The Dutch, Russian and United States Colonial Empires

Abstract

Between the British and French and all other modern colonial empires there were contrasts in size so great as to amount to a difference in kind. Britain and France had world-wide empires of immense diversity: the rest were relatively small and geographically localized. Except for the United States empire, each had a single gravitational centre. For Portugal, Germany and Belgium this was in Africa. The Dutch empire consisted almost entirely of Indonesia. Russian colonies were widely spread but were territorially continuous. to maintain correct proportions, these six empires will be described briefly, in two groups. The German, Belgium and Portuguese colonies fall together naturally, since they consisted largely of African territories in a practically contiguous bloc; the others can only be joined in a marriage of convenience.