The term 'colonial order,' as seen through the lens of Bayo Akomolafe, represents a systematic imposition of hyper-rationality and hegemonic structures aimed at homogenizing diverse worlds and experiences into a singular narrative of progress and civilization. It is an architecture of domination and control that enforces boundaries and hierarchies, often violently, to suppress the pluriversality of life and living practices. Enabling the extraction of resources and exploitation of bodies, this order perpetuates inequalities under the guise of development and modernity. Essential to its operation is an epistemic framework that privileges Western ways of knowing while erasing indigenous understandings and relational modes of existence. Thus, the colonial order is not just a historical period but a persistent ontological and ecological crisis that continues to shape our interactions with the world and each other.

See also: slave trade, white supremacy, nation state, middle passage