European empires
Overseas colonial dominions
European empires were the colonial powers—primarily Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany—that dominated much of the world from the 15th through 20th centuries.
The phrase typically refers to these nations' overseas territories and the systems of extraction and control that governed them: European empires carved up Africa at the Berlin Conference.
The era of European empires shaped modern borders, languages, and economic patterns across Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
- mercantilismTrade policy favoring exports
- plantation systemLabor-intensive colonial farming model
- globalizationWorldwide economic and cultural integration
- cultural assimilationAdopting another group's norms
- colonial legacyEnduring impact of occupation
national independence · linguistic diffusion · historical memory · settler colonialism · white man's burden · transatlantic slave trade · missionary activity · industrialization · scientific exploration · naval dominance · gunboat diplomacy · trade monopolies · treaty-making · imperial expansion · resource extraction · spice trade · Berlin Conference · colonial rule
European empirescity-states
Self-governing urban territories
nation-states · sovereign nations · indigenous sovereignty · tribal societies · federations
European empiresAfrican kingdoms
Pre-colonial continental states
Ottoman Empire · Mughal Empire · Aztec Empire · Inca Empire · Qing dynasty
European, Europe, Europeanization, empire, empires, imperialism, imperialist, imperialistic, emperor