[expatpat]

.....in the case of Canada and Australia you could argue that they were settlements rather then colonies

Now you're stretching -- they were similar to what preceded the US, and G. Washington et al sure thought of them as 'colonies'.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

G. Washington et al sure thought of them as 'colonies'.

As much as I hate to disagree with George the US was more settled then colonized, at least according to the modern usage of the term. Which means I likely don't disagree with him after all.

They used the term "settlers" and "colonist" pretty much interchangeably then.