the.com/expropriation
the government wants your land, and this time it brought paperwork instead of an army.
means expropriation is when a state seizes private property for public use, ideally with compensation, unlike its rowdier cousin confiscation.
from from latin ex (out of) plus proprius (ones own) — literally taking something out of ownership, formalized in property law by the 18th century as states industrialized and needed land for roads, rails, and wars.
legal cousineminent domain is the american name for it
compensation clausemost constitutions require fair market payment
oil historymexico expropriated foreign oil companies in 1938
gray zoneregulatory taking can expropriate value without seizing title
for instance
mexico oil 1938 — cardenas nationalized foreign oil firms, birthing pemex
suez canal 1956 — egypt seized the canal from anglo-french owners
zimbabwe land reform — 2000s farm seizures collapsed commercial agriculture output
chile copper 1971 — allende nationalized codelco's mines without full payment