erobringen

Erobringen is a Dutch noun that designates the act or result of conquering territory, usually by military force. It refers to the seizure and subsequent control of land, cities, or populations by a ruler, army, or state. In historical writing, erobringen is used to describe campaigns and the territorial gains achieved through such campaigns. In everyday Dutch, the more common term for this concept is veroveringen.

Etymology and usage: The word derives from eroberen, the verb meaning to conquer. It is related to cognate forms in other Germanic languages, such as the German Eroberung. The noun erobringen appears primarily in older or formal texts; contemporary Dutch tends to prefer veroveringen or, in international contexts, the English loanword conquest.

Context and scope: Eroveringen have played a central role in the histories of empires and nation-states, from ancient and medieval expansions to early modern colonial conquest. Descriptions focus on the strategic, political, and demographic outcomes of conquests, as well as the legacies of borders, governance, and cultural exchange that followed. The term often appears in scholarly works on military history, imperial expansion, and state formation.

See also: verovering, conquest.