Colonial expansion

Colonisation 1822
Andrei nacu . Colonisation 1822 (Dominio público)

 

The British Empire.

The British begun to build their Empire by the end of the 18th century. They established some colonies in current day Australia after James Cook´s travels to the Pacific and won some commercial concessions from Portugal in India and China.

During the Napoleonic Wars British won control over Egypt and ensured their dominion over the seas after their victory at Trafalgar.

The main and definitive impulse took place under the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-19o1) when the British colonized:

  • Most of Africa (Egypt and Sudan in the North and Cape Hope colony in the south.)
  • India and Burma in Asia.
  • Commercial concessions over China and the colony of Hong- Kong. (Opium War)
  • Australia, New Zealand in the Pacific.
  • Canada and some Caribbean Islands in America.

 After the War World First they gained control over the Turkish possessions in the Middle East (Palestina, Jordania and Irak) and the German colonies in Africa (Tanganika)


The French Empire

The French started to construct their empire later than the British. Their revolutionary process and Napoleonic Wars had kept them very busy.

  • In 1830 the French took Algiers from the Ottoman Turks, thereby starting their empire in North Africa.
  • In the 1880s they established colonies in Vietnam and Laos.
  • They also kept concessions over some Indian ports (Pondichery) and China (Shanghai)
  • After the World War First France gained Syrian and Lebanon from the Ottomans
Colonisation 1914
Andrei nacu. Colonisation 1914 (Dominio público)


The Russian Empire. From the 18th century the Russians started their expansion to the east, in doing so conquering Alaska, which they later sell to the Americans. In 1905 they clashed with the Japanese, who stopped them in Manchuria

Japan. In the 20th century Japan conquered Korea and established a protectorate over Manchuria. In 1930s they extended their power over the coast of China.

USA. In the 19th century they conquered the west of North America, fighting against Mexican an native peoples. In 1898 they took Philippines and Puerto Rico from Spain. In 1941 the USA's Empire clashed with the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.