Paying for a colony (10)
I believe the answer is:
settlement
I believe this is a double definition.
'paying' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'for a colony' is the second definition.
(synonyms)
(Other definitions for settlement that I've seen before include "deal" , "New community" , "Hamlet - conclusion" , "Official agreement" , "Outpost; agreement" .)