Countries and their territories (colonies) in 1945

Puerto Rico, considered by some to be "the world's oldest colony".^[1][2][3]

File:Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories.djvu

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception. The metropolitan state is the state that owns the colony. In Ancient Greece, the city that founded a colony was called the metropolis. Mother country is a reference to the metropolitan state from the point of view of citizens who live in its colony. There is a United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

A colony is mostly ruled by another state or can be run independently. Unlike a puppet state or satellite state, a colony has no independent international representation, and its top-level administration is under direct control of the metropolitan state.

The term "informal colony" is used by some historians to describe a country which is under the de facto control of another state, although this description is often contentious.

Definitions[link]

The word Colony comes from the Latin word colōnia. This in turn derives from the word colōnus, which means colonist but also implies a farmer. Cologne is an example of a settlement preserving this etymology. Other, less obvious settlements that began as Roman colonia include cities from Belgrade to York. A telltale sign of a settlement once being a Roman Colony is a city centre with a grid pattern.^[4] The terminology is taken from architectural analogy, where a column pillar is beneath the (often stylized) head capital, which is also a biological analog of the body as subservient beneath the controlling head (with 'capital' coming from the Latin caput, meaning 'head'). So colonies are not independently self-controlled, but rather are controlled from a separate entity that serves the capital function.

Roman colonies first appeared when the Romans conquered neighbouring italic peoples. These were small farming settlements that appeared when the Romans had subdued an enemy in war. A colony could take many forms, as a trade outpost or a military base in enemy territory, but its original definition as a settlement created by people migrating from a home territory became the modern definition.

Colonies in ancient civilizations (examples)[link]

See Colonies in antiquity.

• Alexandria formed as a Greek colony
• Carthage was a Phoenician colony
• Cyrene was a colony of the Greeks of Thera
• Durrës formed as a Greek colony
• Marseille formed as a Greek colony
• Cologne formed as a Roman colony, and its modern name refers to the Latin term "Colonia".

Modern colonies (examples, organized alphabetically)[link]

• Angola: a colony of Portugal across several centuries. Independent since 1975.
• Australia: In 1770 some of the eastern coastline of Australia is claimed as British territory by the British explorer, Lieutenant James Cook. The First Fleet was sent to Australia to start a penal colony in 1788. Eventually, Australia became a Federation in 1901.
• Brazil: a colony of Portugal across several centuries. Independent since 1822.
• Canada: colonised by first France, as New France (1534-1763), then under British rule (1763–1867), before achieving Dominion status.
• Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 to 1997, and Macau was a Portuguese colony from 1557 to 1999. Both are now Special Administrative Regions of China.
• Starting in the 16th century, parts of modern India belonged to Portugal and were collectively known as Portuguese India until 1961. Parts of India were also under the direct control of the government of the United Kingdom between 1858 and 1947. See also Crown colony.
• Indonesia was a Dutch colony for 350 years, from 1600 to 1945/49, occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945.
• Mozambique: a colony of Portugal across several centuries. Independent since 1975.
• Philippines, previously a colony of Spain from 1521^[6] to 1898, was a colony of the United States from 1898 to 1946. During World War II between 1942 and 1945, it was occupied by the Japanese forces.
• Portuguese Guinea: a colony of Portugal across several centuries. Independent since 1974.
• Taiwan was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples closely related linguistically, culturally and genetically to the Filipino people and more distantly to the Polynesians. In the 13th century, people from China's Song Dynasty had been migrating to Taiwan - however, the migration was small due to the island's harsh terrain and hostile local tribes. In the 17th century, most of southern Taiwan was a Dutch colony for 37 years before Koxinga, an anti-Manchu and Ming loyalist controlled the island by defeating the Dutch. In 1683, the Qing Dynasty defeated Koxinga's descendants and ruled over the island, and was made part of Fujian Province till 1885, when it was elevated to become a province in its own right. In 1895, the Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to the Empire of Japan following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War. After the defeat of Japan in World War II, Taiwan has been administered by the Republic of China, which has been based there following its retreat from mainland China after losing a civil war to the communists in 1949.
• The United States, originally thirteen distinct English (or British, if founded after the Acts of Union of 1707) colonies in British America. The Colony of Virginia, later to become the U.S. states of Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia, was the first of the thirteen colonies and was under English and then British rule from 1607 until 1783, at least nominally. The United States also founded their own colonies in both the Atlantic and Pacific regions, such as Madisonville on the island of Nuku Hiva in 1813 and Monrovia in 1821.

Current colonies (examples)[link]

Few colonies in the traditional sense of the term remain, with exceptions listed below. However, the Channel Islands are not UK colonies but a remnant of the Duchy of Normandy. Some of the former colonies have been integrated as dependent areas or have closer integration with the country.

Of Morocco

• Río de Oro/Western Sahara is considered by many to be a colony of Morocco, and the last colony on the African continent.^[7]

Of Chile

• Easter Island is a special territory incorporated to Chile. Today, natives have full rights as Chilean citizens.

Of France

• French Polynesia
• Saint Barthélemy
• Saint Martin
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Wallis and Futuna
• New Caledonia

Of the United Kingdom

• The British Overseas Territories - such as the British Virgin Islands and Falkland Islands - are former Crown Colonies. Many of the larger, populated territories, have their own political systems but are still under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom and are managed by Governors.

Of the United States

• Similar to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands are considered by some to have a colonial relationship with the United States because their citizens are subject to the laws of the United States Congress passed without their consent.^{[citation needed]} These territories, along with Puerto Rico, are known as unincorporated territories.
• Puerto Rico's subjection to US sovereignty is considered by many countries^[8] to constitute a colonial imposition because Puerto Ricans are subject to laws passed by the United States Congress without their consent, due to constitutional exclusion from electoral participation in elections of the officials that hold ultimate sovereignty over their national government, and because its population does not enjoy the full citizenship rights of the United States Constitution.^{[citation needed]} According to the US President's Task Force Report on the Political Status of Puerto Rico^[9] the US may dispose of Puerto Rico by transferring it to another sovereign country as a mere disposition of property.^[10][11] In a 2007 letter addressed to then-United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the then-governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, accused the US of having deceived the United Nations and the international community in 1953, when it succeeded in having the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico recognized as a provisional decolonized status subject to continued monitoring; Acevedo Vilá stated that it was ironic that this is the position taken by the Government of Iran and that the Governor of Puerto Rico will soon feel forced to support Iran's claims regarding the US government's alleged-hypocritical actions with regards to Puerto Rico's "colonial" status.^[12][13] On June 15, 2009, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution calling on the Government of the United States to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.^[14] Subsequent actions by the governments of the United States and Puerto Rico paved the way for the Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012, scheduled to be held on 6 November 2012.^[15] See Puerto Rico Recent developments for more information.

Of New Zealand

• Tokelau is a colony of New Zealand.

See also[link]

• Internal colony
• United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
• Space colonization
• Settler colonialism
• Crown colony
• Proprietary colony
• Commonwealth

References[link]

External links[link]

• Non-Self-Governing Territories Listed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002
• Siberia : History (covers Siberia as Russian colony)

v t e United Nations list of Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories (The United Nations Trusteeship Agreements or were listed by the General Assembly official document as Non-Self-Governing her was independence or other change in a Territory's status, after which information was no longer submitted to the United Nations.) Australia Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Papua  · Nauru Trust Territory · New Guinea Trust Territory Belgium Belgian Congo · Ruanda-Urundi Trust Territory Denmark Greenland France French Equatorial Africa · (Middle Congo) · (Ubangi Shari) · French Establishments in India · French Establishments in Oceania · French Guiana · French Somaliland · French West Africa · (French Guinea) · (French Sudan) · (Niger Colony) · Guadeloupe and Dependencies · Indo-China · Madagascar and Dependencies · Martinique · Morocco · New Caledonia and Dependencies · New Hebrides(Under Anglo French Condominium) · Réunion · St. Pierre and Miquelon · Tunisia · Cameroons Trust Territory · French Togoland Trust Territory Italy Somaliland Trust Territory Netherlands Netherlands Indies · Netherlands New Guinea · Netherlands Antilles · Surinam New Zealand Cook Islands · Niue Island · Western Samoa Trust Territory Portugal Angola, including the enclave of Cabinda · Cape Verde Archipelago · Goa and Dependencies · Portuguese Guinea · Macau and Dependencies · Mozambique · São João Baptista de Ajudá · Sao Tome and Principe · East Timor South Africa South West Africa Spain Fernando Póo and Rí Muni · Ifni United Kingdom Aden Colony and Protectorate · Bahamas · Barbados · Basutoland · Bechuanaland Protectorate · British Guiana · British Honduras · British Somaliland · Brunei · Cyprus · Fiji · Gambia · Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony · Gold Coast Colony and Protectorate · Hong Kong · Jamaica · Kenya · Leeward Islands(Antigua) · (St. Kitts- Nevis-Anguilla) · Malayan Union · Malta · Mauritius · Nigeria · North Borneo · Northern Rhodesia · Nyasaland · Sarawak · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Solomon Islands · Southern Rhodesia · Swaziland · Trinidad and Tobago · Uganda · Windward Islands (Dominica) · (Grenada) · (St. Lucia) · (St. Vincent) · Zanzibar · Cameroons · Togoland · Tanganyka Trust Territory United States Alaska · Hawaii · Panama Canal Zone · Puerto Rico · Pacific Islands Trust Territory Annotation: Change in Status • Joined • Independence  Category ·  Portal

Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne, September 2008
Born	Laurence John Fishburne III (1961-07-30) July 30, 1961 (age 50) Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Other names	Larry Fishburne
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, playwright
Years active	1972–present
Spouse	Hajna O. Moss (1985 – 199?), Gina Torres (2002 – current)
Children	Langston Fishburne (b.1987) Montana Fishburne (b.1991) Delilah Fishburne (b.2007)
Website
http://www.laurence-fishburne.com

Laurence John Fishburne III^[1] (born July 30, 1961) is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner in the Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got to Do With It. He became the first African American to portray Othello in a motion picture by a major studio when he appeared in Oliver Parker's 1995 film adaptation of the Shakespeare play. From 2008 to 2011, he starred as Dr. Raymond Langston on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Fishburne has won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Two Trains Running (1992) and an Emmy Award for Drama Series Guest Actor for his performance in TriBeCa (1993).

Early years[link]

Fishburne was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of Hattie Bell (née Crawford), a junior high school mathematics and science teacher, and Laurence John Fishburne, Jr., a juvenile corrections officer.^[2] His parents divorced during his childhood, and he moved with his mother to Brooklyn, New York, where he was raised. Fishburne's father saw him once a month.^[3][4] He is a graduate of Lincoln Square Academy in New York, which closed in the 1980s.

Career[link]

1970s[link]

Fishburne started acting at age eleven (according to his January 13, 2012 interview on The View which commemorated One Life to Live) getting his first job in 1973 as a short-lived member of the Mod Squad followed by portraying Joshua Hall on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live. He was initially cast in the hit television series Good Times, but the role was eventually given to Ralph Carter. Fishburne's most memorable childhood role was in Cornbread, Earl and Me in which he played a young boy who witnessed the police shooting of a popular high school basketball star. Fishburne later earned a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, in which he played a 17-year-old sailor nicknamed 'Mr. Clean'. When production began in March 1976 he was just fourteen, apparently lying about his age to get the part. Filming took so long that he was seventeen upon its completion. Fishburne was also a guest star on Mash as "Corporal Dorsey" in "The Tooth Shall Set You Free" (episode 1014).

1980s[link]

Fishburne spent much of the 1980s in and out of television and periodically on stage. In the early 1980s, he worked as a bouncer at punk rock clubs.^[5] He had a minor role in the critically acclaimed Steven Spielberg film The Color Purple. He also had a role in the 1984 movie The Cotton Club. Fishburne had a recurring role as Cowboy Curtis on Paul Reubens' CBS children's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse. He also appeared in the M*A*S*H episode, "The Tooth Shall Set You Free", as Corporal Dorsey (billed as Larry Fishburne in the credits). In Spenser: For Hire, he was a guest star for the 2nd season episode "Personal Demons". He appeared as a thug named Cutter in Death Wish 2 (1982). He also appeared alongside Kevin Bacon in Quicksilver. His stage work during the 1980s included Short Eyes (1984), and Loose Ends (1987), both produced at Second Stage Theatre in New York City. Also in 1987 he played a part in the third Nightmare On Elm Street film as a hospital orderly. Fishburne played as Lt. Charlie Stobbs (under Larry Fishburne) in Red Heat (1988) beside Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi. Fishburne also starred as "Dap" in Spike Lee's School Daze (1988). Fishburne's character was the depiction of an African American, culturally inclined college student at an HBCU (Historically Black College/University).

1990s[link]

In 1990, he played Jimmy Jump in the controversial King of New York, and in 1991, Fishburne starred in Boyz n the Hood. The following year, in 1992, he won a Tony Award for his stage performance in the August Wilson play, Two Trains Running and an Emmy Award^[6] for his performance in the opening episode, "The Box," of the short-lived anthology series television drama TriBeCa. He also starred in "Deep Cover" along side Jeff Goldblum. In 1993, he received his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do With It. In an 1995 American drama film, starring an ensemble cast, Laurence Fishburne won an Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture" for his performance in Higher Learning as West Indian Professor Maurice Phipps. He played the title role in Othello, the second African American actor, behind Paul Robeson to be so cast. In 1997, Fishburne starred in the science fiction horror Event Horizon alongside Sam Neill. Fishburne is perhaps best known for his role as Morpheus, the hacker-mentor of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, in the 1999 blockbuster science fiction film, The Matrix, he gained a significant amount of weight for the following sequels to give the character more screen presence.

2000s – 2010s[link]

Fishburne provided the voice of Thrax in Osmosis Jones in 2001. Fishburne reprised his role as Morpheus in the Matrix sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. He briefly featured as a stretcher-bearer in one version of the video for The Spooks' song "Things I've Seen" (2000) and appeared with Tom Cruise as Theodore Brassell, IMF superior of Cruise's character in Mission: Impossible III.

Fishburne has worked with actress Angela Bassett on four projects. He said that "An electrifying thing happens when the two of us work together. I haven't experienced it with anyone else. A freedom happens when we work together."^{[cite this quote]} In 2006, they appeared onstage in a Pasadena Playhouse production of August Wilson's Fences.^[7]

He provided the voice of the narrator in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) movie, which was released on March 23, 2007.^[8] The same year, he provided the voice of the Silver Surfer in 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

On February 24, 2007, Fishburne was honored with the Harvard Foundation's Artist of the Year award at the annual show Cultural Rhythms. He received this honor for his prowess as an actor and entertainer and for his humanitarian pursuits. Fishburne is a UNICEF ambassador.^[9] The mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mayor Kenneth Reeves awarded him the key to the city and declared February 24 "Laurence Fishburne" day in the city of Cambridge.^[10]

In April 2008, Fishburne returned to the stage in the Broadway production of Thurgood, a new play by George Stevens, Jr. Thurgood opened at the Booth Theatre on April 30, 2008.^[11] He won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show for his performance.

On August 18, 2008, it was reported that Laurence Fishburne would join the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation after William Petersen (aka Gil Grissom) left the series. John Malkovich was also considered for the role prior to the announcement.^[12] Fishburne joined the show on the ninth episode of the 9th season as a college professor and former pathologist whose area of expertise involves some criminals' predisposition to commit acts of violence.^[13] The character was introduced as a consultant on a case ("19 Down"), who winds up joining the CSI team ("One to Go").

In May 2009, Fishburne performed on-stage in the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C.^[14]

Fishburne starred in 2010's Predators.^[15] He co-starred with Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, and Marion Cotillard in Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011).^[16]

Fishburne also starred in a one-man play about Thurgood Marshall at the Kennedy Center.

On June 7, 2011, Fishburne announced that he was leaving C.S.I. to return to movies and theatre, opting not to renew his contract and would not appear in Season 12.

On August 2, 2011 it was announced that Fishburne had been cast in the role of Perry White in the Christopher Nolan produced, Zack Snyder directed Superman reboot Man of Steel.^[17] This will mark the first time that the character has been played by an African American actor.

Personal life[link]

Fishburne in September 2006.

Fishburne married actress Hajna O. Moss in 1985,^{[citation needed]} in New York. They have two children together: a son, Langston, born in 1987,^{[citation needed]} and a daughter, Montana, born in 1991. Hajna and Laurence divorced in the 1990s. In 2010, it was reported that Fishburne had cut ties with his daughter Montana Fishburne after she started starring in hardcore pornographic films.^[18][19][20]

Fishburne met actress Gina Torres while filming The Matrix Reloaded. He and Torres were engaged in February 2001 and married on September 22, 2002,^[21] at The Cloisters museum in New York City. On January 8, 2007, Fishburne's spokesman Alan Nierob announced the couple were expecting their first child together.^[22][23] A daughter, Delilah, was born to the couple in June 2007.^[24]

Fishburne lives in Hollywood^[25] and also maintains a residence in New York City, in the Castle Village Co-Op in the Hudson Heights section of Washington Heights.^[26] He is a big fan of Paulo Coelho and plans to produce a movie based on the novel The Alchemist.^[27]

Filmography[link]

Stage and screen credits[link]

Stage[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Theatre[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Laurence Fishburne

• The Official Website of Actor Laurence Fishburne
• Laurence Fishburne at the Internet Broadway Database
• Laurence Fishburne at the Internet Movie Database
• Laurence Fishburne at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Laurence Fishburne at Yahoo! Movies
• Laurence Fishburne at Emmys.com