A Manual of Ancient History, Particularly with Regard to the Constitutions, the Commerce, and the Colonies, of the States of Antiquity, Tr. [ D.A. Talboys] download book. In history, a colony is a territory under the immediate complete political control and occupied settlers of a state, distinct from the home territory of the sovereign. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. "Mother country" is a reference to the metropolitan state from the point of view of