Colonialism / Empire Country & Region Table

Use this as a linked note beside the canvas. Dates are approximate where conquest or consolidation happened over decades. “Decolonized” means formal end of external imperial sovereignty or direct colonial administration; it does not necessarily mean full social, economic, or indigenous sovereignty.

Region / country	Imperial controller	Conquest / control begins	Duration	Formal exit / decolonization	Notes
Egypt	Assyrian Empire	671 BCE	Short/intermittent	7th c. BCE Assyrian withdrawal/collapse	Early example of Near Eastern imperial conquest.
Egypt	Achaemenid Persia	525 BCE	c. 200 yrs, interrupted	332 BCE, Alexander	Satrapy system; local rebellions.
Judea / Levant	Babylonian / Persian / Hellenistic / Roman powers	6th c. BCE onward	Centuries under successive empires	No modern decolonization equivalent	Good case for serial imperial rule.
Gaul / France	Roman Republic/Empire	58–50 BCE	c. 500 yrs in Roman system	5th c. CE western collapse	Conquest followed by provincial integration.
Britain	Roman Empire	43 CE	c. 367 yrs	c. 410 CE Roman withdrawal	Often studied as conquest/occupation rather than modern colonialism.
Egypt / Levant / North Africa	Arab Islamic Caliphates	630s–700s	Varied by region	Fragmentation into local dynasties; later Ottoman or European rule	Religious, linguistic, administrative transformation.
Iberia / al-Andalus	Umayyad and successor Muslim polities	711	Varied; up to 781 yrs in Granada	1492 fall of Granada	Not “decolonization” in modern sense; Reconquista/state formation.
China	Mongol Yuan dynasty	1271/1279	c. 89 yrs	1368 Ming expulsion	Conquest dynasty ruling China.
Russia / Rus lands	Mongol Golden Horde suzerainty	1237–1240s	c. 200+ yrs	1480 traditional end of Tatar yoke	Suzerainty, tribute, indirect rule.
Constantinople / Byzantium	Ottoman Empire	1453	c. 469 yrs	1922 Ottoman abolition; Turkish Republic 1923	Imperial capital transformed into Ottoman center.
Balkans	Ottoman Empire	14th–16th c.	Varied, often centuries	19th–early 20th c. national independence	Greece 1830; Bulgaria 1908; Balkan Wars.
Egypt	Ottoman Empire	1517	c. 365 yrs nominal	British occupation 1882; independence 1922/1952	Ottoman rule became layered with local and British power.
Mexico / Aztec Empire	Spain	1519–1521	c. 300 yrs	1821 Mexican independence	Conquest, viceroyalty, demographic collapse, missions, mines.
Peru / Inca Empire	Spain	1532–1572	c. 250–290 yrs	1821–1824 Peruvian independence consolidated	Conquest and viceroyal administration.
Brazil	Portugal	1500/1530s	c. 300 yrs	1822 independence	Became empire under Dom Pedro rather than republic initially.
Philippines	Spain	1565	c. 333 yrs	1898 transferred to U.S.; U.S. independence 1946	Spanish then U.S. colonial sequence.
India	British East India Company / British Crown	1757/1765; Crown 1858	c. 190 yrs from Plassey; 89 yrs Crown Raj	1947 India/Pakistan independence and Partition	Mixed direct rule and princely states.
Algeria	France	1830–1847 conquest	c. 132 yrs	1962 independence	Settler colonialism and brutal war, 1954–1962.
Vietnam	France	1858 invasion; Indochina 1887	c. 70–90 yrs	1954 French withdrawal framework	Continued war after French exit.
Congo	Leopold II / Belgium	1885	75 yrs	1960 independence	Congo Free State 1885–1908; Belgian Congo 1908–1960.
Nigeria	Britain	Lagos 1861; Protectorates 1880s–1900; amalgamation 1914	c. 46–99 yrs depending start	1960 independence	Major case of indirect rule and amalgamation.
Kenya	Britain	Protectorate 1895; colony 1920	c. 68 yrs from protectorate	1963 independence	Settler colony; Mau Mau emergency.
Ghana / Gold Coast	Britain	19th c. consolidation	c. 100 yrs	1957 independence	First sub-Saharan African British colony to become independent.
Indonesia / Dutch East Indies	Netherlands	17th c. VOC; state colony 1800	c. 150–300 yrs depending region	1945 proclamation; 1949 Dutch recognition	Archipelagic empire; Japanese occupation disrupted Dutch rule.
Korea	Japan	1910 annexation	35 yrs	1945 Japanese defeat	Liberation followed by division and war.
Taiwan	Japan	1895	50 yrs	1945 transferred to Republic of China	Acquired after First Sino-Japanese War.
Angola	Portugal	16th c. coastal; 19th–20th c. interior	Varied, centuries/coastal; modern colony until 1975	1975 independence	Colonial war plus Portuguese regime collapse.
Mozambique	Portugal	16th c. coastal; 19th–20th c. interior	Varied, centuries/coastal; modern colony until 1975	1975 independence	FRELIMO war and negotiated exit after Carnation Revolution.
Hong Kong	Britain	1842 island; Kowloon 1860; New Territories lease 1898	155 yrs from 1842	1997 transfer to China	Often treated as last major British colony.
Western Sahara	Spain, then disputed Moroccan control	Spanish colony from 1884	Spanish rule c. 91 yrs	Spain withdrew 1975; status unresolved	On UN non-self-governing territories list.
Guam	Spain then United States	Spain 1668; U.S. 1898	U.S. control since 1898	Not decolonized; U.S. territory	On UN non-self-governing territories list.
New Caledonia	France	1853	French control since 1853	Not independent; referendums 2018–2021 rejected independence	On UN non-self-governing territories list.

colonialism_empires_country_table

Colonialism / Empire Country & Region Table

Core sources in markdown format