colonization

Colonization was what the Europeans did in the Renaissance to gain control over a larger area due to the economic system of mercantilism. The whole point of mercantilism was that there is a finite amount of wealth in the world in the form of natural resources and land, so the more a country controlled of this then the more powerful it was. These natural resources came in the form of gold, silver, and even farmable land. The Europeans were the greatest colonizers. They settled and built colonies all around the world. The Europeans settled in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, India, and even some parts of Southeast Aisa. There were even companies, like the Dutch East Indies Company, that specialized in organizing people to go to the new areas. Colonization had many negative affects on the people that had originally settled in these areas. These people died from diseases brought over, had their land taken away, and some were even forced to work for the colonizers. Despite these negative affects, colonization played a major part in bringing the world together and developing it like it is today.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/ColonialAfrica_1914.png

Created by Charlie Baker 10/11/08