I don't know why we don't call it colonialism considering we often call them empires and the process of empire is in some ways very linked to colonialism. All

I don't know why we don't call it colonialism considering we often call them empires and the process of empire is in some ways very linked to colonialism. All of these terms come from the Roman empire which created a multiethnic state dominated by two ethnic groups, the Romans and the Greek, with colonies of each around the Mediterranean. Perhaps its baggage from the 18 and 19 centuries when only Europeans, Americans, and Japanese had territories spanning continents in a form we would call colonies. The only reason the Japanese had those territories was because they thought an empire would stop them from being colonized themselves. ( This does not excuse the terrible abuses of the Japanese government.)