Colony, Protectorate, Sphere: Forms of Imperial Control

Imperial powers used several forms of control, and the differences mattered for those who lived under them. In a colony, such as French Algeria or British Lagos, the imperial power ruled directly and made the laws. In a protectorate, a local ruler kept a throne and some authority, but a foreign power controlled foreign policy and often much more; Britain treated Egypt as a 'veiled protectorate' from 1882 and declared a formal one in 1914.

A sphere of influence gave a power special economic or political rights in part of another state, as European powers and Japan held in China. Economic imperialism meant controlling a country through loans, trade and investment without formal rule, which historians call informal empire. Settler colonies, such as Algeria or New Zealand, saw large numbers of Europeans take land and settle permanently. The label did not always match reality, so historians examine how power actually worked.