What does colony mean?

Colonies refer to countries and regions that are economically exploited, culturally invaded and politically enslaved by the suzerain.

The original meaning of a colony is to emigrate and farm on wasteland, which can be used as a trade outpost or military base. After that, it refers to the immigrant settlement established by a country in its conquered area (country) to obtain new resources for the suzerain country.

Colonies in the capitalist period, especially in the imperialist stage, refer to countries or regions whose territories are occupied, their sovereignty and independence are lost, they are completely ruled and dominated by capitalist powers politically and economically, and their purpose is to plunder various resources.

The "constructive mission" of the colony, that is, the positive significance, is usually manifested in the fact that the suzerain country provided modern infrastructure such as ports and roads by exporting capital and technology to the colony, the commodity economy of the colony also developed, the pace of urbanization accelerated, railways, highways, telecommunications, telephones, hospitals and schools appeared, and the originally backward colonial areas were brought into the market economy field.

Characteristics of early colonial expansion

The countries of early European colonial expansion were mainly Spain, Portugal and Britain. The goal of early colonization by Portuguese colonists was in the Eastern Hemisphere. Portuguese businessmen set up trading posts in the Eastern Hemisphere, deceived the countries in the Eastern Hemisphere by means of plunder and extortion, and finally achieved the goal of colonization.

The early colonial expansion of Spain was completely different from that of Portugal. Spain's colonial goal is in the western hemisphere. They established a colonial country in the colony by killing local residents and mining gold mines, and served themselves by means of political control. The bloody rule of Spain provided a template for the later colonial rule of European countries. Later, France, Japan and other countries brutally ruled the colonies by establishing colonial governments.

At this time, Britain has no strength to compete with Spain and Portugal. Therefore, Britain's early colonial expansion was characterized by general maritime trade and pirates robbing and selling slaves.