ABSTRACT
Were there any significant differences between Asian and western European territorial expansions? One key contrast seems to involve the oceans. Although Asianists can point to numerous Asian states that projected their power overseas, from the Ottoman Empire to Ming China, there does seem to be some truth to the proposition that during the early modern period (1450 to 1750) European states were more inclined to seaborne expansion than were Asian states. European empires stretched around the world, consisting primarily of small seaports strung together across the oceans. Indeed, outside of the New World, European colonies rarely extended past the immediate hinterlands of their ports. More importantly, during the early modern period, there were no analogous Asian sea-empires.
