annexation

英[,ænək'seɪʃn;,ænek'seɪʃn] 美[,ænɛk'seʃən]

1. incorporation by joining or uniting

2. the formal act of acquiring something (especially territory) by conquest or occupation;

"the French annexation of Madagascar as a colony in 1896"

"a protectorate has frequently been a first step to annexation"