Explanation:
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas,[1][2][3] often by establishing colonies[4] and generally with the aim of economic dominance.[5] In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their religion, language, economics, and other cultural practices. The foreign administrators rule the territory in pursuit of their interests, seeking to benefit from the colonised region's people and resources.[6] It is associated with but distinct from imperialism.[1]
The pith helmet, an icon of colonialism in tropical lands. This one was used by the Kingdom of Madagascar, inspired by those used by the Second French colonial empire.
Colonialism is strongly associated with the European colonial period starting with the 15th century when some European states established colonising empires. Some scholars refer to this point in history as the beginning of the "Age of Capital," or the Capitalocene, which is an epoch that encompasses the profit-driven era that has led to climate change and global land change. At first, European colonising countries followed policies of mercantilism, aiming to strengthen the home-country economy, so agreements usually restricted the colony to trading only with the metropole (mother country). By the mid-19th century, however, the British Empire gave up mercantilism and trade restrictions and adopted the principle of free trade, with few restrictions or tariffs. Christian missionaries were active in practically all of the European-controlled colonies because the metropoles were Christian. Historian Philip Hoffman calculated that by 1800, before the Industrial Revolution, Europeans already controlled at least 35% of the globe, and by 1914, they had gained control of 84% of the globe.[7]
In the aftermath of World War II colonial powers were forced to retreat between 1945 and 1975, when nearly all colonies gained independence, entering into changed colonial, so-called postcolonial and neocolonialist relations. Postcolonialism and neocolonialism has continued or shifted relations and ideologies of colonialism, justifying its continuation with concepts such as development and new frontiers, as in exploring outer space for colonization.[8]
