The action of settling in and taking control of a new territory; the process of establishing a colony or colonies.
From French 'colonisation,' derived from Latin 'colonia' (settlement) + the suffix '-isation' (British). The term emerged in English during the 16th-17th centuries as European powers expanded overseas.
The word itself is fascinating because it sounds technical and neutral—'colonisation'—but it describes one of history's most violent processes: the displacement of indigenous peoples, enslavement, disease, and cultural destruction. Language can hide power.
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