1583    Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St John's, Newfoundland.

1607    Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.

1619    38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (this is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas).

1682    William Penn receives the area that is now the state of Delaware, and adds it to his colony of Pennsylvania.

1683    William Penn brings 13 German immigrant families to the colony of Pennsylvania, marking the first major immigration of German people to America.

1784    Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska.

1840    The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.

1856    The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the second piece of legislation (the Electoral Act of 1856) anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot.

1890    Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.

1910    Japan changes Korea's name to ''Chōsen'' and appoints a governor-general to rule its new colony.

1914    World War I: the German colony of Togoland is invaded by French and British forces, who take it after 5 days.

1940    Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.