Colonialism and Imperialism

Colonialism is a phenomenon of organized exploitation of resources and has thus led to mass poverty among the colonized societies. Colonialism also means any establishment, oppression, or expansion of foreign territory by a colonial power. But this entry will consider colonialism as European colonialism from the 16th to the 20th century, which includes the establishment of colonial states or dominions in Asia, Africa, and the Americas by European states like Portugal, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. Different colonial models lead to specific kinds of poverty. While settler colonialism (North America, Australia) often eliminated the previous inhabitants of the colonial territory, exploitation colonialism had rather caused enslavement and forced labor among the colonial populations. Although many colonial powers announced the abolition of poverty in ...