Colonialism is the extension of a nation's sovereignty to territory and people beyond its own borders, often to improve its own economy through the use of indigenous natural resources, labor, and the local market.
Colonialism, unlike ancient or medieval colonization, is considered a modern, almost exclusively Western (or European) phenomenon, even though the policy of expansion with various forms of domination and maintenance of hegemony was not exclusively a Western phenomenon in the past. In this respect, colonialism is related to the empire. Modern colonialism usually dates from the 16th century to the middle of the 20th century. Colonialism as a system of domination and control had not only an economic dimension, but no less important were its political and cultural dimensions.
