when the topic of colonization comes up most people think about the modern day nations
birthed from british or other european colonial empires the united states may be one of the
first to come to mind but the us didn't become officially colonized until the 17th century
which means that it was relatively recent and this begs the question what about colonies during
earlier or even ancient ages this video is brought to you by nordvpn throughout history espionage and
intelligence have been very important elements for the security of states and countries
nowadays security is needed not only by states but also individuals but you can protect your
personal information using nordvpn they offer you multiple benefits like internet freedom offering
5200 secure servers in 60 countries protection against malware online privacy the ability to
use up to six devices for one subscription and other layers of protection so if you want private
fast and secure internet access nordvpn is for you you can support our channel by visiting my
link in the description to get a great discount this means a two-year plan and one additional
month for free with no risk to you considering that nordvpn offers a 30-day money-back guarantee
the concept of colonization and conquest has existed all throughout history and one
example of its ancient practice can be found in the phoenicians phoenicia was a phallus
socratic civilization that existed as early as 2500 bc and held territory throughout the
levant the phoenicians were not necessarily members of one united nation but instead made
up a series of independent city-states such as tyre and biblos though they nonetheless served
as some type of unified front when it came to the colonization of the mediterranean
unlike some of the sprawling imperial empires that would eventually expand across the globe
in their own bids for colonization and territory expansion the phoenicians weren't looking for
more land or simply a larger empire instead they were hoping to grow their trade network
the existing phoenician city-states like tyre and biblos and sedon all owed their success to
abundant trade and even the phoenician founded city that would later become an unofficial
empire the spectacular carthage would also base much of its prosperity on trade as well
the phoenicians as a whole were remarkable tradesmen and they knew their way around the seas
as well opening up incredible opportunities for trading with places as far as britain the coast of
africa and the greek islands but trading so far so frequently wasn't necessarily easy even with the
skills and experience of the phoenicians initially the idea was simply to establish a series of
trading posts and way stations to help improve the journey and effectiveness of the merchants
but it became quickly apparent to the phoenicians that turning these posts into more permanent
establishments or even settlements might actually serve as a major benefit to the traveling traders
permanent settlements would serve as an additional location for the phoenicians
to sell their goods while mostly controlling the market throughout those regions as well eventually
as this plan went into action even though the motive wasn't really about territorial gain
these settlements all became colonies of the mercantile powerhouse of phoenicia although it
is widely known that this colonization whether intentional or not did happen it's not exactly
known when it started many modern historians believe that the process began around the
same time as the greeks began to set up their own colonies which occurred during the 8th century bc
this though conflicts with the claims of ancient scholars who say that the phoenicians had actually
begun to establish their colonies back in the 12th century bc other scholars argue
that neither of these dates are accurate but pinpointing the correct timeline can be tricky
due to the unofficial formation of the early settlements and outposts the general
consensus thus is that the era of the 12th to 8th centuries bc mark a period of pre-colonial trade
and building of way stations trading posts and small settlements whereas the following period
from the 8th to 6th centuries bc served as the foundation for phoenicia's mediterranean colonies
as the trading superiority and prosperity of the phoenicians grew now so did their territorial
holdings one of the first colonies set up by the phoenicians actually demonstrated how well the
system worked to expand their trading capabilities because it was all the way in spain one of the
earliest overseas phoenician holdings cadiz was actually just one of the colonies established
in spain adra amun yakar cortea ibiza and malaga would also become important trade establishments
and colonies for phoenicia and this was all just on one peninsula over in sicily the phoenicians
originally attempted to colonize ortija but the greeks quickly forced them to change plans
and it would instead be motiya palermo and sulunto that the phoenicians would hold on to in sardinia
the phoenicians took cities including cagliari and nora as well as thoros and sokkai cyprus
additionally housed some of the early phoenician colonies such as the city of larnaca a little way
away in algeria the phoenicians set up colonies such as the ones in anaba and algiers meanwhile
over in morocco laresh tangier assala rabat and asura all came under phoenician authority
tunisia too became a home for phoenicians and their merchants particularly in utica deserta susa
fapsus chala and the most famous of the phoenician cities in this region in particular would be the
one magnificent new town that would soon birth its own de facto empire carthage and in libya tripoli
sabradha and leptus all ended up being phoenician colonies while all of these colonies may sound
like quite a lot for an entity that wasn't even a fully united nation-state they actually deferred
in terms of how closely connected they were to the phoenician city-states that colonized them
it's important to keep in mind that these colonies were created due to the desire for a wider more
reliable trade system across the mediterranean while some colonies such as those in north africa
seem to have adopted parts of the phoenician culture religion architecture and so on others
kept their own indigenous cultures a bit more some of this had to do with their geographical position
in relation to the phoenician city-states but it also depended on how strong the existing culture
and related attributes were in each colony nonetheless all of these colonies
served as additional places of trade as well as manufacturing locations for phoenician goods such
as purple dyed cloth which was a famous product of phoenicia this not only allowed for more goods
to be brought from phoenician city-states by the merchants from the homeland but it also meant that
additional goods could be made and exported from a plethora of locations spanning across the coasts
of europe and africa and although the initial aim of this commercial it didn't take long for them to
realize that there was a benefit to possessing so much land and spaced out colonies that didn't just
relate to the trade market over time began to clash with the locals in their colonies
hoping to expand even further at each point and as fortifications began popping up the phoenicians as
a whole became more and more militarized to help meet these new objectives but as many ancient
civilizations and empires learned the hard way too the phoenicians soon realized that their ambitions
were no more than a pipe dream as surrounding powers from the greeks to the assyrians
also reached to spread their own influence and authority the phoenicians were overpowered across
the board and by the time that alexander the great raised his sword to the father of carthage
the might of phoenicia was at its end in spite of their fall from grace and partial overshadowing by
the great carthaginians who owed their triumphant existence to the phoenicians the mediterranean in
particular was surely influenced by the great city-states that were once powerful strongholds
the merchants alone spread goods religion art and culture throughout the coast of europe and
africa and the establishment of first weigh stations and trading posts that would soon become
settlements turned colonies only made the job that much easier furthermore even after the phoenicians
ceased to be the leading trade entity and power throughout the mediterranean the connections
and trade network that they had created remained and for quite a few centuries the
phoenicians themselves ruled over this network and flourished as remarkable traders and navigators
despite the fact that there wasn't an original goal of typical colonization the phoenicians did
nevertheless colonize much of the mediterranean and they didn't necessarily have the wrong idea
by prioritizing trade as we would see much later another example the british east india company
nearly colonized the whole of india with the same initial goals so next time you think of
colonization throughout history don't forget the once great merchants of the phoenician city-states
you