squatter

squatter
—squatterdom, n.
/skwot"euhr/, n.
1. a person or thing that squats.
2. a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right, or payment of rent.
3. a person who settles on land under government regulation, in order to acquire title.
[1775-85; SQUAT + -ER1]

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▪ Australian history
      in 19th-century Australian history, an illegal occupier of crown grazing land beyond the prescribed limits of settlement. The inroad of squatters contributed to the growth of the country's wool industry and to the development of a powerful social class in Australian life. By the late 1840s the authorities recognized the economic good derived from the squatters' activity and issued them leases for their sheep runs and tenure extending as long as 14 years. By this time the squatters had a hold on the land; many had become wealthy grandees.

      The 1850s saw a large influx of immigrants, as well as thousands of miners drawn to Australia by the gold strikes. A cry for land was raised from this quarter, which challenged the squatters' position. The cry was strong enough to prompt the Legislative Assemblies of the various colonies to pass “selection” acts in subsequent years. Generally, these provided for the sale of land at auction, forcing squatters to bid against prospective farmers for the land that they already controlled by leasehold. The wealthy squatters were able to purchase the choicest land, but much grazing area fell into the hands of small farmers, who found the agricultural yield disappointing. Their hostility against the selectors and their rugged pioneer ethos led the squatters often to resist social and political change.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • squatter — [ skwate ] v. tr. <conjug. : 1> • 1969; angl. amér. to squat 1 ♦ Occuper illégalement (une habitation vide). On dit aussi SQUATTÉRISER <conjug. : 1> . « l immeuble vétuste dont les bohémiens avaient squattérisé le sous sol » (Le… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • squatter — squat·ter / skwä tər/ n: a person who occupies real property without a claim of right or title ◇ In most jurisdictions, a squatter cannot gain title to land through adverse possession because adverse possession requires possession of the property …   Law dictionary

  • Squatter — Squat ter ( t[ e]r), n. 1. One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully upon land without a title. In the United States and Australia the term is sometimes applied also to a person who settles lawfully upon government land under legal …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Squatter —   [ skwɔtə; englisch, zu to squat »hocken«, »kauern«] der, s/ , Bezeichnung für einen Ansiedler, der sich ohne Rechtstitel auf unbebautem Land niederlässt (auch in Städten); in den USA besonders für die Ansiedler der Backwoods. * * * Squat|ter [… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • squatter — SCUÓ TĂR/ s. m. cel care ocupă, fără aprobare, o locuinţă abandonată ce urmează să fie supusă demolării. (< engl., fr. squatter) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • Squatter — (engl., spr. ßkwotter, von to squat, niederkauern), in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika ein Ansiedler, der sich ohne Rechtstitel auf einem Stück unbebauten Landes niederläßt. Da diese Ansiedler viel zur raschen Besiedelung, namentlich der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • squatter — squat‧ter [ˈskwɒtə ǁ ˈskwɑːtər] noun [countable] 1. PROPERTY someone who lives in an empty building without permission or without paying rent 2. LAW someone who lives on unowned land without permission and without paying rent, but has legal… …   Financial and business terms

  • squatter — settler who occupies land without legal title, 1788, agent noun from SQUAT (Cf. squat) (v.); in reference to paupers or homeless people in uninhabited buildings, it is recorded from 1880 …   Etymology dictionary

  • squatter — (del inglés; pronunciamos escuáter ) sustantivo masculino,f. 1. Okupa Uso/registro: jergal):. Unos squatters han sido desalojados de una casa de nuestra calle por la policía …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • squatter — ► NOUN 1) a person who squats in a building or on unused land. 2) Austral./NZ a large scale sheep or cattle farmer …   English terms dictionary

  • squatter — [skwät′ər] n. 1. a person or animal that squats, or crouches ☆ 2. a person who settles on public or unoccupied land: see SQUAT (vi. 3 & 4) 3. a person who occupies illegally a vacant house, building, etc …   English World dictionary

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