Colonialism

Colonialism refers to the domination and control of a territory, its resources and its people by an external ruling power. It encompasses political, economic and cultural subordination, in which the colonising authority asserts sovereignty over the colonised population and alters local systems of governance, land use and social organisation. Modern understandings of colonialism often emphasise its hierarchical structures and the profound impact it has had on colonised societies and their environments.

Definitions and Conceptual Foundations

The term derives from the Latin colonus, meaning a farmer or settler, originally used in the Roman Empire to designate tenant farmers. Over time, the meaning evolved to describe overseas settlements and eventually came to denote the broader processes of European expansion and political domination between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries.
Widely used dictionary definitions describe colonialism as the practice by which a powerful state exerts direct control over a weaker region to exploit its resources and consolidate its own wealth and influence. Academic analyses add further nuance. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy frames colonialism as a combination of European settlement and political control across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Julian Go emphasises direct political control and the maintenance of legal inequality between the ruling state and the subordinated population. Lorenzo Veracini highlights the centrality of violence, territorial seizure and the creation of enduring structures of inequality.
Although often used interchangeably with imperialism, colonialism is generally associated with the establishment of colonies administered differently from metropolitan territories and involving direct rule, settlement or resource extraction.

Historical Development

Colonialism, as commonly understood, emerged from European maritime expansion beginning in the fifteenth century. Over the next several centuries, European states established colonies across nearly all continents. By 1800 approximately one-third of the Earth’s land surface was under European colonial rule, rising to over four-fifths by the outbreak of the First World War.
European colonialism was closely tied to mercantilist economic systems. Chartered companies—such as the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company—were instrumental in establishing early trading posts and footholds abroad. Over time, these outposts often became the basis for larger colonial territories. As colonial rule expanded, it produced systems of economic and social inequality that shaped global power relations. The concept of the coloniality of power describes how colonial hierarchies continued to structure socioeconomic divisions even after formal colonial administrations ended.
Colonial ideologies frequently drew upon ideas of cultural superiority, religious missions, and a supposed duty to “civilise” non-European societies. These beliefs justified the appropriation of land, the reorganisation of labour systems, and the imposition of new cultural and political norms.

Types of Colonialism

Various forms of colonialism have been identified, often reflecting differences in the scale of settlement, economic goals and administrative structures.

• Settler colonialism: Characterised by large-scale immigration of settlers aiming to replace or displace existing populations. Examples include Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and parts of southern Africa. Former attempts include French Algeria and Italian Libya.
• Exploitation colonialism: Focused primarily on extracting natural resources or labour with limited settlement by the colonising population. Much of European rule in Africa and Asia fits this category.
• Surrogate colonialism: Involves settler populations supported by an external colonial power but ethnically distinct from the ruling metropole, as has been argued in the cases of Liberia and Mandatory Palestine.
• Internal colonialism: Refers to hierarchies and patterns of exploitation within a single state, often involving dominant groups exerting control over marginalised regions or populations.
• National colonialism: A combination of settler and internal colonialism in which the colonial regime aims to assimilate colonised populations into the political and cultural identity of the ruling state. The rule of the Kuomintang in Taiwan has been cited as a prominent example.
• Trade colonialism: Centres on securing commercial advantages through enforced access to markets and trade routes, prominent in nineteenth-century Asia where previously isolationist states were pressured to open their ports.

These categories often overlap, reflecting the complexity of colonial rule across different regions and periods.

Colonial Justifications and Ideologies

Colonial powers developed varied ideological frameworks to legitimise their rule. Common rationales included the belief in a civilising mission, rooted in assumptions of cultural or religious superiority. Christian missionary activity frequently accompanied colonial expansion, reinforcing the notion that colonisers were morally obliged to reshape indigenous societies. Broader systems of hierarchy—such as patriarchy, racism, class structures and heteronormativity—were interwoven into colonial governance, producing entrenched forms of discrimination and social stratification.

Effects on Colonised Societies

Colonial rule fundamentally altered political authority, land tenure systems, economic structures and social hierarchies. Colonisers often imposed new legal frameworks, disrupted traditional governance and reoriented local economies towards external markets. The appropriation of land and resources reshaped landscapes and livelihoods, while the introduction of new administrative systems reinforced inequality between colonisers and colonised.
Cultural assimilation policies, missionary education and racial classification systems further marginalised indigenous identities. The long-term effects of colonial interventions can be observed in contemporary patterns of inequality, state capacity, governance challenges and economic development. Research on the historical persistence of colonial institutions suggests that variations in colonial administration have had lasting consequences for post-colonial trajectories.

Decolonisation and Its Aftermath

Decolonisation began in the eighteenth century and proceeded in waves. The most extensive period of dismantling occurred between 1945 and 1975, following the Second World War, when numerous colonies in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean gained independence. Formal independence, however, did not always dismantle the socioeconomic structures established under colonial rule.
The continued influence of former colonial powers through political, economic or cultural means is sometimes labelled neocolonialism. This concept highlights how global inequalities, multinational corporate interests and international financial systems may perpetuate relationships reminiscent of colonial domination.

Etymology and Conceptual Evolution

Initially, the term colonialism referred specifically to overseas settlements founded by emigrants. In the early twentieth century, its meaning expanded to denote European imperial rule more broadly. By the mid-twentieth century, it had become a central analytical term in historical, political and sociological discourse.
Modern scholarship highlights both the difficulty and importance of defining colonialism precisely. The phenomenon encompasses a wide array of practices, from territorial conquest and forced displacement to economic restructuring and cultural domination. Despite these variations, colonialism consistently involves relationships of power characterised by inequality, coercion and the subordination of one population to another.