What Methods and Tactics did Industrialized States Use to Establish and Expand Their Empires?

European states established and expanded their empires via military power. In some cases, they did this by simply conquering states such as Africa and India. Britain established economic imperialism, the practice of dominating another's economy if not the state itself, in places such as China via the Opium War, in which Britain used its great military might to open up Chinese ports to British goods (specifically opium). The U.S. as well practiced economic imperialism by using military intimidation to force open Japan's ports for trade.

Colonial Rule Over Time

During this time period  European nations such as France, Britain, and a unified Germany established or increased control over their colonial system. For instance France would show increasing power over Indochina while Britain increased state control in India in place of the East India Company. Finally Germany quickly sated their imperialist ambitions by establishing control over larges swaths of Africa and in the Pacific such as the Bismarck Islands. Meanwhile Spain and Portugal began to lose control of their South and Central American colonies to successful independence movements.  

Key People

• John Locke: a seventeenth century Enlightenment thinker who preached ideas such as a contract government, or the "political theory that views government as stemming from the people, who agree to surrender a measure of personal freedom in return for a government that guarantees protection of citizens' rights and property" (Crossroads and Cultures). The certain rights that he believed in were the right to life, liberty, and property. Also, Locke held that if a government failed to serve its citizens properly, then they had to right to overthrow the government. 
• Voltaire: a French Enlightenment philosopher who called for a society based on merit and not noble birth. He compared the corrupt societies of Europe to the supposedly flawless societies of Asia.
• Baron Louis Montesquieu: a French Enlightenment thinker, who, similar to his contemporary, Voltaire, saw European society as inferior to Asian society. He also introduced the idea of separation of powers through judicial, legislative, and executive branches. 
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: a Swiss Enlightenment philosopher who, in his The Social Contract, states that due to corrupt governments "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." Rousseau stressed proper education--namely, learning through experience rather than rote memorization (as can be seen in his book Emile). He also maintained that women were not equal to men.
• Adam Smith: Scottish author of On the Wealth of Nations, a book that introduced the concept of laissez faire, or the "economic doctrine that advocates freeing economies from government intervention and control" (Crossroads and Cultures).
• Denis Diderot: French author of the Enlightenment Encyclopedia, which emphasized the importance of commoners to society and the equality of all people. His book also contained sketches of new, practical machines.
• Frederick the Great: Prussian ruler from 1740-1786 who celebrated the Enlightenment and valued hard work in a ruler rather than a life of luxury.
• Catherine the Great: Russian ruler who greatly improved education for girls and who commenced the writing of a dictionary of the Russian language. She also tried to reform nobles so they would participate in the development of their subjects rather than vices and luxury. 
• Emel'ian Ivanoch Pugachev: instigator of the Pugachev Rebellion who united serfs in a revolt by claiming that he was the dead husband of Catherine the Great. 
• George Washington: the head general of the Continental Army who lead the American colonies to win freedom from Great Britain. Also, he was the first president of the United States.
• Alexander Hamilton: a leading figure in the writing of the Constitution of the United States who advocated the abolition of slavery.
• King Louis XVI: monarch of France who, through his spendthrift ways, caused the French government to be deep in debt. The French Revolution occured during his rule, and he was eventually executed via the guillotine.
• Olympe de Gouges: French Enlightenment thinker who wrote the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen" which proclaimed that women were equal to men. In her "Reflections on Negroes," she said that blacks were no different than whites in the same way blonds were no different than blacks. 
• Mary Wollstonecraft: her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman compared the unjust subordination of women under men to the French nobles' oppression of the French commoners prior to the French Revolution. 
• Maximilien Robespierre: a French lawyer who seized power in the heat of the turmoil that ensued after the French Revolution. In his efforts to make France a republic, Robespierre tried to create a more egalitarian and patriotic society. However, it was he who ordered the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette during a time known as the Terror, where many were killed and citizens were stripped of basic freedoms such as freedom of speech in accordance with general will, or the "political concept that once agreement among citizens creates a state, that state is endowed with a higher wisdom about policies with which virtuous citizens could not disagree" (Crossroads and Cultures).
• Napoleon Bonaparte: seized control of France as emperor in 1804. His Napoleonic Code increased wealth by establishing clear rules for economics but greatly decreased the status of women in France. He conquered much land in Europe, but then, weakened by a defeat in Russia, he was forced to surrender to British forces at Waterloo.
• Muhammad Ali: the viceroy of Ottoman-controlled Egypt who increased the cotton industry, greatly westernized Egypt by bringing in Europeans to advise him, centralized the government, and established public schools.
• Toussaint Louverture: the leader of the Haitian slave revolts that resulted in the emancipation of slaves in Haiti and, eventually, Haiti's independence. 
• Miguel Hidalgo: a Mexican priest who led an army of Native Americans angry at the oppression they faced under the creoles and the Spanish. He was executed in 1811, but his actions eventually led to the liberation of Mexico.
• Simon Bolivar: often called "The Liberator," Bolivar played a major role in the independence of several South American countries including Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. He realized that to beat the Spanish, he needed to look past skin color and combine forces with all peoples. 
• Pedro I: when the Portuguese royal family returned home from Brazil, the king's son, Pedro, was left behind to tend to Brazil. Pedro declared Brazil independent in 1822 and made himself king.

Imperalism's Effects On Europe

Imperialism resulted in Europe coming to dominate most of the world. From ruling practically all of Africa to Britain's rule over India, Europe spread their influence and ideas around the world. "By 1900 the British ruled 400 million subjects and a quarter of the globe, while France possessions encompassed 6 million square miles and 52 million subjects. Germany united only in 1871, by 1900 had acquired an empire of 1 million square miles and 15 million people" (Lynn, Martin). The colonies/territories that Europe acquired gave them access to a plethora of cheap goods and markets. A non-economic consequence of Europe's imperial policy was a drive to have a strong military to safeguard overseas possessions. This would lead to Britain's becoming the most powerful maritime state in the world during this time period. For smaller nations overseas possessions gave them access to wealth and power that were impossible for them to secure in mainland Europe.

What is the basis of national identity and nationalism and how did governments use these new ideas on their populations?

Nationalism is defined as "a belief in the importance of one's nation, stemming from its unique laws, language, traditions, and history" (Crossroads and Cultures). It first emerged during the Enlightenment period, when people began to come together as a nation and to take pride in their culture. To build national identity, some looked to traditions of the past. For example, old works of literature such as poems were imitated by modern poets and were also recited by children in school. Another symbol of national unity was the leader of the country and the country's flag. The history of a nation was also an effective unifier, and leaders utilized this through monuments, parades, theatrical productions, and museums. However, people were prone to overlook the bloody details of their nation's past and instead focus more on the romantic details of their "founding fathers."
Below is a picture of the Korean flag first created in the 1880's. The Korean rulers wanted a flag that represented all of their peoples, something behind which Koreans could rally. The flag accomplishes this through the balance of yin and yang (depicted in the middle) and the four elements of water, fire, earth, and air.

Some governments sought national unity through a homogeneous culture, but others embraced cultural diversity. The Russian Empire attempted to force all of their peoples into adopting the Russian language and Orthodox religion. Contrastingly, the United States accepted and even celebrated African American musical innovations, such as blues and jazz. Both of these music genres have their roots in African music. 

New political ideologies developed from 1750-1900

Nationalism- faith in a unified nation of like-minded people
Conservatism- the thought that time-honored monarchical traditions were a better guarantee of a peaceful society versus the Enlightenment ideas of constitutions and republics
Romanticism- philisophical and artistic movement that glorified nature, emotion, and the imagination... kind of like stereotypical hippies...

                                               (example of romanticism^^)
Deism- understanding God's existence as separate from holy books, divine providence, revealed religion, prophecy, and miracles
Liberalism- humans have rights and government authority is not absolute
Republicanism- the belief that a nation should be ruled as a republic where the leader is elected by the people versus hereditary right
Toleration (tolerant pluralism)- belief that hatred or fear of other races or beliefs interfered with trade relations, exterminated freedom of thought and expression, disintegrate basis for friendship among nations, and led to persecution and war

Other ideologies stimulated by the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment stimulated the idea of uniting a nation-state under a constitution versus a monarchy. These new ideas included nationalism, conservatism, and romanticism. Nationalism is the belief in the importance of one's nation stemming from its unique laws, language, traditions, and history. By this theory, everyone contributes and is important to the government, and all citizens work together for the betterment of the nation. Conservatism is the political philosophy emphasizing the continuation of traditional institutions and opposition to sudden change in the established order. It became popular after bloody revolutions, namely, the French Revolution, because people thought that monarchies were a better way to guarantee peace than new governments. See the video below for more on conservatism. Lastly, romanticism is a European philosophical movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries that valued feeling over reason and glorified traditional customs, nature, and the imagination. Similar to conservatism, romanticism was also born of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, as people saw that the blunt reasoning of the Enlightenment had led to such bloodshed. They longed for more beauty in their life, and they found it not in strict law codes but rather the arts.

The definitions here were gathered from Crossroads and Cultures.