ABSTRACT
In the period 1850–1918 two types of empire existed. The first is the one familiar to modern students of imperialism. The West European maritime empires had their origins in the sixteenth century and by 1900 were the world’s leading industrial and financial powers. Britain was the model empire of this type, with the French and Dutch as lesser variations on the same theme. By 1914, Germany and the USA, though in important ways different from the classic West European maritime empires, could nevertheless be considered as falling within this category of polity.
