Final answer:
The concept of property ownership was central to European colonialism and imperialism, as it justified the seizure of lands and resources from Indigenous peoples who did not share this concept of private ownership.
Step-by-step explanation:
The centrality of the concept of property ownership and dispossession served as a crucial tool for European-oriented colonialism and imperialism. European colonizers operated under a belief system starkly different from that of the Indigenous peoples they encountered, who largely viewed land as a communal resource without the concept of private ownership.
This divergence in understanding allowed Europeans to justify the usurpation of lands and resources through legalistic frameworks alien to native customs. Land claims were often backed by force and pseudo-legal methods in an imperial strategy to expropriate resources, from land to labor.
During imperial expansion, European powers established private property rights, marked territories with fences, and introduced agriculture that relied on land ownership, often at the expense of native peoples' way of life. This dispossession fueled conflicts and led to significant shifts in indigenous societies, as their autonomy was systematically eroded.