Colonization
The political control of one people by another. Built on extraction, enforced by propaganda or violence.
How We Say It
kol·uh·ni·ZAY·shun
Where It Comes From
Latin colonia — a settlement of Roman citizens in a conquered territory. From colonus — farmer, settler. The modern political meaning — European domination of non-European peoples — developed in the 19th century as the practice it described reached its peak.
How It's Been Used
Often treated as historical — something that ended when formal empires dissolved. Political scientists and economists point to continuing economic arrangements, debt structures, and trade relationships that maintain colonial-era patterns of extraction without the administrative infrastructure. 'Neo-colonialism' names this argument. The debate about whether colonialism is past or present is itself a political one.