ThisTimeline of European imperialism covers episodes ofimperialism outside of Europe by western nations since 1400; for other countries, seeImperialism § Imperialism by country.

• 1402 Castillian invasion ofCanary Islands.
• 1415 Portuguese conquest ofCeuta.
• 1420-1425 Portuguese settlement ofMadeira.
• 1433-1436 Portuguese settlement ofAzores.
• 1445 Portuguese construction of trading post onArguin Island.
• 1450 Portuguese construction of trading post onGorée Island.
• 1462 Portuguese settlement ofCape Verde islands.
• 1470 Portuguese settlement ofBioko island.
• 1474 Portuguese settlement ofAnnobón island.
• 1482 Portuguese construction ofElmina Castle.
• 1492 – first cross-Atlantic trip ofColumbus for Spain.
• 1493 Portuguese settlement ofSão Tomé and Príncipe.
• 1510 Portuguese conquest ofGoa.
• 1511 Portuguese conquest ofMalacca City.
• 1517 Portuguese conquest ofColombo.
• 1519-21Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
• 1532-36Spanish conquest of the Inca empire.
• 1556 Portuguese colonization ofTimor.
• 1557 Portuguese construction of trading post inMacau.
• 1556-1599 Spanish conquest ofPhilippines.
• 1598: Dutch established colony on uninhabited island ofMauritius; they abandon it in 1710.^[1]
• 1608: Dutch opened their first trading post in India at Golconda.^[2]
• 1613: Dutch East India Company expands operations in Java.^[3]
• 1613–20: Netherlands becomes England's major rival in trade, fishing, and whaling. The Dutch form alliances with Sweden and the Hanseatic League; England counters with an alliance with Denmark.^[4]
• 1623. TheAmboyna massacre occurs in Japan with execution of English traders; England closes its commercial base opened in 1613 atHirado. Trade ends for more than two centuries.
• 1664.French East India Company Chartered for trade in Asia and Africa.^[5]

• 1565 –St. Augustine, Florida – Spanish^[6][7]
• 1604 –Acadia – French^[8]
• 1605 –Port-Royal – French; in Nova Scotia
• 1607 –Jamestown, Virginia – English; established byVirginia Company
• 1607 –Popham Colony – English; failed effort in Maine
• 1608 –Quebec, Canada – French
• 1610 –Cuper's Cove, First English settlement in Newfoundland; abandoned by 1820
• 1610 –Santa Fe, New Mexico – Spanish^[9]
• 1612 –Bermuda – English; established byVirginia Company^[10][11]
• 1615 –Fort Nassau – Dutch; became Albany New York
• 1620 –St. John's, Newfoundland – English; capital of Newfoundland
• 1620 –Plymouth Colony, absorbed by Massachusetts Bay– English; small settlement by Pilgrims
• 1621 –Nova Scotia – Scottish
• 1623 –Portsmouth, New Hampshire – English; becomes the Colony of New Hampshire
• 1625 –New Amsterdam – Dutch; becomes New York City
• 1630 –Massachusetts Bay Colony – English; The main Puritan colony.^[12]
• 1632 –Williamsburgh – English; becomes the capital of Virginia.^[13]
• 1633 –Fort Hoop – Dutch settlement; Now part of Hartford Connecticut
• 1633 –Windsor, Connecticut – English
• 1634 –Maryland Colony – English Catholic colony

• 1634 –Wethersfield, Connecticut – First English settlement in Connecticut, comprising migrants from Massachusetts Bay.^[14]
• 1635 –Territory of Sagadahock – English
• 1636 –Providence Plantations – English; became Rhode Island*^[15]
• 1636 –Connecticut Colony – English
• 1638 –New Haven Colony – English; later merged into Connecticut colony
• 1638 –Fort Christina – Swedish; now part of Wilmington Delaware
• 1638 –Hampton, New Hampshire – English^[16]
• 1639 –San Marcos – Spanish
• 1640 –Swedesboro- Swedish
• 1651 –Fort Casimir – Dutch
• 1660 –Bergen – Dutch
• 1670 –Charleston, South Carolina – English^[17]
• 1682 –Pennsylvania – English Quakers;^[18]
• 1683? –Fort Saint Louis (Illinois)- French;^[19]
• 1683 –East New Jersey – Scottish
• 1684 –Stuarts Town, Carolina – Scottish
• 1685 –Fort Saint Louis (Texas)- French
• 1698 –Pensacola, Florida – Spanish (colonized by Tomas Romero II)
• 1699 –Louisiana (New France) – French;^[20]

• 1704:Gibraltar captured by British on 4 August; becomes British naval bastion into the 21st century^[21]
• 1713:Treaty of Utrecht, ends War of the Spanish Succession and gives Britain territorial gains, especially Gibraltar, Acadia, Newfoundland, and the land surrounding Hudson Bay. The lower Great Lakes-Ohio area became a free trade zone.^[22]
• 1756–1763Seven Years' War, Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, the Russian Empire, Sweden, and Saxony. Major battles in Europe and North America, where it was fought as theFrench and Indian War beginning i 1754; the East India Company also in involved in theThird Carnatic War (1756–1763) in India. Britain victorious and takes control of all of Canada; France seeks revenge.^[23][24]
• 1775–1783:American War of Independence asThirteen Colonies revolt against Britain as it implements new policies to subordinate the colonies, endingsalutary neglect. France allies with the United States, and France's ally Spain militarily aids the Americans. Britain has no major allies. It is the first successful colonial insurrection in European history.^[25]
  • 1783:Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War; British give generous terms to US with boundaries asBritish North America on north,Mississippi River on west, Florida on south. Britain gives East and West Florida to Spain^[26]
• 1784: Britain allows trade with America but forbid some American food exports toWest Indies; British exports to America reach £3.7 million, imports only £750,000
• 1784:Pitt's India Act re-organised the BritishEast India Company to minimise corruption; it centralised British rule by increasing the power of theGovernor-General

• 1792: In India, British victory overTipu Sultan inThird Anglo-Mysore War; cession of one half of Mysore to the British and their allies.^[27]
• 1793–1815: Wars of the French Revolution, andNapoleonic Wars; French conquests spread Ideas of the French Revolution, including abolition of serfdom, modern legal systems, and of Holy Roman Empire; stimulate rise of nationalism
• 1804–1865: Russia expand across Siberia to Pacific.^[28]
• 1804–1813:Uprising in Serbia against the rulingOttoman Empire
• 1807: Britain makes the international slave trade criminal;Slave Trade Act 1807; United States criminalizes the international slave trade at the same time.
• 1810–1820s:Spanish American wars of independence^[29]
• 1810–1821:Mexican War of Independence^[30]
• 1814–15:Congress of Vienna; Reverses French conquests; restores reactionaries to power. However, many liberal reforms persist; Russia emerges as a powerful factor in European affairs.^[31]
• 1815–1817:Serbian uprising leading toSerbianautonomy
• 1819:Stamford Raffles founds Singapore as outpost of British Empire.^[32]
• 1821–1823:Greek War of Independence
• 1822: Independence ofBrazil proclaimed byDom Pedro I^[33]
• 1822–27:George Canning in charge of British foreign policy, avoids co-operation with European powers.^[34]
• 1823: United States issuesMonroe Doctrine to preserve newly independent Latin American states; issued in cooperation with Britain, whose goal is to prevent French & Spanish influence and allow British merchants access to the opening markets. American goal is to prevent the New World becoming a battlefield among European powers.^[35]
• 1821–32: Greece winsGreek War of Independence against theOttoman Empire; the 1832Treaty of Constantinople is ratified at theLondon Conference of 1832.
• 1830: Start of theFrench conquest of Algeria^[36]
• 1833:Slavery Abolition Act 1833 frees slaves in British Empire; the owners (who mostly reside in Britain) are paid £20 million.
• 1839–42: Britain wagesFirst Opium War against China
• 1842: Britain forces China to sign theTreaty of Nanking. It opens trade, cedes territory (especially Hong Kong), fixes Chinese tariffs at a low rate, grantsextraterritorial rights to foreigners, and provides both amost favoured nation clause, as well as diplomatic representation.^[37]
• 1845:Oregon boundary dispute threatens war between Great Britain and the United States.^[38]
• 1846:Oregon Treaty ends dispute with the United States. Border settled on the 49th parallel. The British territory becomesBritish Columbia and later joins Canada. The American territory becomesOregon Territory and will later become the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as parts of Wyoming and Montana.^[39][40]
• 1846: TheCorn Laws are repealed; free trade in grain strengthens the British economy By increasing trade with exporting nations.^[41]
• 1845:Republic of Texas voluntarily joins the United States. Annexation causes theMexican–American War, 1846–48.
• 1848: United States victorious inMexican–American War;annexes area from New Mexico to California
• 1848–49:Second Sikh war; theBritish East India Company subjugates theSikh Empire, and annexesPunjab
• 1857:Indian Rebellion suppressed. It has major long-term impact on reluctance to grant independence to Indians.^[42]
• 1858: The government of India transferred from East India Company to the crown; the government appoints a viceroy. He rules portions of India directly, and dominates local princes in the other portions. British rule guarantees that local wars will not happen inside India.^[43][44]
• 1861–1867:French intervention in Mexico; United States demands French withdrawal after 1865; France removes its army, and its puppet Emperor is executed.
• 1862: Treaty of Saigon; France occupies three provinces in southern Vietnam.^[45]
• 1863: France establishes a protectorate overCambodia.
• 1867:British North America Act, 1867 creates the Dominion ofCanada, a federation with internal self-government; foreign and defence matters are still handled by London.^[46]

• 1874:Second Treaty of Saigon, France controls all of South Vietnam
• 1875–1900: Britain, France, Germany, Portugal and Italy join in theScramble for Africa^[47]
• 1876: Korea signs unequal treaty with Japan
• 1878: Austria occupies Bosnia-Herzegovina while Ottoman Empire is at war with Russia
• 1878: Ottoman Empire wins main possessions in Europe;Treaty of Berlin recognising the independence ofRomania,Serbia andMontenegro and the autonomy ofBulgaria
• 1882: Korea signs equal treaties with the United States and others
• 1884: France makes Vietnam a country.
• 1885:King Leopold of Belgium establishes theCongo Free State, under his personal control. There is a role for the government of Belgium until the King's financial difficulties lead to a series of loans; it takes over in 1908.^[48]

• 1893: France makesLaos a protectorate.^[49]
• 1893:Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom
• 1895: Creation ofFrench West Africa (AOF)
• 1896–1910: Japan takes full control of Korea.^[50]
• 1900:Fashoda Incident in Africa threatens war between France and Britain; Settled peacefully
• 1898: United States demands that Spain immediately reform its rule in Cuba; Spain procrastinates; US wins shortSpanish–American War
• 1898: Annexation of theRepublic of Hawaii as a United States territory via theNewlands Resolution^[51]
• 1898: In theTreaty of Paris, the United States obtains thePhilippines,Guam,Puerto Rico, and makesCuba a protectorate.^[52]
• 1899–1900: Anti-imperialist sentiment in the United States mobilizes but fails to stop the expansion.^[53]
• 1900-08: King Leopold is denounced worldwide for his maltreatment of rubber workers in Congo. The campaign is led by journalistE.D. Morel.^[54]
• 1908: Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina; pays compensation and colonial issues. The chief pressure group was theParti colonial, a coalition of 50 organizations with a combined total of 5,000 members.^[55]

• 1917:Jones Act gives full American citizenship to Puerto Ricans.^[56]

• 1918: Austrian Empire ends, Austria becomes a republic, Hungary remains a kingdom, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia become independent

• 1919: German and Ottoman colonies came under the control of the League of Nations, whichdistributed them as "mandates" to Great Britain, France, Japan, Belgium, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.^[57]

• 1936: Italy in a few months (between spring 1935 and summer 1936) conquers Ethiopia, one of two remaining independent territories in Africa, merging it with Somalia, Eritrea, andAussa to createItalian East Africa. Liberia becomes the sole unconquered nation in Africa.

• 1944: By parliamentary decree,Tuva, ade facto independent country in North Asia, is annexed into theSoviet Union, which succeeded the Russian Empire.^[58]

• 1945: Following the defeat ofImperial Japan, formerly Japanese-occupied colonies in Southeast Asia are returned to their Western owners;Burma,Malaya,Borneo andHong Kong to Britain,Indochina,Guangzhouwan,Tianjin andHankou to France,East Indies to Netherlands,Timor to Portugal,Philippines to the United States.Southern Sakhalin is annexed by the Soviet Union.

• 1945–1999: End of European colonialism and decolonization of over 100 new countries from theIndonesian Declaration of Independence on August 17, 1945 to thehandover of Macau on December 20, 1999.

• Timeline of European exploration
• Chronology of Western colonialism
• British Empire
  • Historiography of the British Empire
• French colonial empire
• Timeline of British diplomatic history
• Chinese expansionism
• Empire of Japan
• Inca Empire
• Ottoman Empire
• Timeline of the European colonization of North America

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• Burbank, Jane, and Frederick Cooper.Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference (2011), Very wide-ranging coverage from Rome to the 1980s; 511pp
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• Furber, Holden.Rival Empires of Trade in the Orient, 1600-1800 (1976)
• Furber, Holden, and Boyd C Shafer.Rival Empires of Trade in the Orient, 1600-1800 (1976)
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• Langer, William.An Encyclopedia of World History (5th ed. 1973), very detailed outline; 6th edition ed. by Peter Stearns (2001) has more detail on Third World
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• Savelle, Max.Empires to Nations: Expansion in America, 1713-1824 (1975)
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• Taylor, A.J.P. The Struggle for Mastery in Europe: 1848–1918 (1954)excerpt and text search; advanced analysis Of diplomacy
• Wilson, Henry.The Imperial Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1870 (1977)

• Pakenham, Thomas (1991).The Scramble for Africa, 1876–1912. New York: Random House.ISBN 0-394-51576-5..
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• Cady, John Frank.The roots of French imperialism in Eastern Asia (1967).
• Darby, Phillip.Three Faces of Imperialism: British and American Approaches to Asia and Africa, 1870-1970 (1987)
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• Lebra-Chapman, Joyce.Japan's Greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere in World War II: selected readings and documents (Oxford University Press, 1975)
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• Greene, Jack P., and Philip D. Morgan,Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal, ed. by (Oxford University Press, 2009)
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  • vol 4The Twentieth Century edited by Judith M. Brown, (1998). 773 pgsonline edition
  • vol 5 "Historiography" ed, by Robin W. Winks (1999)
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• Hutton, Patrick H. ed.Historical Dictionary of the Third French Republic, 1870–1940 (2 vol 1986)
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• Lawrence, Adria K.Imperial Rule and the Politics of Nationalism: Anti-Colonial Protest in the French Empire (Cambridge UP, 2013)online reviews
• Rothermund, Dietmar.Memories of Post-Imperial Nations: The Aftermath of Decolonization, 1945-2013 (2015)excerpt; Compares the impact on Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Italy and Japan
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• Page, Melvin E. ed.Colonialism: An International Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia (3 vol. 2003); vol. 3 consists of primary documents

• Historiography of the British Empire
• History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom
• Imperialism
• History of the foreign relations of India
• History of the foreign relations of Pakistan
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