Colonialism and Decolonization Based on North American Materials. Introduction to the Special Topic of the Issue

The published collection of articles is devoted to the colonization of North America by Europeans. It explores the theoretical problems of the typology of processes, methods and results of the Russian, Spanish and British colonization of the continent. The negative impact of colonialism on the natural environment and, as a consequence, on the indigenous population of the continent is considered. In addition, the problem is considered on the basis of the study of specific previously unexplored issues (loans and debts in Russian America) and through the prism of the personality of the participant in the colonization processes (Egor Purtov). The anthropological and historical study of the colonial processes and types of colonization in recent years, in the context of the popularity of the decolonial paradigm, sometimes fades into the background, and this collection of articles to some extent fills this gap.