Notes

The Dutch
Over the course of time, Portugal overextended her people and resources. At the same time, Holland was beginning to flex her maritime muscles. Knowing the wealth of the Orient, the Dutch began to challenge the Portuguese.

The Dutch East India Company was established in 1602 by two rival companies that realized working together for the common good would be more profitable than fighting. Their combined strength began to take control of the seas. Piece by piece, the Dutch invaded and conquered Portuguese bases of operation. Portugal could do little to stop this intrusion. In the span of about fifty years, the Dutch became the master of the seas. Late in the seventeenth century, the Dutch East India Company was the richest company on Earth. It had a huge fleet and a private military. From Cape Town, South Africa to Guangzhou, China, the Dutch presence was felt.

Like those who came before her, Holland would not remain in control forever. The English and the French were in the process of taking their turns on stage. One of them would become the number one power on Earth and remain so until the arrival of a yet-to-be-born nation in North America.

The English
From the start, both the English and the French gave more attention to the New World. There was still hope that a passage could be found through the new continent that would lead people to China. The search for the Northwest Passage never led to China, but it did open up a vast new country. The two nations wrestled for control, while at the same time expressing more and more interest in India and Asia.

The global situation was directly affected by problems at home. The continent of Europe was divided by two alliances that were on the verge of war. The political issues boiled over in 1756 with the start of the Seven Years' War. England and Prussia were pitted against the rest of Europe. In the end, Great Britain rose to the top. France was forced to turn over its assets in North America and India. With other nations on the decline, England flexed her muscles all over the world.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT
As the situation worsened, riots and rebellions broke out. After the bloody Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, the English government took over political control of India, relieving the British East India Company of this responsibility. Great Britain would continue to control India until the nation was able to earn its independence in 1947.

In the meantime, England had cornered the Asian trade market. Her number-one trading partner was China. Despite her desire to remain isolated from the rest of the world, China had been forced to deal with foreign powers. Trade meant money, and money made the people happy. On the downside, foreign influences meant their people were exposed to various religious, economic, and cultural ideas that Chinese emperors did not like.

The situation came to a head in 1840. The English had been sending large shipments of opium to the Chinese from fields in India. Noting the addictive characteristics and the negative effects it was having on her people, the Chinese government halted the shipments. This resulted in the First and Second Opium Wars. England won both, and in the process, forced China to open her doors even wider to foreign influences.

Great Britain's dominance of the seas continued into the twentieth century. In time, she and the other European nations changed tactics. In a future lesson, you'll learn more about this when you study the "Scramble for Africa" along with the colonization of that continent and Southeast Asia.

The French
The story of French imperialism is not so glamorous. Just as they were beginning to get a firm foot into the door of international trade, the Seven Years' War derailed all plans. With the loss of North America and India, French trade was limited to Indochina. There, a number of French missions had blossomed, and there was a need to protect them. France took control of some parts of southern China and all of Vietnam. This led to French control over other nations, such as Laos and Cambodia.

The entire area became an important source of cotton, tin, rice, and coal. France's influence was lost to the Japanese during World War II, regained for a short time, and then lost altogether in the 1950s.

The Russians
Western European nations were not the only ones with imperialistic tendencies. Russia also felt the need to expand her borders. There was much to consider. Traditional enemies, China and Japan, lay to the east. Likewise, the political situation in Europe had remained volatile for centuries.

In need of water ports, the Russians expanded east and then south. Over time, the country annexed land all the way to the Pacific Ocean. With that done, Russian leaders headed south, getting land next to the Black Sea. This gave Russia direct access to the Mediterranean Sea. When they approached India from Afghanistan and Persia, that set off a series of minor confrontations with England. The two nations usually avoided bloodshed with the exception of one instance. An agreement was reached and the problem resolved.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in no further expansion of Russia for a time. Later in the twentieth century, however, this would drastically change.

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