Settler colonialism

Settler colonialism is a type of colonialism in which foreign settlers move to and permanently reside in their non-native land in order to strengthen the dominance of a Colonial Power. It is often used as a tool by the colonial power to permanently replace or marginalize the pre-existing population of a region in cases when the land is previously inhabited.

Settler colonialism is a form of exogenous domination typically organized or supported by an imperial authority. Settler colonialism contrasts with exploitation colonialism, which entails an economic policy of conquering territory to exploit its population as cheap or free labor and its natural resources as raw material. In this way, settler colonialism lasts indefinitely, except in the rare event of complete evacuation or settler decolonization.

Settler colonialism was especially prominent in the colonial empires of the European powers between the 16th and 20th centuries. The settling of Boers in South Africa, British, French, Portuguese and Spanish expansion in the Americas as well as the settlement of the Canary Islands by Castile are classical examples of settler colonialism.