colony, in Roman antiquity, a Roman settlement in conquered territory. The earliest colonies were coast-guard communities, each containing about 300 Roman citizens and their families. By 200 bc a system of such Roman maritime colonies maintained guard over the coasts throughout Italy. The Romans preferred this form of coastal defense to the use of a fleet. The colonists kept their Roman citizenship, with all the rights thereof.
The larger Latin colonies were established for defensive purposes outside Roman territory. In 218 bc, for example, about 6,000 colonists, Latin as well as Roman, were settled in Placentia and Cremona to guard the region of the Po River following the conquest of northern Italy. At first, the Romans who moved to such colonies exchanged their Roman citizenship for generous land grants, but after 177 bc Latin colonists were considered Roman citizens. The colonists could exercise full political rights in Rome and elect their own magistrates, who had limited judicial and financial power.
By the late 2nd century bc, colonies were established not only for defensive purposes but for offering work to landless freedmen and veterans. Julius Caesar and Augustus regularized the practice of founding colonies for veterans and proletarians in conquered territories outside Rome. The presence of colonists helped to Romanize the local inhabitants, some of whom assimilated and acquired Roman citizenship. This policy was maintained until the 2nd century ad. Thereafter, colonia became simply the highest rank that a community could attain. Colonies were often named for their founders and later benefactors, which often included the emperors.