colonization

meaning in plain English

Taking control of a place and sending your own people to live there, often to build a new community or take resources.

Think colonization: a crew drops anchor, plants flags, and moves in, like setting up a new house and taking the backyard.

for example

The European colonization of North America changed the lives of many Native peoples forever.

Imagine moving to a new neighborhood and slowly turning it into a place that looks and feels like your old one, with your rules and your way of doing things. That’s colonization—it’s not just about moving, but about making the place your own in a way that pushes out what was already there before.