Before revision: The European countries which had the most colonies throughout history were:United Kingdom(130), France (90), Portugal(52), Spain (44), Netherlands(29), Germany (20), Russia (17), Denmark (9), Sweden (8), Italy (7), Norway (6) and Belgium(3) .
After revision: The European countries of the modern era that are most remembered as colonial empires are the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium .