Wikipedia: Squatting, the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use.
As I come from a family of ranchers that owned our land, I say the two terms are not synonymous. Certainly, early cattlemen in the West often occupied land they did not own. In those times, the term squatter was derogatorily applied to small farmers who took up residence, sometimes lawfully, on land the cattlemen considered to be their domain.
As I come from a family of ranchers that owned our land, I say the two terms are not synonymous. Certainly, early cattlemen in the West often occupied land they did not own. In those times, the term squatter was derogatorily applied to small farmers who took up residence, sometimes lawfully, on land the cattlemen considered to be their domain.