The colonial dominance of Europeans —as well as, in the first half of the 20th century, that of North Americans and Japanese— over large parts of the globe stamped global history from around 1500 to 1975. Given the vastly different development of regions that were once colonies in America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa, the demand for a new assessment of the impacts of colonialism is now emerging.

In light of recent debates regarding the legacy of colonial dominance, the book does not merely limit itself to periodization and the documentation of the historical context of colonialism, but delves into its conceptual content, approaching it as a structural element of the modern and contemporary world, as well as a phenomenon of colossal ambiguity. Using examples from all colonial empires of modern times, it describes the methods of conquest, securing dominance and economic exploitation, forms of resistance, the creation of unique colonial societies, strategies of cultural colonization, as well as colonial thought and colonial culture both in the colonies and in the metropolitan centers themselves.