European Encroachment

Definition

This term refers to the gradual and often forceful expansion of European influence or territorial occupation into native lands, particularly in the Americas during the Age of Exploration.

Analogy

Think of European Encroachment like a popular new student at school who starts taking over clubs, sports teams, and even your friend group. Just as this new student is expanding their influence, so too were the Europeans expanding their control over new territories.

Related terms

Colonialism: The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Imperialism: A policy or ideology by a nation to maintain control over distant lands or people for extended periods.

Manifest Destiny: The 19th-century doctrine that justified the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents as being both justified and inevitable.