A thematic collection

Colonisation

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged colonisation — the establishment, administration and ending of colonial rule. 343 of them, drawn from 137 nations, running from 518 BCE to 1975. Indexed below by period; each period opens the full text, with the sources every entry was verified against and a link back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
343
Nations
137
Earliest
518 BCE
Latest
1975
Densest period
The 16th century49 events
Africa
175
Asia
72
North America
38
South America
22
Oceania
21
Europe
15

Each period below opens a page holding those events in full — summary, era and citations. Every entry is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

1 event · 1 nation

The 6th century BCE

Every theme in the 6th century BCE →

  1. c. 518 BCE

    Achaemenid Persia annexes the Indus landsPakistan

All 1 events in the 6th century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 3rd century BCE

Every theme in the 3rd century BCE →

  1. 3rd century BCE

    A Seleucid Greek fortress rises on IkarosKuwait

All 1 events in the 3rd century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 2nd century BCE

Every theme in the 2nd century BCE →

  1. 111 BCE

    Han conquest begins Chinese ruleVietnam

All 1 events in the 2nd century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1st century BCE

Every theme in the 1st century BCE →

  1. 30 BCE

    Rome annexes EgyptEgypt

All 1 events in the 1st century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1st century

Every theme in the 1st century →

  1. Roman annexation of MauretaniaMorocco

All 1 events in the 1st century →

1 event · 1 nation

The 10th century

Every theme in the 10th century →

  1. Erik the Red founds the Norse colonyGreenland

All 1 events in the 10th century →

26 events · 24 nations

The 15th century

Every theme in the 15th century →

  1. Ming China occupies Dai VietVietnam

  2. Portuguese ships reach the Rivers of GuineaGuinea-Bissau

  3. Portuguese reach the uninhabited islandsCape Verde

  4. Fernão do Pó sights the islandEquatorial Guinea

  5. Portuguese reach the estuary and name it GabãoGabon

  6. Portugal builds Elmina CastleGhana

  7. Diogo Cão reaches the coastNamibia

  8. Dias rounds the Cape of Good HopePortugal

All 26 events in the 15th century →18 more not shown here

49 events · 40 nations

The 16th century

Every theme in the 16th century →

  1. Cabral claims Brazil for PortugalBrazil

  2. The Wild Coast and El DoradoGuyana

  3. Cabral reaches BrazilPortugal

  4. Settlement of PríncipeSão Tomé and Príncipe

  5. Portuguese seize control of the coastUnited Arab Emirates

  6. Spanish reach the isthmusPanama

  7. Columbus reaches the Rich CoastCosta Rica

  8. Columbus reaches HondurasHonduras

All 49 events in the 16th century →41 more not shown here

29 events · 26 nations

The 17th century

Every theme in the 17th century →

  1. Founding of the Dutch East India Company (VOC)Indonesia

  2. Quirós reaches Espiritu SantoVanuatu

  3. Founding of JamestownUnited States

  4. Flight of the Earls and the Plantation of UlsterIreland

  5. First recorded landing by the AscensionSeychelles

  6. Founding of EssequiboGuyana

  7. Founding of BenguelaAngola

  8. Founding of BataviaIndonesia

All 29 events in the 17th century →21 more not shown here

24 events · 18 nations

The 18th century

Every theme in the 18th century →

  1. Prazo estates along the ZambeziMozambique

  2. The Dutch abandon MauritiusMauritius

  3. France claims the Isle de FranceMauritius

  4. Hans Egede reaches GreenlandGreenland

  5. The Little Horde accepts Russian protectionKazakhstan

  6. France claims and names the islandsSeychelles

  7. Battle of PlasseyBangladesh

  8. Battle of PlasseyIndia

All 24 events in the 18th century →16 more not shown here

4 events · 4 nations

The 1800s

Every theme in the 1800s →

  1. Russia annexes Kartli-KakhetiGeorgia

  2. Trinidad ceded to Britain by treatyTrinidad and Tobago

  3. Britain seizes the CapeSouth Africa

  4. Sierra Leone becomes a Crown ColonySierra Leone

All 4 events in the 1800s →

7 events · 7 nations

The 1810s

Every theme in the 1810s →

  1. Annexation of BessarabiaMoldova

  2. British rule confirmed by the Treaty of ParisMalta

  3. Treaty of Paris confirms British ruleMauritius

  4. Cession to Britain by the Treaty of ParisSeychelles

  5. Tobago ceded to BritainTrinidad and Tobago

  6. Kandyan Convention unifies the island under BritainSri Lanka

  7. Bathurst founded on St Mary's IslandGambia

All 7 events in the 1810s →

7 events · 5 nations

The 1820s

Every theme in the 1820s →

  1. Turco-Egyptian conquest; Khartoum foundedSudan

  2. Acquisition of Cape MesuradoLiberia

  3. Russia abolishes the Kazakh khanatesKazakhstan

  4. First settlers land and found the colonyLiberia

  5. Independence of BrazilPortugal

  6. Christopolis renamed MonroviaLiberia

  7. Britain founds an anti-slavery base at Port ClarenceEquatorial Guinea

All 7 events in the 1820s →

5 events · 5 nations

The 1830s

Every theme in the 1830s →

  1. France captures AlgiersAlgeria

  2. Creation of British GuianaGuyana

  3. First Opium War and the 'unequal treaties'China

  4. France treats with King DenisGabon

  5. Britain captures AdenYemen

All 5 events in the 1830s →

8 events · 7 nations

The 1840s

Every theme in the 1840s →

  1. Cession of Sarawak to James BrookeBrunei

  2. Mayotte ceded to FranceComoros

  3. James Brooke becomes Raja of SarawakMalaysia

  4. Britain withdraws to Sierra LeoneEquatorial Guinea

  5. France signs treaties on the lagoon coastIvory Coast

  6. Labuan ceded to BritainBrunei

  7. Algeria annexed to FranceAlgeria

  8. Britain annexes the PunjabPakistan

All 8 events in the 1840s →

6 events · 6 nations

The 1850s

Every theme in the 1850s →

  1. Denmark sells its Gold Coast forts to BritainGhana

  2. France annexes New CaledoniaNew Caledonia

  3. Faidherbe begins the conquestSenegal

  4. Spain installs effective rule under Carlos ChacónEquatorial Guinea

  5. British Crown rule beginsIndia

  6. Partition of the islandTimor-Leste

All 6 events in the 1850s →

15 events · 15 nations

The 1860s

Every theme in the 1860s →

  1. Annexation to SpainDominican Republic

  2. Britain annexes LagosNigeria

  3. The Colony of British HondurasBelize

  4. France buys the anchorage of ObockDjibouti

  5. France annexes CochinchinaVietnam

  6. French protectorate establishedCambodia

  7. Land confiscation legalised (raupatu)New Zealand

  8. Penal colony establishedNew Caledonia

All 15 events in the 1860s →7 more not shown here

14 events · 13 nations

The 1870s

Every theme in the 1870s →

  1. Annexation to the Cape ColonyLesotho

  2. Ottoman return to the highlandsYemen

  3. Traders, missionaries, and labour recruiters arrivePapua New Guinea

  4. Deed of Cession to BritainFiji

  5. The Gold Coast becomes a crown colonyGhana

  6. Brazza explores the OgoouéGabon

  7. Russia annexes Kokand; Kyrgyzstan under imperial ruleKyrgyzstan

  8. Khanates absorbed into Russian TurkestanUzbekistan

All 14 events in the 1870s →6 more not shown here

33 events · 30 nations

The 1880s

Every theme in the 1880s →

  1. Brazza's treaty with MakokoCongo

  2. The concessions eraEswatini

  3. Treaty of BardoTunisia

  4. British occupation beginsEgypt

  5. Douala treaty and German protectorateCameroon

  6. Lagarde extends French controlDjibouti

  7. German colonial expansionGermany

  8. Founding of ConakryGuinea

All 33 events in the 1880s →25 more not shown here

41 events · 33 nations

The 1890s

Every theme in the 1890s →

  1. Conquest of the Ovimbundu kingdomsAngola

  2. Burundi assigned to German East AfricaBurundi

  3. Colony of Eritrea proclaimedEritrea

  4. The Lochner ConcessionZambia

  5. Colony of French Guinea establishedGuinea

  6. British Central Africa Protectorate proclaimedMalawi

  7. Mozambique Company charteredMozambique

  8. A separate military districtGuinea-Bissau

All 41 events in the 1890s →33 more not shown here

19 events · 17 nations

The 1900s

Every theme in the 1900s →

  1. Battle of KoussériChad

  2. Treaty of Paris fixes Río MuniEquatorial Guinea

  3. The Buganda AgreementUganda

  4. Colony and Protectorate establishedGambia

  5. Asante annexed and Northern Territories addedGhana

  6. Coppolani's pacification campaign beginsMauritania

  7. Fall of the Sokoto CaliphateNigeria

  8. Côte d'Ivoire joins French West AfricaIvory Coast

All 19 events in the 1900s →11 more not shown here

21 events · 19 nations

The 1910s

Every theme in the 1910s →

  1. Chad joins French Equatorial AfricaChad

  2. Middle Congo joins French Equatorial AfricaCongo

  3. Kept out of the Union of South AfricaEswatini

  4. Gabon joins French Equatorial AfricaGabon

  5. Kept out of the Union of South AfricaLesotho

  6. Japanese annexation of KoreaNorth Korea

  7. Japanese annexation of KoreaSouth Korea

  8. Annexation and colonial governmentSouth Korea

All 21 events in the 1910s →13 more not shown here

15 events · 15 nations

The 1920s

Every theme in the 1920s →

  1. Effective occupation completedAngola

  2. British mandate and the Iraqi revoltIraq

  3. Kenya Colony createdKenya

  4. Creation of Greater LebanonLebanon

  5. Colony of French SoudanMali

  6. League of Nations mandateNamibia

  7. Arab Kingdom of Syria and the French MandateSyria

  8. League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-UrundiBurundi

All 15 events in the 1920s →7 more not shown here

8 events · 8 nations

The 1930s

Every theme in the 1930s →

  1. The Southern Policy formalisedSouth Sudan

  2. Upper Volta partitionedBurkina Faso

  3. Ethnic identity cards introducedRwanda

  4. Creation of Italian LibyaLibya

  5. Completion of the conquestMauritania

  6. Italian Somaliland joins Italian East AfricaSomalia

  7. Aden becomes a Crown ColonyYemen

  8. Forced labor and wartime mobilizationSouth Korea

All 8 events in the 1930s →

3 events · 3 nations

The 1940s

Every theme in the 1940s →

  1. Sétif massacreAlgeria

  2. Separate overseas territoryComoros

  3. Upper Volta reconstitutedBurkina Faso

All 3 events in the 1940s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1950s

Every theme in the 1950s →

  1. Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland createdMalawi

  2. Federation of Rhodesia and NyasalandZambia

All 2 events in the 1950s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1970s

Every theme in the 1970s →

  1. Decolonisation of the African empirePortugal

All 1 events in the 1970s →