Colonialism: Did you mean...?

Philip II of Macedon (359-336 BCE) envisaged a broad Macedonian kingdom and his colonial expansion resulted in the forging of an empire that his son Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE) would use as a springboard...

In this gallery of seven maps, we examine the vast overseas territories of the Spanish Empire from the late 15th century to the 19th century. The empire reached its height during the Age of Exploration and included...

The British East India Company (EIC) was founded as a trading company in 1600. Run by a board of directors in London, the company employed a private army, first to protect the trade it conducted in the Indian...

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you (thank you). Support your local station here: http://to.pbs.org/DonateORIG ↓ More info and sources below ↓ Here in the United States, when we think about the...

The reign of Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603 CE) witnessed an extraordinary spurt of exploration as tiny wooden ships boldly set sail from English shores to cross the world's oceans. Famous mariners like...

European colonization in North America developed gradually between the late 15th century and the mid-18th century, beginning with maritime exploration...

Between c. 1450 and 1650, demand for spices and other high-value plant commodities became an important catalyst for European maritime expansion. Pepper, cinnamon, cloves...

A cartoon in the French magazine "L'illustration" (January 3, 1885) presenting a critical view of the Berlin Conference 1884-5. It depicts Otto von Bismarck (1815-98), Chancellor of Germany, cutting a cake labeled...

Portugal established the first and longest-lasting of Europe’s overseas empires, developing a maritime-commercial network that connected the Atlantic...

A map illustrating the British Raj around 1930, a period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent that began in 1858. Following the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, also known as the First War of Independence, the...