The
British overseas territories are fourteen territories that are under the
sovereignty of the
United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself.
[1]The name "British overseas territory" was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, and replaced the name British-Dependent Territory, which was introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981. Before that, the territories were known as colonies or Crown colonies. The British overseas territories are also referred to as overseas territories of the United Kingdom,[2] UK overseas territories,[3] or, when the context is clear, simply the overseas territories.[1]
The territories of Jersey and Guernsey (collectively known as the Channel Islands), and the Isle of Man, though also under the sovereignty of the British Crown, have a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, and are classed as Crown Dependencies.[4][5][6] The British overseas territories and Crown Dependencies are distinct from the Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of countries with historic links to the British Empire, with the exception of member-state Mozambique.[7]
The original English colonies in the New World were plantations of English subjects in lands hitherto outside the dominions of the Crown. The first such plantation was in Newfoundland, where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in the 16th century.[8]
