Settler
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[[Image:Gorskii_04435u.jpg|thumb|300px|A family of [[Russian people|Russian]] settlers in the Caucasus region, circa 1910]]
A '''settler''' is a person who has [[human migration|migrated]] to a less occupied area and established permanent residence there, often to [[colonies|colonize]] the area. Settlers are generally people who take up [[Sedentary|residence on land]] and [[agriculture|cultivate]] it, as opposed to [[nomad]]s. The word "settler" is synonymous with terms such as '''pioneers''', '''colonists''', or "'''colonials'''".
==Causes of Emigration==
{{See also|Political migration}}
The reason for emigration of settlers varies, but often includes one or more factors such as: economic or personal financial hardship; social, cultural, ethnic, or religious persecution (e.g. the [[Pilgrims]], [[Mormon]]s and [[Zionist]]s), or; political oppression and/or policies aimed at encouraging foreign settlement.
The colony concerned is sometimes controlled by the government of a settler's home country, and emigration is sometimes approved by an [[empire|imperial]] government. The term settler is not usually used in relation to the later histories of well-established and/or independent, [[postcolonial]] countries with continuing immigration, like the present-day [[United States]], [[Canada]] or [[Australia]], where terms like [[immigrants]] are preferred.
==Historical usage==
[[Image:Pioneering.JPG|right|thumb|250px|A personification of pioneering as represented by a [[statue]] in [[The American Adventure]] in the World Showcase pavilion of [[Walt Disney World]]'s [[Epcot]].]]
In almost every real historical case, settlers live on land which previously belonged to long-established peoples, known as [[indigenous people]] (often called "natives", "Aborigines" or, in [[the Americas]], "Indians"). This land is usually settled against the wishes of the indigenes, and then controlled, defended and expanded by force, or it is bought or leased from indigenous people on terms highly favourable to the settlers, sometimes under a treaty (e.g. the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] in [[New Zealand]]). In some cases (such as Australia), the legal ownership of some lands is contested much later by indigenous people, who seek or claim traditional usage, [[land rights]], [[native title]] and related forms of ownership or partial control.
The word "settler" was not originally usually used in relation to [[unfree labour]] immigrants, such as [[slavery|slave]]s (e.g. in the United States), [[indentured labour]]ers (such as in [[South Africa]]), or [[convict]]s (such as in [[New York State|New York]], 1674-1775; Australia 1788-1868). More recently descendants of these immigrants may argue that they have as much right to use the word "settler" as the descendants of free immigrants.
In [[Imperial Russia]], the government invited [[Russian people|Russians]] or foreign nationals to settle in sparsely populated lands. These settlers were called "colonists". <!-- article due --> See, e.g., articles [[Slavo-Serbia]], [[Volga German]], [[Volhynia]].
Although they are often thought of as traveling by sea — the dominant form of travel in the early modern era — significant waves of settlement could also use long overland routes, such as the [[Great Trek]] by the [[Boer]]-[[Afrikaners]] in [[South Africa]], or the [[Oregon Trail]] in the United States.
==Modern usage==
However, sometimes one tribe of native settlers drove another tribe from the lands it held, such as the settlement of lands in the area now called [[Carmel-by-the-Sea]], [[California]] where [[Ohlone]] peoples settled in areas previously inhabited by the [[Esselen]] tribe (Bainbridge, 1977). <ref>
''Prehistoric Sources Technical Study'', prepared for the city of Monterey by Bainbridge Behrens Moore Inc., May 23, 1977
</ref>
In the [[Middle East]], [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] are Jews who live in areas captured during the [[Six-Day war]] and claimed by [[Palestinian]]s. Some historians and scientists maintain that Palestinians are descended mostly from [[Arab]] settlers in [[Palestine]], after the [[Caliphate]] conquered the area in the 7th century. However, both Israelis and Palestinians claim partial descent from peoples who lived in the region in prehistoric times (see: [[History of ancient Israel and Judah]], [[Palestinian#The ancestry of the Palestinians|Ancestry of the Palestinians]]).
[[image:Conner-prairie-log-cabin-interior.jpg|thumb|300px|[[History of the United States|Early American]] settlers often built crude houses in the form of [[log cabin]]s.]]
==Other usage==
Settlers in [[hypothetical]] societies, such as on other planets, often feature in [[science fiction]] or [[fantasy]] fiction and/or video games.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Similar terms==
*[[Squatter]]
==See also==
*[[Indigenous people]]
*[[Virgin Lands Campaign]]
*[[Phoenix Islands Settlement Scheme]]
*[[Transmigration program]]
*[[Israeli settlement]]
*[[Naturalized TRNC citizens]]
*[[Sooners]]
*[[Lebensraum]]
*[[Green March]]
[[Category:Human migration]]
[[Category:Anthropological categories of peoples]]
[[Category:Cultural anthropology]]
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