colonia

Roman term for a settlement of Roman citizens. It consisted of a city and its dependent territory and often grew up around a legionary fortress, where retired soldiers might be granted plots of land in the town and in the surrounding countryside. The first British colonia was founded AD 49 at Camulodumum (Colchester). Others followed at Eboracum (York), Glevum (Gloucester) and Lindum (Lincoln).

Colonia

Department in southwest Uruguay, with a coastline on the Río de la Plata (River Plate) at the mouth of the River Uruguay opposite Buenos Aires; area 6,106 sq km/2,358 sq mi; population (1996) 112,717. The departmental capital is the city of Colonia del Sacramento. Colonia is a thriving agricultural region; dairy farming and cereal cultivation are the main agricultural activities. Textile manufacture and other light industries are also important to its prosperity.

There are many colonial towns, settled by European immigrants, including, for example, Colonia Valdense in the southwest of the department, where some of the customs of the Piedmontese Alps still exist.

Colonia

Community in Woodbridge township, Middlesex County, northeastern New Jersey, USA, 13 km/8 mi southwest of Elizabeth; population (1990) 18,200. A residential community with many New York commuters, it also has many office buildings and some light industry.