• the Dakar-Niger Railway was the site of a 1947 strike celebrated by author Ousmane Sembène as a turning point in West Africa's anti-colonial struggle?
• the British Indian passport was seen as a symbol of colonialism and was only valid for travel in the British Empire and seven other countries?
• prior to colonial times, written literature was virtually absent from Burkina Faso, with the country's first novel not published until 1962?
• Bartholomew Gilbert is responsible for the failure to establish a colony on Cape Cod in 1602 which would have been the first English colony in the Americas?

Facts on topics related to Colonialism

British Empire

• "Majulah Singapura", the national anthem of Singapore, was originally a theme song for events held by Singapore's City Council during colonial times?
• V.D. Savarkar wrote The Indian War of Independence, a nationalist history of the 1857 uprising, in response to British celebrations of the 50th anniversary of its suppression?
• Ethel Benjamin was the first woman in the British Empire to present a legal case in court?
• Gingee Fort in Tamil Nadu, India was called the "Troy of the East" by the British for its inaccessibility and is one of the few forts still surviving in the state?
• Kadambini Ganguly (pictured) was one of the first female graduates in the British Empire and the first female conventional doctor in South Asia?
• Kondavid Fort (pictured), built in the 14th century by the Reddy dynasty, was the theatre of several wars among many rulers of North India, South India, and the British?
• Zambian laws concerning homosexuality have largely remained unchanged since the country gained independence from the British Empire in 1964?
• 22 Australians have been decorated with the George Cross, the highest civil decoration for heroism in the British Empire?
• Sergeants Jose and Francisco Diaz were two brothers in the Puerto Rican Militia who helped defeat Sir Ralph Abercromby and defend Puerto Rico from a British invasion in 1797?
• an elaborate network of coastal batteries was built by British colonial authorities to protect Hobart Town, but it was never used to defend the Tasmanian port from attacks by enemy warships?

Portuguese Empire

• Ati Konanayakar (pictured) was constructed as a successor to the Temple of Thousand Pillars that was destroyed by the Portuguese colonials in 1622?
• Carlos Eugénio Correia da Silva, Count of Paço d'Arcos served as the governor of various colonies as far as India, Timor, Macao and Mozambique in the Portuguese Empire?
• the Diu Fort (pictured) in India was voted one of seven wonders of Portuguese colonialism in an opinion poll in Portugal?
• when VOC forces led by Steven van der Hagen captured a Portuguese fort on Ambon in 1605, it was the first territory captured by the Dutch Republic in the East Indies?

Russian Empire

• 19 crewmen of the Russian oceanliner SS Czar received the Silver Sea Gallantry Medal from King George V of the United Kingdom for rescuing 102 survivors from a burning ship in October 1913?
• Emperor Alexander III of Russia provided funding for the construction of a Russian Orthodox church on Bredgade in Copenhagen at the behest of his Danish-born empress?
• French protests caused the Russians to award the contract for the Gangut-class battleship to a Russian firm rather than the German winner of the 1908 international design contest?
• Polish writer Henryk Rzewuski fought for Poland's independence in 1809 but later collaborated with the Russian Imperial Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland, Ivan Paskevich?
• Russian Rear-Admiral Andrei Alexandrovich Popov (pictured) designed two circular battleships and a yacht for the Romanovs?
• Emperor Alexander III of Russia was billed 4,750 rubles for the Renaissance egg, the final Fabergé egg he presented to his empress consort Maria Feodorovna?
• Emperor Nicholas II of Russia was billed 3,250 rubles for Rosebud, the first Fabergé egg he presented to his empress consort Alexandra Fyodorovna?
• U.S. diplomat Norman Armour disguised himself as a Norwegian courier to help a Russian princess—his future wife—escape the country after the collapse of the Russian Empire?
• Welshman Sir Gore Ouseley arranged for Azerbaijan to become part of the Russian Empire in 1814?
• Bonawentura Niemojowski, a Polish politician during the Congress Poland period, became one of the most vocal supporters of the November Uprising against the Russian Empire and a leader of the revolutionary Polish government?

Mongol Empire

• Ani, a medieval city once rivaling Constantinople, was ransacked by Mongols and now stands in ruin?
• in the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongol Empire had an alliance with the Armenians against their common enemy, the Muslim Mamluks?
• the Byzantine Empire and the Mongol Empire formed an alliance in 1263, and 4,000 Mongol soldiers were dispatched in 1282 to help defend Constantinople?
• the vast Mongol Empire that once stretched from East Asia to Romania was brought down by the Red Turban Rebellion?