Colonialism

The German colonies (officially called protectorates) were annexed by the German Empire from the 1880s onwards and ceded after the First World War in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. In 1914, they were the third largest colonial empire in terms of area after the British and French empires. The German colonial empire included all or part of the territory of the present-day states of Namibia, Cameroon, Togo, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Papua New Guinea. 

At the end of the 19th century, British colonies and protectorates covered almost a quarter of the Earth's land area, making Great Britain the largest colonial power in the world. In the first third of the 20th century, the dominions gained extensive self-government rights. Today, the Commonwealth of Nations comprises 65 independent states that were formerly colonies.