Settler

A settler or colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that settlers establish is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. While settlers can act independently, they may receive support from the government of their nation or its colonial empire, or from a non-governmental organization, as part of a larger campaign. The process of settling land can be, and has often been, controversial; while human migration is itself a normal phenomenon, it has not been uncommon throughout human history for settlers to have arrived in already-inhabited lands without the intention of living alongside the native population. In these cases, the conflict that arises between the settlers and the natives, or Indigenous peoples, may result in warfare and possibly the dispossession of the latter within the contested territory desired, usually violently. The lifestyle of a native population is often disturbed or destroyed if they come into contact with a settler population, particularly when the settler population seeks to mostly replace them. Settlers may also engender a change in culture, or alteration of the existing culture, among the natives. New populations have also been created by the mixing of settlers and natives, including Cape Coloureds in South Africa and Anglo-Indians.