This document discusses the rise and fall of historical world powers from the 16th century to present day. It analyzes how Portugal dominated in the 16th century but declined as the Dutch rose in the 17th century. Britain then became the dominant power in the 18th-19th centuries, but declined in the 20th century as the United States filled the power vacuum after World War 2 during the Cold War era. More recently, the document discusses how a multipolar world may be emerging with the rise of China and other Asian nations as U.S. power recedes. It analyzes different factors that contribute to a country becoming a superpower, such as population, military strength, resources, political stability, and international alliances

1. Country Power: Past, Present &
FUTURE
David B. Miller, NVCC-Alexandria
Geography 230: Geopolitics

2. Past World Powers: 16th century
PORTUGAL – challenged by Spain

3. 16th Century: Rise of the West
Europe’s Rise and China’s Decline
 1500: Portugal claims Brazil and parts of Africa.
 1521: Portugal takes Persian Gulf lands from the Ottomans.
 1521: Portuguese invade China near Hong Kong.
 1522: Portuguese ally with Indonesian rulers and build forts for trade.
 1543: Portuguese forces help Ethiopia defeat a Somali-Ottoman army.
 1548: Ming Dynasty (China) bans foreign trade. Portugal loses income.
 1580: Spain takes control of Portugal; Portuguese empire goes into decline.
 1602: Start of Dutch-Portuguese war; Dutch take many Portuguese lands.

4. Past World Powers: 17th century
NETHERLANDS – challenged by France & England

5. 17th Century: Rise of Dutch Power as
Portugal and Spain Decline
 1605: Dutch capture Portuguese fort in Indonesia.
 1606: Dutch discover Australia then New Zealand (1642).
 1619: Dutch invade Java (Indonesia).
 1625: New Amsterdam (today’s New York) founded by Dutch.
 1630: Dutch found Dutch Brazil, taking territory from the Portuguese.
 1664: English capture New Amsterdam, renaming it New York.
 1667: France invades the Netherlands, but withdraws after peace treaty.
 1672-78: War between France and the Netherlands leads to Dutch decline.

6. The World in 1700--Age of Empires

7. Past World Powers: 18th – mid 20th centuries
BRITAIN– challenged by France, Russia, Germany

8. 18th Century: Rise of British Power as
France and the Netherlands Decline
 1664: Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (New York City) to England
 1710: British seize French Arcadia, renaming it Nova Scotia.
 1754: Anglo-French war commences in North America.
 1760: French Montreal surrenders to British forces.
 1763: Anglo-French war ends; British gains in North America and India.
 1776-1783: American Revolution; British lose American colonies.
 1788: British settle Australia; explore Africa’s interior.
 1795: British take the Cape Colony (South Africa) from the Dutch.
 1798: Battle of the Nile, Britain’s Royal Navy destroys French fleet.

9. 19th Century: Britain as a World Power
challenged by France and Russia
 1801: Steam locomotive invented in Britain; railways follow.
 1805: British victory over a French-Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar gives
Britain control of the seas for the next 110 years.
 1815: A British-led allied army defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
 1837: British and Indian troops enter Afghanistan to protect India from Russia.
 1842: Afghan revolt; some 16,000 retreating British are massacred.
 1854: Britain enters war against Russia to stop Russian expansion into Europe.
 1856: Britain defeats Russia in the Crimean War.
 1878-1880: British army invades Afghanistan and defeats Afghan forces.
 1882: British take control of Egypt and the Suez Canal.

10. 20th Century: Britain Declines as a World Power
challenged by Germany and the Soviet Union
 1902: British forces win Boer War in South Africa.
 1904: British engineer invents the vacuum tube, starting the electronics age.
 1914: Britain launches the world’s first aircraft carrier; World War I starts.
 1918: Germany defeated; Britain gains Germany’s African colonies.
 1919-1921: Guerrilla war in Ireland shows cracks in British Empire.
 1919: Egyptian revolution; Egypt gains independence from Britain in 1922.
 1940: Germany conquers France; 338,000 British soldiers rescued from Dunkirk
 1945: Germany surrenders, but the British Empire suffers 3.1 million casualties.
 1947: India gets independence; Cold War leadership passes from Britain to U.S.

11. The World in 1860—Waning of Empire

12. Europe went from absolute monarchies to
democratic republics after the world wars
1913 2013

13. Europe at the height of World War II, 1942

14. Losses by Russia and China in World War II
affect their nationalism today
Poland--18% of
population killed
Soviet Union—11
million soldiers killed Soviet Union—24
million civilians
killed
China—20
million civilians
killed

15. World Powers: 20th – early 21st century
U.S.– challenged by U.S.S.R, then China
U.S. troops in the country
Selected
countries with
U.S. troops, 2014

16. 20th Century: Rise of U.S. Power as
Britain and Europe Decline
 1890: The U.S. passes Britain as the world’s largest steel producer.
 1898: The U.S. defeats Spain, taking over the Spanish colonies of Guam,
Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.
 1917: America enters World War I; Russian Empire falls to revolution.
 1918: German and Austro-Hungarian empires defeated; monarchies fall.
 1929-33: Wall Street stock market crash; 13 million unemployed in U.S.
 1933: President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” recovery program starts.
 1941: Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, 2,400 killed; U.S. enters World War II.
 1945: Germany defeated; U.S. uses first atomic bombs; Japan surrenders.

17. 20th Century: U.S. Power during Cold War
Bipolar World and Demise of the U.S.S.R.
 1947: U.S. replaces Britain as the lead power in fighting communism; Cold
War with Soviet Union and other communist states begins.
 1948: America’s Marshall Plan starts; helps revive European economies.
 1950-53: U.S. forces lead military effort against communism in Korean War.
 1961: U.S.-organized invasion of communist Cuba at Bay of Pigs fails.
 1962: U.S. compels Soviet Union to withdraw nuclear weapons from Cuba.
 1973: American forces pull out of Vietnam; South Vietnam falls in 1975.
 1983: U.S. invades Grenada after a bloody coup installs a pro-Cuba regime.
 1989: Last of Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan after a 9 year war.
 1991: U.S.S.R. dissolves into 15 countries, making U.S. the sole superpower.

18. Late 20th & Early 21st Centuries: Asia Rises
From U.S. Superpower toward a Multipolar World
 1991: U.S. forces lead in liberation of Kuwait, routing Iraqi occupation troops.
 1996: China fires missiles at Taiwan; U.S. Navy carriers sent to protect Taiwan.
 1999: U.S. plays dominant role in NATO bombing of Serb forces in Kosovo.
 2001: Terrorist attacks on World Trade Center & Pentagon, nearly 3,000 dead
 2001: U.S. air strikes against Taliban in Afghanistan; Taliban government falls.
 2003: U.S.-led campaign invades Iraq and topples Saddam Hussein’s regime.
 2008: U.S. faces its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
 2011: U.S. forces kill Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.
 2011: Intervention in Libya by U.S. & NATO forces ends brutal dictatorship.

20. PERCEPTION:
THREATENING
LESS
THREATENING

21. Details reveal strengths and weaknesses
China adds 1st carrier in 2012
10
U.S. retires carrier in 2012
Includes 9 small carriers

22. 15th century China’s huge navy

23. Defense
spending cycles
in dollars
Defense spending
cycles as a percent of
the U.S. economy’s
GDP

24. What makes a country a superpower?
POPULATION?

25. What makes a country a superpower?
MILITARY?

26. MILITARY READINESS?
What makes a country a superpower?

27. What makes a country a superpower?
ALLIES?

28. What makes a country a superpower?
MORE
ALLIES?

29. What makes a country
a superpower?
ALLIES
CONFRONTING
A RIVAL?
JAPAN’S NEW CARRIER

30. What makes a country
a superpower?
ALLIES
CONFRONTING
A RIVAL?
INDIA

31. What makes a country a superpower?
MORE
ALLIES
THAN
OTHERS?

32. What makes a country a superpower?
ACCESS
TO
RESOURCES?
China
India
U.S.
E.U.

33. China & India could be increasingly
dependent on energy imports.

34. What makes a country a superpower?
A SOUND
POLITICAL
SYSTEM?

35. What makes a country a superpower?
FRIENDLY
BORDERS?

36. What makes a country a superpower?
INTERNAL
UNREST?

37. What makes a country a superpower?
INTERNAL
UNREST?

38. What makes a country a superpower?
LEVEL OF
CORRUPTION?

39. What makes a country a superpower?
COMMUNICATIONS
INFRASTRUCTURE?
Using communication
as a weapon?
Cyber attacks?

40. It is all these things (and more) and how
they change spatially and temporally.