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Colonialism facts for kids

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This pith helmet was used during the Second French Colonial Empire. It shows how people dressed in tropical colonies.

Colonialism is when one country takes control of another land or region far away from its own borders. This new land is then called a colony. Usually, a stronger, richer country takes over a smaller, less powerful area. Sometimes, the words "colonialism" and "imperialism" mean almost the same thing.

In the 1700s and 1800s, many powerful European countries like Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands set up colonies. They did this in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean.

Some countries used colonialism to gain more land for their people to live on. They helped settlers move to these new areas. Often, the local people living there were forced to leave their homes by armies. To keep these settlers safe, the colonizing countries often built military forts or set up police forces.

Other countries used colonialism to get land for farming or to take out valuable resources. These resources included trees (wood), coal, or metals. They might also set up their own government or military bases there.

Sometimes, countries used colonialism to get workers from the poorer country. These workers would then work in factories or on farms. This could be in the richer country or in the colony itself. In the past, powerful countries often forced people from poorer countries to work as slaves.

The History of Colonialism

World 1914 empires colonies territory
Map of colonial empires around the world in 1914.

Colonialism has a long history. The Phoenicians, an ancient people, created many trading colonies around the Mediterranean Sea. Carthage was one of their largest and most famous colonies.

Later, the Ancient Greeks also expanded their lands with colonies. Ancient Greece was made up of many city-states. Each city was independent and had its own government. These cities also traded goods and sometimes fought wars. To gain more influence or to protect trade routes, a city would send settlers to a new place. These settlers would then build a new city, which was called a colony.

Sometimes, a new colony had to pay taxes to its "mother city." In return, the mother city offered protection. However, these Greek colonies usually ruled themselves. The mother city did not send a governor to control them. Syracuse is a very famous example of a Greek colony.

If Greek settlers found a local tribe living in the new land, they would often fight them. They would force the local people to leave or make them slaves. The new colony would then use the land to grow crops or raise cattle.

The Romans created the word "colonia" from "colonus," meaning "farmer." At first, "colonia" meant a new town where Romans, including farmers and retired soldiers (veterans), moved. Over time, the word "colony" began to mean land ruled by people from a foreign country.

Different Kinds of Colonies

There were several ways countries practiced colonialism.

Settler Colonies

Some countries created Settler colonies. In these places, many people from the colonizing country moved to the new region. They often took the best land. They forced the indigenous peoples (like Native Americans or Maori) to move away. This caused many problems for the local people.

Countries that started as settler colonies include the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.

In some settler colonies, the new settlers married local people. Their children created new groups of people, like the mestizos in Mexico. In other places, settlers and local people lived separately. They did not often live together or marry. Examples include French Algeria (when France controlled Algeria) or Southern Rhodesia.

Dependencies

Another type of colonialism is when a powerful country sets up dependencies. Here, the colonizing country does not send thousands of settlers. Instead, it sets up a governing group (administrators) to control the existing local people or tribes.

Examples include the British Raj, where the British government controlled India. Another is the Dutch East Indies, where the Netherlands controlled parts of Southeast Asia. The Japanese colonial empire also controlled many Asian territories this way.

Plantation Colonies

With a plantation colony, the powerful country used the poorer country's land to grow crops. The local people were often forced to become slaves and work on these large farms. Examples of plantation colonies include Barbados, Saint-Domingue, and Jamaica.

Trading Post Colonies

Another type of colony was the trading post colony. Rich and powerful countries set these up to have places where they could trade, sell goods, and do business. They often built military forts or police forces to make sure their laws were followed. Examples include Macau, Malacca, Deshima, and Singapore.

Colonization 1945
World map of colonialism at the end of the Second World War in 1945.

Other pages

  • Massive colonization took place in Ancient India too. But the history of colonization is attributed to Greece only. In Ancient India Colonization began not with political conquest but with cultural conquest. Hinduism, and after centuries Buddhism became the main source of colonization. It was a colonization that began with cultural expansion leading to economic colonization. Indians were in the role of masters for a few centuries and in the role of slaves for centuries.
  • Colonization

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Colonialismo para niños

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