and the Eiffel tower in Paris which he completed in 1889 for the Paris Exhibition of 1889. He was condemned in 1893 to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 francs for misappropriation of funds belonging to the Panama Canal Company, but the judgment was set aside on technical grounds. Research Alexandre Eiffel
Buccaneer was a name derived from the Carib boucan, a place for smoking meat, first given to European settlers in Haiti or Hispaniola, whose business was to hunt wild cattle and swine and smoke their flesh. In an extended sense the name was applied to English and French adventurers, mostly seafaring people, who, combining for mutual defence against the arrogant pretensions of the Spaniards to the dominion of the whole of America, frequented the West Indies in the 17th century, acquired predatory and lawless habits, and became ultimately, in many cases, little better than pirates.
The earliest association of these adventurers began about 1625, but they afterwards became much more formidable, and continued to be a terror until the opening of the 18th century, inflicting heavy losses upon the shipping trade of Spain, and even attacking large towns. Among their chief leaders were Montbars (Il exterminador), Peter the Great of Dieppe, L'Olonnas, de Busco, Van Horn, and the WelshmanHenry Morgan, who, in 1670, marched across the isthmus, plundered Panama, and after being knighted by Charles II, became deputy-governor of Jamaica. The last great exploit of the buccaneers was the capture of Carthagena in 1697, after which they are lost sight of in the annals of vulgar piracy. Research Buccaneer
Sir Francis Drake was an English seaman, pirate and murderer. He was born in 1539 or 1545 near Tavistock and died in 1596 of dysentery. The son of a poor farmer, he was apprenticed to the master of a coasting vessel, he was left the ship on the master's death. He accompanied Sir John Hawkins in 1567 in an action against the Spaniards, losing nearly all he possessed in that unfortunate enterprise. Having gathered a number of adventurers round him he contrived to fit out a vessel in which he made two successful pirate cruises to the West Indies in 1570 and 1571 and then set out in 1572 to plunder the Spanish Main, captured the cities of Nombre de Dios and Vera Cruz, and took a rich booty which he brought safely home, returning to England in 1573. After serving in Ireland as a volunteer, he suggested to the queen, Elizabeth I, an expedition to the Pacific, and in December 1577 he sailed in the Pelican with four other ships and 166 men.
In August 1578 the fleet passed through the straits of Magellan in sixteen days, plundered all along the coasts of Chile and Peru, sacked several ports, and captured a galleon laden with silver, gold, jewels, etc, to the value of perhaps 200,000 pounds and was then blown south to Cape Horn. The remaining ships became separated and returned to England, leaving the Pelican, now renamed the Golden Hind, alone in the Pacific. Drake sailed north along the coast of Chile and Peru, plundering Spanish ships as far as north as California, and then in July 1579 sailed south-west across the Pacific. He rounded the Cape in June 1580, and reached England in September, thus making the first voyage around the world by an Englishman. The voyage, however, was sullied by the murder by Drake of one of his captains, Thomas Doubty, for reporting the theft of supplies by Drake's brother, and the murder by Drake of a black slave girl, Maria, who, having fallen pregnant by Drake or one of his crew was marooned on a deserted island of the Spice Islands, and left his crew aggrieved when despite his promise he refused to share any of the stolen loot they had taken from the Spanish with them.
As there was no war between England and Spain the proceedings of Francis Drake were piracy. Courtiers were not pleased with receiving stolen goods from Drake, but the queen - receiving large amounts of money - maintained that they were lawful reprisals for the action of the Spaniards, and showed her favour to Francis Drake by knighting him on board his own ship. Five years afterwards Francis Drake was again attacking the Spaniards in the Cape Verde Islands and in the West Indies, and in 1588 particularly distinguished himself as vice-admiral in the conflict with the Spanish Armada, though contemporaries noted that during the action Drake's ship sped off after the unarmed Spanish pay ship and its gold which Drake wanted for himself, leaving the other English ships to face the Spanish warships. Reports of cowardice were made against Drake by the captains of the remainder of the English fleet, but Drake's wealth and continued bribes of the queen ensured bus position.
In 1593 he represented Plymouth in parliament. His later expeditions, that in 1595 against the Spanish West Indies and that to Panama, were not so successful, and his death, which took place in 1596 at sea off Porto Bello, was allegedly hastened by disappointment, the reality was the not to glamorous dysentery. Research Francis Drake
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