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Since the very beginning of the Columbian Exchange, the Atlantic World has been fueled by the need to expand and conquer new territory. Great Britain, Spain and other European powers eager to cash in on the worlds resources all expanded beyond their borders to build their empires. In order to claim land for themselves, they had to fight against the natives. The Baron of Montesquieu once said, “Empires founded on war are maintained by war (Egerton, 291).” At first, Europeans and natives did have some mutual relationships in places like West Africa and New England, but through imperialism, mercantilism, and culture clash, the English, French, and Dutch conquered a broad swath of the world. Egerton says an empire must “depend on others for trade (Egerton, 302).” He means an empire, unlike an independent nation, can’t rely upon itself for its own survival. For instance, the slave trade, in agreement with Vince’s Post, was a staple in the Atlantic economy and the banknote for European trade.
Speaking of nation, some areas, like the Eastern Seaboard of North America, were fed up with British rule and forged their own nation. Unlike empires, which must expand in order to survive, a nation survives through unity within boundaries based upon common language, religion, and a compelling reason to become an independent entity. The American colonies, however, declared independence from Great Britain based mostly upon “taxation without representation.” The colonists, traitors in Europe’s eyes, refused to pay taxes on stamps, molasses, and tea. So, the American Revolution was a fight to get England`s fingers off their land.
In conclusion, I came to realize that empires are dependent upon others, whereas nations are independent entities built upon strong foundations needed to look after itself like language, religion, economical and political structures. Therefore, a nation has a more inclusive approach to power whereas empires took a more exclusive approach, meaning they want to run it their way and their way only. Imperialism and colonialism had their obvious differences, but were all used to gain land, profit and in some cases like America, its own autonomy.