History Of Civilization: Trade & Dominion

The European Oversea Empires In The Eighteenth Century

Between the mid-fifteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries every European state which possessed an Atlantic sea-board (and some that did not) acquired territory overseas. These become the Empire, super-states comprising a metropolis and dependencies. Five countries stood out above all the others in the race for colonies - Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France and England.

This was a stage of expanded operations, of collisions, mutinies and alterations of course. As the eighteenth century progressed governments became more interested in efficient and rational administration and a more responsible attitude to subject races emerged. At the same time the first successful colonial rebellion took place - the American War of Independence. European governments were slow to learn that an independent, stable and prosperous former colony could provide an industrializing metropolis with a ready-made market without the trouble of imperial supervision.