The Age of European Colonization (15th–20th centuries) Following the 1492 voyage of Columbus, European powers—Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, and the Netherlands—launched global colonization campaigns that triggered massive population movements. Millions of Europeans migrated voluntarily or as indentured servants to the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Simultaneously, the transatlantic slave trade forcibly transported 12–15 million Africans to the Americas. Colonization displaced Indigenous peoples, introduced new diseases, and redrew political boundaries. Settler colonies like the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became demographic extensions of Europe. This era created interconnected global economies but at immense human cost: genocide, slavery, and cultural erasure. Yet it also led to hybrid cultures, creole languages, and new national identities. The migration patterns established during this period still shape global demographics, inequalities, and diasporas today, making it one of history’s most consequential—and traumatic—population reconfigurations.
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