[kuh-loh-nee-uh-liz-uh
m] 
| 1. | the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people. |
| 2. | the system or policy by which a nation maintains or advocates such control or influence. |
| 3. | the state or condition of being colonial. |
| 4. | an idea, custom, or practice peculiar to a colony. |
| co·lo·ni·al·ism (kə-lō'nē-ə-lĭz'əm) n. A policy by which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies. co·lo'ni·al·ist n. |
The control of one nation by “transplanted” people of another nation — often a geographically distant nation that has a different culture and dominant racial or ethnic group. (See ethnicity.)
Note: A classic example of colonialism is the control of India by Britain from the eighteenth century to 1947.
Note: Control that is economic and cultural, rather than political, is often called neocolonialism.