Understand what a protectorate is by learning its definition. Learn how a colony was different from a protectorate and discover an example of a protectorate.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Protectorate Overview & Examples
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a colony and a protectorate?
A colony has no control over its internal affairs and is a part of the same nation as the colonial power. A protectorate continues to be an independent state, with its external affairs controlled by the protector country.
What is a protectorate?
A protectorate is the relationship between two countries in which one nation is the ''protector'' and the other is the ''protected.'' in a protectorate relationship, the protected state maintains control of their internal affairs and relinquishes control of external affairs.
What is an example of a protectorate?
One example of a protectorate is the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba in the 20th century. The U.S. established various international relations for Cuba and in turn, Cuba experienced U.S. military protection.
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ShowIn international relations, the protectorate definition is a relationship between two states in which one of the states is controlling the other. The degree of control that one state has varies by situation, but in all cases, there is a ''protector'' territory and a ''protected'' territory. The term came to be used in the 19th century but there have been protectorate states throughout history, and many continue to exist today.
Many of the modern protectorate states come from protectorate imperialism. Imperial states such as the United States, France, India, or China use their diplomatic and military influence to control and protect another nation. The controlled nation is under a state of dependency, in which they rely on the ''protector'' nation to manage important external affairs and international relations.
How Was a Colony Different from Protectorate?
While in both cases there is a significant power exchange, a protectorate state is not the same as a colony. A colony is different from a protectorate state because it is under complete political control by the stronger state. In a protectorate relationship, the protected state maintains control of their internal affairs and relinquishes control of external affairs. Internal affairs such as elections, economic concerns, and new local laws remain under the jurisdiction of the protected state, with few exceptions. External affairs such as international treaties, trade, and military engagements are determined by the protector state.
This is different from a colony because colonialism removes the ''protected'' nation's sovereignty, and the ''protected'' nation is no longer its own nation, but entirely adopted into the colonial power. In addition, colonists from the colonial power often move into the colony and occupy it. In a protectorate relationship, citizens of the protector state are unlikely to move into the protected state unless they are working directly in its diplomatic offices.
Protectorate states are usually not advertised as such. For pragmatic and political reasons, protectorate relationships are usually described at the international level as ''an independent state with special treaty relations.'' Protected states, therefore, are able to maintain an international personality and independence but continue to receive the protections guaranteed to them under a protectorate relationship.
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The United States has 14 protectorates around the world today. Its first official protectorate was Cuba. The United States first entered a protectorate relationship with Cuba after defeating Spain in the War of 1898. During the war, the United States took control of Guantanamo Bay. Spain gave the U.S. sovereignty over Cuba until 1902. Under this agreement, the U.S. was not supposed to intervene in internal Cuban affairs. However, U.S. troops occupied Cuba for several years and organized an education system, finances, and other internal affairs.
In 1903, the United States forced Cuba to sign the Platt Amendment. The Platt Amendment was a treaty that claimed to protect Cuba's independence from foreign intervention and in exchange permitted extensive U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs. This same year, the United States renewed its lease on Guantanamo Bay to continue to grow the U.S. Navy.
In 1933, United States foreign policy developed with the establishment of the Good Neighbor Policy. President Franklin Roosevelt established the policy to promote friendly relations and mutual defense agreements with Latin American countries. The policy emphasized cooperation, non-intervention, and trade instead of military force. The Platt Amendment was then repealed in 1934, when the U.S. and Cuba signed a Treaty of Relations. Later, after the Cuban revolution in the 1950s, the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961. In response, the Cuban president, Fidel Castro, cut off supply lines to Guantanamo Bay, leading it to create entirely self-sufficient water and power-sources.
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Aside from Cuba, the United States has had numerous other protectorate relationships. Notably, this has included the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Panama. The U.S. entered a protectorate relationship with the Dominican Republic after invading in 1916, and occupied the country until 1924. The U.S. shares the protectorate relationship with Britain, France, and Spain. The U.S. is the Dominican Republic's most significant trading partner to this day. Around the time the U.S. invaded the Dominican Republic, the U.S. occupied Haiti. In 1915, the U.S. occupied Haiti and entered a protectorate relationship with the country. The U.S. paid off Haiti's loans and refinanced them through U.S. banks, before pulling out of the country in 1934.
Like the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the protectorate relationship between the United States and Nicaragua began when the U.S. occupied Nicaragua in 1912. The occupation was part of a larger conflict known as the Banana Wars, and the U.S. military intervention was intended to prevent other nations from constructing the Nicaraguan Canal. Nicaragua went under a quasi-protectorate status with the U.S. in 1916 with the Chamorro-Bryan Treaty. It ended in 1933, as the U.S. was withdrawing from Latin American countries due to financial hardship from the Great Depression.
In a similar story, the U.S. and Panama's protectorate relationship began in 1903, following Panama's declaration of independence from Colombia. The U.S. was interested in maintaining rights to build, administer, and defend the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914. A new protectorate relationship was redefined in 1936, with the U.S. having significantly less authority in the country. The protectorate relationship ended in 1999, with the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Many other countries are protectorates aside from the United States. An example of protectorate states includes India and Bhutan, Portugal and Gaza, Russia and Moldavia, Spain and Morocco, and Turkey and Cyprus. In ancient times, the kingdoms of Macedonia and Syria were protectorates under Rome.
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Many countries are engaged in a protectorate relationship with another nation. In international relations, the protectorate definition is a relationship between two states in which one of the states is controlling the other dependent state. A colony is different from a protectorate state because it is under complete political control by the stronger state. The best way to describe the relationship of the protectorate country to its controlling country is that in a protectorate relationship, the ''protected'' state maintains control of their internal affairs and relinquishes control of external affairs.
The United States has many protectorates around the world today, and its first protectorate was Cuba. Cuba became a protectorate through the Platt Amendment, the first amendment to give the U.S. control over a protectorate. In its relationship with Cuba, military bases such as Guantanamo Bay were created. The U.S. ended its protectorate relationship with Cuba and many other Latin American countries with the creation of the Good Neighbor Policy by President Roosevelt. It formerly was in a protectorate relationship with the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Panama, among many other countries. Other nations such as Russia, the UK, and Spain are also in protectorate relationships with other states.
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Video Transcript
Definition of a Protectorate
There are many similarities between a protectorate and living as a teenager in your parents' house. Both the country and yourself exist in a state of dependency to a more powerful entity. For example, the ruling nation controls the foreign policy of the protectorate, while your parents control how late you can stay out on a Friday night. Additionally, the ruling nation has significant control over the internal affairs of the protectorate, while your parents set ground rules for your behavior in their house.
In more formal terms, we can define a protectorate as a territory or nation controlled by another, more powerful state. Though technically independent, the protectorate is in a state of dependency, with little to no control over its relations with other nations. Some of its domestic and internal activities may also be regulated. However, each protectorate is also unique and shaped by particular historical circumstances. To understand protectorates more fully, let's look at one specific example of a protectorate in American history.
Example of American Protectorate
The first official protectorate of the United States was Cuba, which fell under our governmental umbrella during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1898, the U.S. defeated Spain in a conflict called the Spanish-American War. As a result of this victory, the U.S. came to control Spain's former colony, Cuba. This Caribbean island became a U.S. protectorate in 1903 under the Platt Amendment, which as a treaty between the two countries, stated: 'Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the protection of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty.'
In real terms, the Platt Amendment meant that, as a U.S. protectorate, Cuba could not sign treaties with any foreign power. It also gave the U.S. the right to oversee and control Cuban finances, leaving European creditors without any reason to intervene in Cuban business. Additionally, the U.S. was given broad leeway in intervening in Cuba's domestic affairs, which led to the creation of a military base at Guantanamo Bay, an installation that still exists today. As such, Cuba became a true protectorate: an independent nation on paper but dependent on the U.S. in matters of finance and foreign policy.
The United States used the provisions of the Platt Amendment to justify direct intervention in Cuba in 1906, 1912, and 1917. In these instances, Cuba was suffering from political and social instability, as well as financial troubles, so the U.S. sent troops and advisors to stabilize the situation. Cuba remained a protectorate of the United States until 1934, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy, which at least in theory, tempered the policy of interventionism in Latin America.
Other Examples of U.S. Protectorates
Financial, political and strategic issues in the Caribbean and Latin America during the first half of the 20th century led the U.S. to pursue protectorate relationships with four other countries, including the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Panama. Only the protectorate agreements with Haiti and Panama were formalized through a treaty, which had to be approved by the U.S. Senate.
Under President Theodore Roosevelt, Panama fell under the protection of the U.S. from 1903-1936, which provided our country with valuable access to the Canal Zone. Roosevelt also provided the Dominican Republic with customs protection in 1905; revolution led to military intervention in 1916. President William Howard Taft established Nicaragua as a U.S. protectorate-in-practice in 1912 when he deployed the U.S. Marines to prevent a revolution. The U.S. also negotiated a protectorate treaty with Haiti in 1916, the result of revolutionary activity in that country.
Lesson Summary
As a protectorate, a nation or territory is dependent upon and controlled by a stronger country. Usually, the protectorate has no control over its foreign policy and little to no authority regarding its internal and domestic affairs. Under President Theodore Roosevelt, Cuba became America's first protectorate, an arrangement that began with the Platt Amendment in 1903, and ended in 1933, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy, which was a treaty designed to temper the policy of interventionism in Latin America. Either by formal treaty or by practice, other past U.S. protectorates in the Caribbean and Latin America included the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Panama.
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