Expansionism

About: Expansionism is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 979 publications have been published within this topic receiving 11169 citations.

Russia's Empires. Their Rise and Fall: From Prehistory to Putin

Abstract: Through the centuries, Russia has swung between successful expansionism, catastrophic collapse and spectacular recovery. This illuminating and accessible history traces these cycles from the late Neolithic age to Ivan the Terrible, and from the height of Communism to the truncated Russian Federation of today.Philip Longworth explores the patterns of Russia's past, from the nameless adventurers who first penetrated it to dynamic characters including Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great and Stalin. His narrative takes in the magnificent cities of Kiev, Moscow and St Petersburg; it stretches to Alaska in the east, to the Black Sea and the Ottoman Empire in the south, to the Baltic in the west and to the Arctic Ocean in the north.What is the source of Russia's imperialistic culture Why was Russia so driven to colonize and conquer From Kievan Rus' - the first Russian state - to ruthless Muscovy, the Russian Empire of the eighteenth century and finally the Soviet period, this groundbreaking study analyses the growth and dissolution of each empire, and asks what the future holds for Russia and her neighbours.

The End of an Era: British-Indian Relations in the Great Lakes Region after the War of 1812

Abstract: On Christmas Eve 1814 Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent and brought the War of 1812 to its official close. The treaty did not accurately reflect the situation that existed in the upper Great Lakes where Indian warriors backed by British agents and traders still held sway. In the postwar years, Americans identified the British-Indian connection as a major obstacle to the establishment of United States hegemony in the Great Lakes area, and even feared the revival of a British-backed Indian confederacy such as Tecumseh and the Prophet had developed. American agents and officials testified to the enduring strength of the British-Indian alliance and complained vociferously about the intrigues of British agents among the tribes. British records, however, tell a different story. Even though old connections and mutual interests survived, the Treaty of Ghent sounded the death knell of the British Indian alliance and the end of the threat to American expansionism. Britons and Indians came to realize that the days were over when their combined might had controlled the Great Lakes and held the keys to the continent. As Britain looked elsewhere for power and prosperity, the United States gradually translated its nominal hegemony into reality and the Indians developed alternative strategies of survival through migration or cultural adaptation. Americans claimed that the councils which the British held with the Indians at Drummond Island and elsewhere served as occasions to reinforce Indian allegiance to the Crown and to fuel Indian hostility against the United States. In fact, the proceedings of those councils reflected the Indians' despair in the face of new realities and

¿Hacia la unidad de Hispania? Explicaciones sociales a las ofensivas militares visigodas en la Península Ibérica (siglos VI-VIII)

Abstract: War and conquest had a great incidence in the making process of the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania. In this paper, alternative explanations are proposed to the Visigoths’ territorial expansionism by armed means, for which their offensive campaigns are analysed not as a consequence of a secular project aimed at achieving the peninsular unity under Gothic sovereignty, but as a result of immediate motivations which were far from maximalism. In this regard, we will emphasize the role of the monarch’s personal motivations, in particular the pursuit of their political survival, and the army’s collective incentives, such as their eagerness for plunder, as the main driving force of Visigothic offensive military activity. For this purpose, the assumptions derived from social history and the anthropology devoted to the study of war will become very useful analysis tools.

Trouble along the Border: The Transformation of the U.S.-Mexican Border during the Nineteenth Century

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the transformation of U.S.-Mexican relations throughout the nineteenth century and its impact on the border during the administrations of James K. Polk and Rutherford B. Hayes. This transformation is exemplified by the movement away from hostile interactions during Polk's presidency to the cooperative nature that arose between Hayes and, then President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz. In addition, another aim was to place the importance of the public sphere in framing the policy making of the United States and Mexican governments.The thesis focused upon the research surrounding Polk, Hayes, and their interactions with Mexico during their terms as president. The secondary materials were supplemented with corresponding primary source material from the presidents as well as their close advisors such as newspaper articles, correspondences, and speeches from both the United States and Mexico.The conclusion of the work demonstrates that the transformation in the border, first, the United States to become the dominant power on the continent, ending its rivalry with Mexico. Second, the ability of Porfirio Diaz to bring some stability to the Mexican political structure that permitted him to work in conjunction with the United States to control the border in exchange for recognition. Third, the increase in economic ties of the United States and Mexico that made war an unprofitable and dangerous outcome for both countries. Last, the difference in the president's personalities, Polk being ambitious, while Hayes following a cautious policy, as well as the fading of American expansionism and the concept of "manifest destiny."