>>1451833Yeah I just wanted to get that out of the way first because it's an insane question for them to ask and someone (not necessarily you) might take it seriously.
>Was European colonialism otherwise exceptional.There's a ton to say on this topic (very good thread idea), but the most important element to it is that it is driven by capitalism.
First point on this is what capitalism and industry did for imperial conquest. Empires have risen and fallen at different times for different reasons, but the industrial revolution and its consequences basically supercharged the capabilities of empire. To put it as simply as possible, the productive output of industrialization meant that territory the empire controlled - either in the core or the periphery - could massively outdo its rivals in any way that mattered for the purposes of conquest. They could produce more and better weapons and could more effectively feed their people and maintain supply lines. This is a or perhaps the main quantitative difference between capitalist empire and other empires. It is vastly more capable on the whole.
As soon as somebody figured out capitalist production + steam power it was gg no re for everybody else. It just happened to be the case that technological progress and political fluctuations got Europe there first. Looking at the broader arc of history, China seems like a more plausible candidate given how much more quickly they advanced technologically and politically for a long time, but it's possible that their particular political developments were
too successful at maintaining stability, leading to relative stagnation at the same time Europe was undergoing political and economic revolution. There's nothing inherent to either part of the world that says one should become a global imperial power at that time, just how their development happened to play out in the particulars. China certainly has its history of imperialism.
Of course, a major element that may have pre-determined this outcome is the exploitation of Africa and the Americas, which regardless of their technology was not feasible for China for geographic reasons (no African equivalent, Pacific Ocean is much bigger and with more complex prevailing winds). The influx of material wealth, slave labor, and cultural influences was a hug
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