Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally from a sedentary culture, as opposed to nomads who share and rotate their settlements with little or no concept of individual land ownership. Settlements are often built on land already claimed or owned by another group. Many times settlers are backed by governments or large countries.

Historical usage

One can witness how settlers very often occupied land previously home to long-established peoples, designated as indigenous (also called "natives", "Aborigines" or, in the Americas, "Indians"). In some cases (such as Australia), as colonialist mentalities and laws change, the legal ownership of some lands is contested by indigenous people, who either claim or seek restoration of traditional usage, land rights, native title and related forms of legal ownership or partial control.

The word "settler" was not originally usually used in relation to unfree labour immigrants, such as slaves (e.g. in the United States), indentured labourers (such as in Colonial America), or convicts (such as in British America, c. 1615–1775; Australia 1788-1868).

Colonist (1861)

Colonist (1861)
The Colonist was a general cargo and passenger schooner built in 1861 at Dumbarton Scotland by Denny & Rankine. It spent nearly 30 years plying the Western Pacific-based out of Sydney. It wrecked and later re-floated on the remote Elizabeth Reef 550 km from New South Wales, as well as being involved in the gold rushes. Its master murdered was before it was finally involved in a collision in Sydney Harbour, in which it was sunk.

Ship description and construction

The Colonist was a wooden vessel with iron bolts and with a felt and yellow metal skin.

She was rigged as a schooner although sometimes described as a brigantine. She was built by Denny & Rankine in their 140 yard at Dumbarton in 1861.

Ship service history

Maiden voyage to the Pacific

When the vessel arrived in Dunedin, New Zealand in April 1862 after a 4-month journey it was described as

From this journey the "very superior vessel" then made its way over to Newcastle where it was then sold into the Australian service and purchased by the Sydney company Haynes, Brown, and Co in July 1862 to be placed into the colonial trade "for which she is exceedingly well adapted" and described as having proved to be "a remarkably fast ship" and "capable or stowing 200 tons".

Colonist (The X-Files)

The Colonists are an extraterrestrial species in the science fiction television show, The X-Files, as well as the first X-Files feature film. The mystery revolving around their identity and purpose is revealed across the course of the series. In the series' plot, the Colonists are collaborating with a group of United States government officials known as the Syndicate in a plan to colonize the Earth, hence their name.

Character arc

According to the series mythology, an extraterrestrial lifeform, known in the series' mythology simply as the Colonists, were originally present on Earth in the early stages of human evolution. They highly resemble the well-known "grey aliens" in their mature form. In their immature stage, they are more yellowish colored, tall, and very aggressive, possessing fangs, claws and scale-like texture of their skin. This immature form is a protective stage, able to viciously defend itself from birth. This outer skin is eventually shed when the alien develops into its mature form. The immature form resembles that of a reptilian extraterrestrial and is referred to as the "long-clawed" form.