Imperialism - A bit of history- and who is next inline

[Ed in Houston]

 The ancient and recent history of Homo sapiens activities is indicative of a highly territorial animal that subjugates, conquers or kills all other competitors with the intent of being the chief predictor regionally and ultimately of planet Earth. This human condition can be generally characterized as imperialism/colonialism. This condition of humanity is not determined by political or religious cultures as it is universal across cultures. This predisposition of all populations to dominate is not driven by a particular ideology and is only limited by the economic resources that can be applied to satisfy the inborn Homo sapiens lust.

 

 Looking at various sources on the internet:

 

The meaning of imperialism is to create an empire, by conquering the other state's lands and therefore increasing its own dominance. Colonialism is the builder and preserver of the colonial possessions in an area by a population coming from a foreign region.

 

Imperialism and colonialism both dictate the political and economic advantage over a land and the indigenous populations they control. Although imperialism and colonialism focus on the suppression of an other, colonialism refers to the process of a country taking physical control of another, imperialism refers to the political and monetary dominance, either formally or informally. Colonialism is seen to be the architect deciding how to start dominating areas and then imperialism can be seen as creating the idea behind conquest cooperating with colonialism.

 

China:

 

Ancient China has been one of the world's oldest empires that still exist. Due to its long history of being imperialist expansion, China has been seen by its neighboring countries as a threat due to large population, giant economy, large military force as well as its territorial evolution in most of history of China.

 

 

 

 

Ottoman Empire

 

The Ottoman Empire was an imperial state that lasted from 1299 to 1922.

 

 

 

Europe:

 

Europe's expansion into territorial imperialism was largely focused on economic growth by collecting resources from colonies, in combination with assuming political control by military and political means.

 

During the 16th century, the French colonization of the Americas began with the creation of New France. It was followed by French East India Company's trading posts in Africa and Asia in the 17th century.

 

 

Britain's imperialist ambitions can be seen as early as the sixteenth century. In 1599 the British East India Company was established and was chartered by Queen Elizabeth in the following year. The sun never sets on the British empire.

 

 

 

 

 

Japan:

 

By the early 1900s, Japan was a naval power that could hold its own against an established European power like Russia.

 

 

 

 

Russia:

 

By the 18th century, the Russian Empire extended its control to the Pacific.

 

 

 

 

United States:

 

A former colony itself, the early United States expressed its opposition to Imperialism, at least in a form distinct from its own Manifest Destiny, through policies such as the Monroe Doctrine. However, beginning in the late 19th and early 20th century, policies such as Theodore Roosevelt’s interventionism in Central America and Woodrow Wilson’s mission to "make the world safe for democracy".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is next inline:

 

To reiterate, this behavioral characteristic of Homo sapiens is independent of culture and the cultures that are most successful in domination are the one's that can bring the most economic resources in the effort secure advantage over all other competitors be they man or beast. It has been well established that some form/degree of capitalism is the most economically productive form of human organization and has allowed those cultures with that economic system to be the kings of hegemony. After the Chinese cultural revolution and the adaption of a pseudo capitalist society, China began a rapid economic expansion and seems to be the next inline as the dominate imperialist nation. Hints of this seem to be the adoption of their own version of manifest destiny.

 

 

 

 

Chinese economic advantage and therefore imperialistic advantage will be brought to full fruition when China fully develops their version of capitalism driven by a very talented workforce of 1.3 billion humans.

 

 The Chinese Homo sapiens populations are perhaps the most adapted of any group to be highly successful with 21st century technologies.

 

Average IQ of various Chinese provinces:

 

 

 

Don't have the expectation that this genetically wired characteristic of Homo sapiens to change in the future, if indeed mankind has a future.

 

Ed in Houston

 

[bgl]

Truly fascinating stuff, but China was never part of the Russian empire. (Map #6 above, "Russia, by the 18th century etc.).

[PALM MOD]

Is there any way this is not going to get political - if it isn't already?

[bgl]

Yeah, my thought as well!  Fortunately I am not the one who has to make the tough decisions...

[Ed in Houston]

19 hours ago, bgl said:

Truly fascinating stuff, but China was never part of the Russian empire. (Map #6 above, "Russia, by the 18th century etc.).

This needs some clarification. The source of this information can be found a little past halfway down on this link under the section "Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union ".

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Imperialism.html

Ed in Houston

 

[Ed in Houston]

10 hours ago, PALM MOD said:

Is there any way this is not going to get political - if it isn't already?

 

In the first paragraph of this post.....

"The ancient and recent history of Homo sapiens activities is indicative of a highly territorial animal.........This condition of humanity is not determined by political or religious cultures as it is universal across cultures......."

This post could very well be disconcerting to those whose paradigm makes it unacceptable to hold a mirror up to the face of humanity.

In the guidelines of this forum it is stated unequivocally that " We reserve the right to remove, modify or move posts or topics at our discretion and without explanation."

Ed in Houston

 

[DoomsDave]

Can we just talk without ripping out throats?

Purty please?

[RedRabbit]

I don’t want to get too much into imperialism since it is debatable what qualifies and what doesn’t.

I will say that World Order by Henry Kissinger is a great book that’s relevant to this subject. Among other things, it was very interesting to read about how the Peace of Westphalia is largely responsible for current world order we live in today.

[Ed in Houston]

 

3 hours ago, RedRabbit said:

I don’t want to get too much into imperialism since it is debatable what qualifies and what doesn’t.

I will say that World Order by Henry Kissinger is a great book that’s relevant to this subject. Among other things, it was very interesting to read about how the Peace of Westphalia is largely responsible for current world order we live in today.

Very interesting. Thanks for that RedRabbit.  It was indeed a major milestone in the developing world order.  I was not familiar with the Peace of Westphalia so I looked on the WWW and found this.

From WWW:

The Thirty Years War ( 1618 and 1648) was fought largely on German soil, reducing the country to desolation and total ruin as swarms of unpaid hired mercenaries ravaged the land.  Rape, pillage, and famine spread across the countryside.  For thirty years, army after army marched through plundering every town, village, and farm they encountered.  There were reported incidences of cannibalism due to mass starvation. There was no order, no borders, no protection, no concept of “just tend to your own affairs” for the nations and people who sent armies into this conflict.

Out of this chaos came order, and a system of order that has held for centuries, with a few exceptions.  The rulers of the warring governments, and certainly the people of Europe, finally grew sick of the horror and demanded that it be ended. More than 179 diplomats representing 194 separate bodies or states, gathered in Westphalia to discuss peace. Thousands of bureaucrats and support staff were also there.  The papal nuncio, Fabio Chigi, who would later become Pope Alexander the VII, and the Venetian ambassador, Alvise Contarini, presided at the conference.  The system of world order which resulted is known as the Peace of Westphalia, or the Treaty of Westphalia.

The first six months of the conference were spent arguing over protocol – who would sit where, who would come into a room first, and who would cool his heels in the outer rooms.  Remember, there was no internet then.  Communication was primitive.  Postal communication often took weeks.  So the talks dragged on and on.   In the meantime, people continued to die of starvation and violence.

The diplomats finally decided to make protocol part of the larger agreement.  They agreed that all parties from the largest to the smallest would be treated as equals, and devised a way for all participates to enter the session at the same time.  Seating positions would rotate so no one would be perceived as having greater prominence than anyone else.

Under the provisions of the treaty, the Swiss gained their independence from Austria, the Netherlands gained its independence from Spain, and the German principalities became independent.  The dream of a Roman Catholic re-conquest of Europe was gone forever.  Protestantism was in the world to stay.

The main points of agreement brought order and stability to the world.  The states agreed to the following:

    Each state could keep its own religion without outside interference.

    The internal affairs of each nation-state was to be left to it alone.

    The nation-state was to be the highest form of government and these nation-states would not be governed by clerics or religious leaders.

    Each nation agreed to only attack other nations if it was immediately and strategically threatened. They would no longer attack each other just because one nation did not like what the other was doing. No pre-emptive attacks, only immediate threats.

This system of order, also known as the Westphalian System of World Order, has anchored the global political system for 350 years. There have been many violations, of course, violations which have led to war, but in general, and after the wars were over, the nations returned to the Westphalian system.

The Peace of Westphalia was not just one system of order among many, it was the most morally and intellectually appealing of all systems – a system where the parties agreed they would not seek to impose their religious principles upon others.  Nation-states became the highest form of government, and they would no longer interfere in the internal affairs of other states. It was a way of incorporating multiple societies, religions and states into a search for a more peaceful and orderly world.

Source:

https://www.constitutionparty.com/the-peace-of-westphalia-and-the-new-world-order/

Ed in Houston