Colony

a settlement formed in one country by the inhabitants of another. Colonies may either be formed in dependence on the mother country or in independence. In the latter case the name of colony is retained only in a historical sense. Since the United States has acquired Porto Rico, the Philippines and Sulu Islands, and the Ladrone Island of Guam, the question of colonial government has become a national i ue,. There are 126 colonies in the world and nearly as many distinct forms of colonial government, varying from practical independence to absolute control by the mother country.