or large farm, in Colombia. Coffee is one of
Colombia’s main crops.
Facts About
COLOMBIA
Population
(2008 estimate)
44,442,000
Area
440,762 sq mi
(1,141,568 sq
km)
Capital
Bogota
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
Bogota, Cali,
Medellin,
Barranquilla
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Colombia 153
Colombo
Population
(2004
estimate), city,
669,700; urban
area,
2,490,300
Colombo is one of the two capitals of
Sri Lanka, an island country in the
Indian Ocean. The offices of the president
and prime minister of Sri Lanka are
in Colombo. The country’s supreme
court and lawmakers meet in a nearby
suburb named Sri Jayewardenepura
Kotte.
Colombo is Sri Lanka’s largest city. It is
also the business center and leading
port. Many people in the city work in
government offices, banking, or
insurance. Colombo’s factories assemble
cars and process foods, drinks, and
tobacco.
In ancient times Colombo was a major
port for the spice trade. In 1815 the
British took control of the island.
Colombo was their capital. Sri Lanka
became an independent country in
1948. For many years Colombo was the
country’s only capital. In the late 1970s
the government decided to transfer
many departments to the nearby suburb.
..More to explore
Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte • Sri Lanka
Colony
A colony is a group of people from one
country who build a settlement in
another territory, or land. They claim
the new land for the original country,
and the original country keeps some
control over the colony. The settlement
itself is also called a colony. The practice
of setting up colonies is called colonialism.
A collection of many colonies is
called an empire.
Before about 1950 a small number of
countries controlled many colonies
around the world. But the people in the
colonies slowly gained independence as
separate countries. Today few colonies
are left.
Kinds of Colonies
Colonies are sometimes divided into two
types: settlement colonies and colonies
of occupation. People often formed
settlement colonies in places where few
other people lived. Ordinary people
moved to a settlement colony to set up
farms or run small businesses. The colonies
that the English and other Europe-
Some of Colombo’s buildings were built
during the years of British rule. Others are
modern towers.
154 Colombo BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
ans established in North America
beginning in the 1500s were settlement
colonies.
Countries set up colonies of occupation
by force. That is, a country conquered a
territory, and then people from that
country moved in to control it. Often
only a few wealthy people settled in this
kind of colony. India is an example of a
colony of occupation. Great Britain
controlled India from the 1800s until
1947.
Why People Set Up Colonies
One of the reasons countries formed
colonies was to make money. Countries
used colonies to control trade between
their territory and the rest of the world.
They also set up colonies to take advantage
of natural resources in new lands.
They took precious metals, timber, and
furs from the territories and sold them
to make money for themselves.
Another reason countries set up colonies
was to increase their military power.
They often set up bases for their armies
and navies in their colonies.
Still other colonies were founded as prisons.
Great Britain set up colonies in
Australia as places to send its criminals.
#More to explore
Americas, Exploration and Settlement of
the • Empire
Color
Without light, there is no color. When
people see colors, they are really seeing
different types of light bouncing off
objects.
Color and Light
Light travels in waves. Scientists use an
idea called wavelength to describe these
waves. Some light waves have long wavelengths,
while others have short wavelengths.
Light of different wavelengths
appears as different colors. For example,
A drawing shows the colony of Sydney,
Australia, in 1788. The British set up the
colony as a place to send prisoners.
Green (1), blue (2), and red (3) are the primary
colors of light. A mixture of two primary
colors of light can make cyan (4),
yellow (5), or magenta (6). A mixture of all
three makes white (7).
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Color 155
red light has a long wavelength, and
violet light has a short wavelength. Normally
all the wavelengths, or colors,
travel together as white light.
When white light passes through a special
piece of glass called a prism, the
light bends. Shorter wavelengths bend
more than longer wavelengths. This
bending causes the white light to separate
into the colors of the rainbow.
White light also separates into different
colors when it strikes objects. For
example, when white light strikes a ripe
tomato, mostly red wavelengths reflect,
or bounce, off the tomato. The tomato
absorbs, or takes in, all the other colors.
This causes the tomato to look red.
Mixing Colors
Three colors of light—red, blue, and
green—can combine to make any other
color. For example, if a beam of green
light shines over a beam of red light,
yellow light appears. Red, blue, and
green are called primary colors of light.
Mixtures of the primary colors of light
produce all the other colors.
To make colors appear in printed
