Colonization attempts by Poland
Poland has never had any formal colonial territories, but over its history the acquisition of such territories has at times been contemplated, though never attempted. The closest Poland came to acquiring such territories was indirectly through the actions of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Polish nobility was interested in colonies as early as the mid-16th century. In a contractual agreement, signed with king Henri de Valois (see also Henrician Articles), the nobles secured permission to settle in some oversea territories of the Kingdom of  France, but after de Valois's decision to opt for the crown of France and return to his homeland, the idea was abandoned. Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. On the basis of the Union of Vilnius (28 November 1561), Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the Livonian Order, created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in the Baltics and became its first Duke. It was a vassal state of the Polish Kingdom. Soon afterward, by the Union of Lublin (1 July 1569), the Grand Duchy became the part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some colonial territories for the Duchy of  Courland and Semigallia were acquired by its third Duke and Gotthard's grandson Jacob Kettler. In his youth and during his studies abroad he was inspired by the wealth being brought back to various western European countries from their colonies. As a result, Kettler established one of the largest merchant fleets in Europe, with its main harbours in Windau (today Ventspils), and Libau (today Liepāja). The Commonwealth never concerned itself with the Duchy of Courland's colonial aspirations, even though in 1647 Kettler met with king Władysław IV Waza, and suggested creation of a joint trade company, which would be  active in India. However, the ailing king was not interested, and Kettler decided to act on his own. New Courland. The first colony founded by Jacob was the New Courland ("Neu-Kurland") on the Caribbean island of Tobago. However, three initial attempts to establish a settlement (in 1637, 1639 and 1642) failed. The fourth was founded in 1654, but eventually in 1659 was taken over by a competing Dutch colony, also founded on the island in 1654. Courland regained the island after the Treaty of Oliva in 1660 but abandoned it in 1666. It briefly attempted to reestablish colonies there  again in 1668 and in 1680 (that lasted to 1683). The final attempt in 1686 lasted till 1690. Gambia. In 1651 Courland bought James Island (then called St. Andrews Island by the Europeans) from a local tribe, establishing Fort James there and renaming the island. Courland also took other local land including St. Mary Island (modern day Banjul) and Fort Jillifree. The colony exported sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton, ginger, indigo, rum, cocoa, tortoise shells, tropical birds and their feathers. The governors maintained good relations with the locals, but came into conflict with other European powers, primarily Denmark, Sweden, and the  United Provinces. The Dutch annexed the Courland territories in Africa, bringing an end to their presence on the continent. Toco. The final Courish attempt to establish a colony involved the settlement near modern Toco on Trinidad, Lesser Antilles. Partitioned Poland. Cameroon expedition. In 1882, almost a century after Poland was partitioned and lost its independence, Polish nobleman and officer of Russian Imperial Fleet, Stefan Szolc-Rogoziński organized an expedition to Cameroon. Officially that was an exploration expedition, but unofficially the expedition was looking for a place a Polish community could be founded abroad. He had no official support from the  Russian Empire, nor from its puppet Congress Poland, but was backed by a number of influential Poles, including Boleslaw Prus, and Henryk Sienkiewicz. On 13 December 1882, accompanied by Leopold Janikowski and Klemens Tomczek, Rogoziński left French port of Le Havre, aboard a ship "Lucja Malgorzata", with French and Polish flags. The expedition was a failure, and he returned to Europe, trying to collect more money for his project. Finally, after second expedition, Rogoziński found himself in Paris, where he died 1 December 1896. Meanwhile, Cameroon was being slowly annexed by the German Empire. In 1884 Rogoziński signed an agreement  with a British representative, who was to provide support for treaties he signed with Cameroonian chieftains, but next year, at the Congress of Berlin, the British government decided against pursuing any claims in the region and acceded to German claims (see Kamerun). Second Polish Republic. Poland regained independence in the aftermath of World War I. While colonization was never a major focus of the Second Polish Republic, certain organizations like the Maritime and Colonial League supported the idea of creating Polish colonies. The Maritime and Colonial League traces its origins to the "Polska Bandera" (Polish Banner) organization founded on 1  October 1918. The League supported purchases of lands by Polish emigrants in places like Brazil and Liberia. The League became highly influential in shaping the government's policies with regards to Polish Merchant Marine, despite its long and ongoing campaign (publications, exhibitions, speeches, lobbying, etc.) and public support, it has however never succeeded in following up with its plans to obtain a colonial territory for Poland. Furthermore, in 1926, "Colonial Society" ("Towarzystwo Kolonizacyjne") was founded in Warsaw. Its task was to direct Polish emigrants to South America, and the Society soon became active there, mostly in Brazilian state of Espirito  Santo. Some historians, such as Tadeusz Piotrowski, have characterized government policies supporting interwar Polish settlement in modern-day Ukraine and Belarus as colonization (see Osadnik). Using a highly theoretical framework, one scholar argues that Poland's settlement projects, in particular the Liberian affair, should be seen as a rework of the New South ideology that considered Africans as people who could only implement hard labour such as land cultivation and assume inferior economic and political positions, as attributed to African-Americans in the New South. Such projects, the argument goes, would lead to the prioritization of European lives over Africans ' with economic and racial implications. In contrast, several Polish and Polish-American historians attribute fewer racist motivations to Poland's attempts in Africa and Latin America. They point out that Poland's largely economic attempts to acquire tropical materials unavailable in continental Europe became infused with counterproductive colonial discourse still popular across Europe at the time. The Polish projects, less politically expansionist than they might seem, fulfilled specific functions in Polish foreign policy not only in relation to the question of Jewish emigration but also in Polish-German relations. The following regions were considered for Polish colonization during the interwar  period: