European settlers
Old World arrivals
European settlers are people of European origin who migrated to and established residence in lands outside Europe, particularly during colonial expansion from the 15th through 20th centuries.
The term carries historical weight, often appearing in discussions of colonialism, indigenous displacement, and the founding narratives of nations like the United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa: European settlers displaced native populations across the Americas.
The phrase emphasizes both origin and the act of permanent establishment, distinguishing settlers from explorers or traders.
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- religious freedomRight to practice faith
- Caribbean islandsTropical Atlantic island chain
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
imperialism · Manifest Destiny · westward expansion · North America · New France · land disputes · treaty violations · New Zealand · fur trade · trading posts · governance systems · indigenous · resource extraction · Plymouth Colony · South America · displacement · colonial powers · economic opportunity
- Colonial AustraliaBotany Bay, penal colonies, convicts, penal colony, colonial settlement
- ArgentinaBuenos Aires, tango, Messi, Patagonia, mate
- Carolina HistoryCharleston, Lowcountry, Piedmont, Backcountry, colonial era
- Ruanda-UrundiBelgium, Kigali, Hutu, Tutsi, colonial rule
European settlersindigenous peoples
Original inhabitants of lands
First Nations · Native Americans · Indigenous Australians · native populations · original inhabitants