What is History of colonialism?
The '''history of colonialism''' goes back thousands of years, [[colonialism]] is the taking over of one country by another. In ancient times peoples such as the [[Hittites]] and the [[Inca Empire|Incas]] were involved in colonialism. However people usually use the word colonialism to talk about the European overseas empires rather than land-based empires. Overseas empires include British rule in India and French rule in [[Algeria]] - both of which could only be reached by ships. Land based empires are usually described as [[imperialism]] and include: * The [[Mongol Empire]], a large empire stretching from the Western [[Pacific]] to [[Eastern Europe]] * The Empire of [[Alexander the Great]] * The [[Umayyad Caliphate]] * The [[Persian Empire]] * The [[Roman Empire]] * The [[Byzantine Empire]].[[Image:Colonial Africa 1914 map.png|thumb|right|350px|European claims in Africa, 1914, following the [[Scramble for Africa]].]] The [[Ottoman Empire]] was created across [[Mediterranean]], [[North Africa]] and into [[Southern Europe]] and existed during the time of European colonization of the other parts of the world. European colonialism began in the fifteenth century when the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] began exploring the [[Americas]], and the coasts of [[Africa]], the [[Middle East]], [[India]], and [[East Asia]]. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, [[England]], [[France]] and [[Holland]] made their own overseas empires. However the end of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century many European colonies in the Americas gained their independence. Spain and Portugal became weakened after the loss of their [[New World]] colonies and could not get back the power they once had. But [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]], France and Holland turned their attention to [[South Africa]], [[India]] and [[South East Asia]] and began expanding. In the nineteenth century Europe underwent industrialisation, the population got larger, armies became more organised and had better w