The history of colonialism can be divided into several phases, each marked by significant events and shifts in power dynamics. Below is a timeline highlighting key moments in the history of colonialism from the early 15th century to the late 20th century.
15th Century (1400–1499)
1402 – [Castile] Invasion of Canary Islands.
1415 – [Portugal] Conquest of Ceuta.
1420‑1425 – [Portugal] Settlement of Madeira.
1433‑1436 – [Portugal] Settlement of Azores.
1445 – [Portugal] Trading post on Arguin Island.
1450 – [Portugal] Trading post on Gorée Island.
1462 – [Portugal] Settlement of Cape Verde islands.
1470 – [Portugal] Settlement of Bioko island.
1474 – [Portugal] Settlement of Annobón island.
1482 – [Portugal] Construction of Elmina Castle.
1492 – [Spain] First cross‑Atlantic trip of Columbus.
1493 – [Portugal] Settlement of São Tomé and Príncipe.16th Century (1500–1599)
1510 – [Portugal] Conquest of Goa.
1511 – [Portugal] Conquest of Malacca City.
1517 – [Portugal] Conquest of Colombo.
1519‑1521 – [Spain] Conquest of the Aztec Empire.
1532‑1536 – [Spain] Conquest of the Inca Empire.
1556 – [Portugal] Colonization of Timor.
1557 – [Portugal] Trading post in Macau.
1556‑1599 – [Spain] Conquest of Philippines.
1565 – [Spain] Settlement of St. Augustine, Florida.
1598 – [Netherlands] Colony on Mauritius (abandoned 1710).17th Century (1600–1699)
1604 – [France] Settlement of Acadia.
1605 – [France] Settlement of Port‑Royal, Nova Scotia.
1607 – [England] Settlement of Jamestown, Virginia.
1608 – [Netherlands] First trading post in India (Golconda).
1608 – [France] Settlement of Quebec, Canada.
1610 – [England] Settlement of Cuper’s Cove, Newfoundland.
1610 – [Spain] Settlement of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
1612 – [England] Settlement of Bermuda.
1613 – [Netherlands] Dutch East India Company expands in Java.
1615 – [Netherlands] Fort Nassau (later Albany, NY).
1620 – [England] Settlement of Plymouth Colony.
1621 – [Scotland] Settlement of Nova Scotia.
1623 – [England] Settlement of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
1623 – [Netherlands] Amboyna massacre; English close Hirado base.
1625 – [Netherlands] New Amsterdam (later New York City).
1630 – [England] Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1632 – [England] Williamsburgh, Virginia.
1633 – [Netherlands] Fort Hoop (Hartford, CT).
1633 – [England] Windsor, Connecticut.
1634 – [England] Maryland Colony.
1634 – [England] Wethersfield, Connecticut.
1635 – [England] Territory of Sagadahock.
1636 – [England] Providence Plantations (Rhode Island).
1636 – [England] Connecticut Colony.
1638 – [England] New Haven Colony.
1638 – [Sweden] Fort Christina (Wilmington, DE).
1638 – [England] Hampton, New Hampshire.
1639 – [Spain] San Marcos.
1640 – [Sweden] Swedesboro.
1651 – [Netherlands] Fort Casimir.
1660 – [Netherlands] Bergen.
1664 – [France] French East India Company chartered.
1670 – [England] Charleston, South Carolina.
1682 – [England] Pennsylvania (Quakers).
1683 – [France] Fort Saint Louis (Illinois).
1683 – [Scotland] East New Jersey.
1684 – [Scotland] Stuarts Town, Carolina.
1685 – [France] Fort Saint Louis (Texas).
1698 – [Spain] Pensacola, Florida.
1699 – [France] Louisiana (New France).18th Century (1700–1799)
1704 – [Great Britain] Capture of Gibraltar.
1713 – [Great Britain] Treaty of Utrecht – gains Gibraltar, Acadia, Newfoundland, Hudson Bay.
1756‑1763 – [Great Britain] Seven Years’ War – wins Canada.
1775‑1783 – [Great Britain] American War of Independence (first successful colonial revolt).
1783 – [Great Britain] Treaty of Paris – recognizes US independence.
1784 – [Great Britain] Pitt’s India Act reorganizes East India Company.19th Century (1800–1899)
1792 – [Great Britain] Victory in Third Anglo‑Mysore War.
1793‑1815 – [France] Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
1804‑1865 – [Russia] Expansion across Siberia to Pacific.
1804‑1813 – [Ottoman Empire] Serbian uprising (Ottoman rule).
1807 – [Great Britain] Slave Trade Act criminalizes international slave trade.
1810‑1820s – [Spain] Spanish American wars of independence.
1810‑1821 – [Spain] Mexican War of Independence.
1814‑1815 – [Austria, Russia, Prussia, Britain] Congress of Vienna.
1815‑1817 – [Ottoman Empire] Second Serbian uprising → autonomy.
1819 – [Great Britain] Stamford Raffles founds Singapore.
1821‑1832 – [Ottoman Empire] Greek War of Independence → Greek victory.
1822 – [Portugal] Independence of Brazil (proclaimed by Dom Pedro I).
1823 – [United States] Monroe Doctrine (co‑operated with Britain).
1830 – [France] Start of conquest of Algeria.
1833 – [Great Britain] Slavery Abolition Act frees slaves in British Empire.
1839‑1842 – [Great Britain] First Opium War against China.
1842 – [Great Britain] Treaty of Nanking – opens China, cedes Hong Kong.
1845‑1846 – [Great Britain] Oregon boundary dispute settled with US.
1846 – [Great Britain] Repeal of Corn Laws.
1845‑1848 – [United States] Mexican–American War (US acquires SW territory).
1848‑1849 – [Great Britain] Second Sikh War – annexes Punjab.
1857 – [Great Britain] Indian Rebellion suppressed.
1858 – [Great Britain] Government of India transferred to Crown.
1861‑1867 – [France] French intervention in Mexico (withdraws 1865‑67).
1862 – [France] Treaty of Saigon – occupies three provinces in southern Vietnam.
1863 – [France] Protectorate over Cambodia.
1867 – [Great Britain] British North America Act creates Dominion of Canada.
1874 – [France] Second Treaty of Saigon – controls all South Vietnam.
1875‑1900 – [Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy] Scramble for Africa.
1878 – [Austria‑Hungary] Occupation of Bosnia‑Herzegovina.
1878 – [Ottoman Empire] Treaty of Berlin – Romania, Serbia, Montenegro independent.
1884 – [France] Vietnam becomes a unified colony.
1885 – [Belgium] King Leopold II establishes Congo Free State.
1893 – [France] Protectorate over Laos.
1895 – [France] Creation of French West Africa.
1898 – [Spain] Spanish–American War – loses Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Guam.
1898 – [United States] Treaty of Paris – US takes Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico.
1900 – [France, Great Britain] Fashoda Incident settled peacefully.20th Century (1900–1999)
1900‑1908 – [Belgium] King Leopold denounced for Congo atrocities.
1908 – [Austria‑Hungary] Annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1917 – [United States] Jones Act – US citizenship to Puerto Ricans.
1918 – [Austria‑Hungary] Empire ends; Austria republic, Hungary kingdom, new states created.
1919 – [League of Nations] German and Ottoman colonies become mandates (Britain, France, Belgium, etc.).
1936 – [Italy] Conquest of Ethiopia → Italian East Africa.
1944 – [Soviet Union] Annexation of Tuva.
1945‑1999 – Decolonization: over 100 new countries gain independence (from Indonesia 1945 to Macau 1999).
