Quote: "During this time, the European empires of Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Russia, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden began to explore and claim the Americas..."
The historical process of European colonization and control over non-European territories and peoples, leading to systemic oppression and exploitation.
European Expansion: The rise of European powers, the establishment of trading posts and colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Mercantilism: The economic system that supported European colonialism which involved the accumulation of wealth through the exploitation of colonies and restricted trade with other nations.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade: The forced migration of millions of Africans to Europe and the Americas, which fuelled the growth of colonial economies.
Exploration and Discovery: The explorations of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Marco Polo, and other European explorers who paved the way for colonialism.
Missionary work: The activities of missionaries who sought to convert non-Christian populations to Christianity, often with the support of colonial powers.
Colonial Administration: The governance structure of colonies, including the use of indirect rule, direct rule, and the role of European and indigenous leaders.
Economic and political impacts: The impact of colonial rule on the economies, politics, and societies of the colonized nations.
Resistance Movements: The struggles of colonized people against the injustices of European rule, such as the sepoy mutiny in India and the rebellion in Kenya.
Technology and transportation: The introduction of new technologies such as the steam engine, railroads, and telegraph which facilitated colonial expansion and administration.
Cultural Impacts: The impact of colonialism on the culture, language, and identity of colonized communities, including the suppression of indigenous traditions and the imposition of European standards.
Settler Colonialism: This involves the displacement of indigenous populations by settlers who claim and occupy the land.
Economic Colonialism: This involves the exploitation of resources and markets of a colonized people by a foreign nation or company.
Political Colonization: This involves the direct governance and control of a territory by a foreign power.
Neo-Colonialism: This refers to indirect methods of control exercised by former colonial powers, such as through economic, political, and cultural influence.
Imperialism: Refers to a policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means, often for economic or political gain.
Cultural Imperialism: This involves the imposition or promotion of one culture over others, often through mass media and education.
Technological Imperialism: This involves the use of advanced technology to exert control over a weaker nation or people.
Informal Empire: This refers to the informal, non-official means by which a dominant power or nation exercises control over others, such as through cultural, economic, and diplomatic influence.
Sphere of Influence: This involves a situation where a stronger power exerts significant influence over the economy, politics, and culture of a weaker nation, without actually controlling it.
Religious imperialism: This involves the spread of religious beliefs and practices by a dominant religion or religious group over others.
Quote: "The Norse had explored and colonized areas of Europe and the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short-term settlement near the northern tip of Newfoundland circa 1000 CE."
Quote: "...leading to the displacement, disestablishment, enslavement, sometimes even the genocide of the indigenous peoples in the Americas..."
Quote: "Some settler colonies, including New Mexico, Alaska, the northern Great Plains, and the North-Western Territory in North America, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Darién Gap in Central America, and the northwest Amazon, the central Andes, and the Guianas in South America remain relatively rural, sparsely populated, and indigenous as of the 21st century."
Quote: "Russia began colonizing the Pacific Northwest in the mid-18th century, seeking pelts for the fur trade."
Quote: "The rapid rate at which Europe grew in wealth and power was unforeseeable in the early 15th century..."
Quote: "The Ottoman Empire's domination of trade routes to Asia prompted Western European monarchs to search for alternatives..."
Quote: "With the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, Portugal and Spain agreed to divide the Earth in two..."
Quote: "The Treaty of Tordesillas granted the eastern tip of South America to Portugal, where it established Brazil in the early 1500s."
Quote: "By the 1530s, other Western European powers realized they too could benefit from voyages to the Americas, leading to British and French colonializations in the northeast tip of the Americas..."
Quote: "The city of Santo Domingo, in the current-day Dominican Republic, founded in 1496 by Columbus, is credited as the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the Americas."
Quote: "By the 1700s, Denmark–Norway revived its former colonies in Greenland..."
Quote: "Violent conflicts arose during the beginning of this period as indigenous peoples fought to preserve their territorial integrity from increasing European colonizers..."
Quote: "...as indigenous peoples fought to preserve their territorial integrity... from hostile indigenous neighbors who were equipped with Eurasian technology."
Quote: "The United States, for example, practiced a settler colonial policy of Manifest Destiny and the Trail of Tears."
Quote: "Other regions, including California, Patagonia, the North Western Territory, and the northern Great Plains, experienced little to no colonization at all until the 1800s."
Quote: "European contact and colonization had disastrous effects on the indigenous peoples of the Americas and their societies."