History of colonialism

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Colonialism is a phenomenon that has occurred throughout human history across the world. Colonies were established by many prominent ancient and medieval civilizations, such as the Phoenicians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Han Chinese, and the Arabs, among others. The High Middle Ages saw a variety of European civilizations moving west, north, east, and south out of their continent. The Crusader states in the Levant exemplify some colonial features similar to those of ancient colonies. The beginning of the "Age of Discovery" around 1418 marked a new phase of European colonialism led by the Portuguese, who became increasingly expansionist following the conquest of Ceuta in 1415. Portugal aimed to control navigation routes through the Strait of Gibraltar, to spread Christianity, to amass wealth and plunder, and to suppress predation on Portuguese populations by Muslim Barbary pirates, who operated as part of a long-running African slave trade that the Portuguese...

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