Global Diasporas: An IntroductionWhat is a diaspora? For the Greeks, from whose language the word originated, diaspora meant the dispersal of population through colonization. For Jews, Africans, Armenians, and others, the word acquired a more sinister and brutal meaning. Diaspora meant a collective trauma, a banishment into exile, and a heart aching longing to return home. During the early modern period, trade and labor diasporas girded the mercantilist and early capitalist worlds.