List of modern great powers

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Great powers are often recognized in an international structure such as the United Nations Security Council.

A great power is a nation or state that, through its great economic, political and military strength, is able to exert power and influence not only over its own region of the world, but beyond to others.

In a modern context, recognized great powers first arose in Europe during the post-Napoleonic era.^[1] The formalization of the division between small powers^[2] and great powers came about with the signing of the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814.

The historical terms "Great Nation", a distinguished aggregate of people inhabiting a particular country or territory, and "Great Empire",^[3] a considerable group of states or countries under a single supreme authority, are colloquial; their use is seen in ordinary historical conversations.^[4][5][6]

Early modern powers[]

15th–19th centuries

Morocco[]

Saadi Sultanate[]

1510–1649

The Saadis or Saadians were the first Arab Sharifian dynasty to rule Morocco since the Idrisids, establishing a model of political-religious legitimacy which continued under the later Alaouites, another Sharifian dynasty.^[7] They successfully resisted Ottoman expansion, making Morocco the only part of North Africa to remain outside Ottoman suzerainty, but followed Ottoman example by modernizing their army and adopting gunpowder weapons.^[8] During the long reign of Ahmad al-Mansur in the late 16th century, Morocco established itself as an ambitious regional power that expanded into West Africa and pursued relations with Europe, including a potential alliance with England against Spain.^[9][8] The Saadians were also significant patrons of art and architecture, with Abdallah al-Ghalib and Ahmad al-Mansur both responsible for some of the most celebrated monuments of Moroccan architecture.^[10][11]

The dynasty's rise to power started in 1510 when Muhammad al-Qa'im was declared leader of the tribes of the Sous valley in their resistance against the Portuguese who occupied Agadir and other coastal cities. Al-Qai'm's son, Ahmad al-Araj, secured control of Marrakesh by 1525 and, after a period of rivalry, his brother Muhammad al-Shaykh captured Agadir from the Portuguese and eventually captured Fez from the Wattasids, securing control over nearly all of Morocco. After Muhammad al-Shaykh's assassination by the Ottomans in 1557 his son Abdallah al-Ghalib enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign. His successors, however, fought with each other, culminating in the 1578 Battle of Ksar el-Kebir (or "Battle of the Three Kings"), where a Portuguese military intervention on behalf of Muhammad II al-Mutawakkil was thoroughly defeated by Saadian forces. In the wake of this victory, Ahmad al-Mansur became sultan and presided over the apogee of Saadian power. In the later half of his reign he launched a successful invasion of the Songhai Empire resulting in the establishment of a Pashalik centered on Timbuktu. After Al-Mansur's death in 1603, however, his sons fought a long internecine conflict for succession which divided the country and undermined the dynasty's power and prestige. While the Saadian realm was reunified at the end of the conflict in 1627, new factions in the region rose to challenge Saadian authority. The last Saadian sultan, Ahmad al-Abbas, was assassinated in 1659, bringing the dynasty to an end. Moulay al-Rashid later conquered Marrakesh in 1668 and led the Alaouite dynasty to power over Morocco.^[9][8][7]

Alaouite Sultanate[]

1631–1912 (French colonial rule after 1912)

The next dynasty to rule a unified Morocco, with roughly similar territories, were the Alaouites, another Arab Sharifian family. They rose to power in the 17th century, beginning with Moulay al-Sharif who was declared sultan of the Tafilalt region in 1631. His son Al-Rashid, ruling from 1664 to 1672, was able to unite and pacify the country after a long period of regional divisions. His brother Isma'il presided over a period of strong central rule between 1672 and 1727, one of the longest reigns of any Moroccan sultan. After Isma'il's death the country was plunged into disarray as his sons fought over his succession, but order was re-established under the long reign of Muhammad ibn Abdallah in the second half of the 18th century. The 19th century was marked by the growing encroachment of European powers. The Alaouites ruled as sovereign sultans up until 1912, when the French Protectorate and Spanish Protectorate were imposed on Morocco, though were retained as symbolic sultans under colonial rule and managed to resume their role as sovereigns of the modern Kingdom of Morocco after independence in 1956.^[7][12][13]

Kingdom of France[]

French colonial empire
Map of the first (light green) and second (dark blue — plain and hachured) French colonial empires.
The French Empire in 1812.

1535–1789

France was a dominant empire possessing many colonies in various locations around the world. During Louis XIV's long reign, from 1643 to 1715, France was the leading European power. The Empire of the French (1804–1814), also known as the Greater French Empire or First French Empire, but more commonly known as the Napoleonic Empire, was also the dominant power of much of continental Europe during the early 19th Century.

Napoleon became Emperor of the French (French: L'Empereur des Français) on 18 May 1804 and crowned Emperor 2 December 1804, ending the period of the French Consulate, and won early military victories in the War of the Third Coalition against Austria, Prussia, Russia, Portugal, and allied nations, notably at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) and the Battle of Friedland (1807). The Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807 ended two years of bloodshed on the European continent. Subsequent years of military victories known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had 130 départements, ruled over 70 million subjects, maintained extensive military presence in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Duchy of Warsaw, and could count Prussia, Russia and Austria as nominal allies.

Early French victories exported many ideological features of the French Revolution throughout Europe. Napoleon gained support by appealing to some common concerns of the people. In France, these included fear by some of a restoration of the ancien régime, a dislike of the Bourbons and the emigrant nobility who had escaped the country, a suspicion of foreign kings who had tried to reverse the Revolution – and a wish by Jacobins to extend France's revolutionary ideals.

The feudal system was abolished, aristocratic privileges were eliminated in all places except Poland, and the introduction of the Napoleonic Code throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems, and legalized divorce. Napoleon placed relatives on the thrones of several European countries and granted many titles, most of which expired with the fall of the Empire. Napoleon wished to make an alliance with South India Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and provide them French-trained army during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, with the continuous aim of having an eventual open way to attack the British in India.^[14][15]

Historians have estimated the death toll from the Napoleonic Wars to be 6.5 million people, or 15% of the French Empire's subjects. The War of the Sixth Coalition, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers joined Russia, Britain, Portugal and the rebels in Spain. With their armies reorganized, they drove Napoleon out of Germany in 1813 and invaded France in 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate and restoring the Bourbons.

Papacy and Papal States[]

Italy during the Peace of Lodi. The Papal States covered most of central Italy.

1420–1648

The Papacy was considered one of the great powers of the age by important thinkers such as Machiavelli and Giovanni Botero. The Papal States covered central Italy and were expanded by warrior popes such as Julius II. Italy, although divided in several states, saw a period of great prosperity during the Renaissance. In 1420, Pope Martin V re-established Rome as the sole seat of the Catholic Church and put an end to the Western Schism. Between 1494 and the second half of the 16th century, Italy was the battleground of Europe. Competing monarchs, including Popes, clashed for European supremacy in Italy. In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the Papacy led the Counter-reformation effort. Pontiffs such as Paul III and Pius V, exercised great diplomatic influence in Europe. Popes mediated the Peace of Nice (1538) between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as the Peace of Vervins (1598) between France and Spain. In the new world, thousands were converted to Catholicism by missionaries. Many European and Italian states (such as the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa) were brought by the Papacy into "Holy Leagues" to defeat the Ottoman Empire: defeats occurred in Rhodes (1522), Preveza (1538), Budapes (1541), Algiers (1541), whereas victories took place at Vienna (1529), Tunis (1535), Lepanto (1571), and Malta (1565). Similarly, the Church supported catholic leagues in the European wars of religion fought in France, the Low Countries, and Germany. France remained catholic following the conversion of the French king, whereas half of the Low Countries were lost to Protestantism. It was the 30 years war that ultimately ended the status of the Papacy as a great power. Although the Pope declared Westphalia "null and void", European rulers refused to obey Papal orders and even rejected Papal mediation at the negotiations of the treaty.

Qing dynasty China[]

1660s – 1800

Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty in 1820.

The Qing dynasty was the last ruling dynasty of China, established in 1636 and collapsed in 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and followed by the Republic of China. The dynasty was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in what is today Northeast China (also known as "Manchuria"). Starting in 1644, it expanded into China proper and its surrounding territories. Complete pacification of China proper was accomplished around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.

Originally the Later Jin dynasty, the dynasty changed its official name to "Great Qing", meaning "clear" or "pellucid", in 1636. In 1644, Beijing was sacked by a coalition of rebel forces led by Li Zicheng, a minor Ming official who later proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell, marking the official end of the Ming dynasty. Qing forces then allied with Ming general Wu Sangui and seized control of Beijing and expel Shun forces from the city.^[16] The Qing dynasty became highly Sinicized. The dynasty reached its height in the 18th century during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, during which both its territory and population greatly expanded. However, its military power weakened hereafter and faced with massive rebellions and defeats in wars, the Qing dynasty declined after the mid-19th century. The Qing dynasty was overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution.^[17]

Iran[]

Safavid dynasty
The Safavid Empire at its greatest extent.

Afsharid Empire: greatest extent, under Nader Shah, 1741–43

Safavid Empire[]

1501–1736

The Safavid Empire was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Iranian Empires after the Muslim conquest of Persia^{[18][19][20][21]} The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1736 and at their height, they controlled all of modern Iran, Azerbaijan and Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of modern-day Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic "gunpowder empires". The Safavid empire originated from Ardabil in Iran and had its origins in a long established Sufi order, called the Safaviyeh. The Safavids established an independent unified Iranian state for the first time after the Muslim conquest of Persia and reasserted Iranian political identity, and established Shia Islam as the official religion in Iran.

Despite their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Iran as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon "checks and balances", their architectural innovations and their patronage for fine arts. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Shi'a Islam in Iran, as well as major parts of the Caucasus, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia.

Afsharid Empire[]

The Afsharid dynasty was an Iranian dynasty that originated from the Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran in the mid-eighteenth century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military genius Nader Shah,^[22] who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself as the Shah of Iran. At its peak, the empire was arguably the most powerful in the world.^[23] During Nader's reign, Iran reached its greatest extent since the Sasanian Empire. At its height it controlled modern-day Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan Republic, parts of the North Caucasus (Dagestan), Afghanistan, Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, and parts of Iraq, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Dutch Republic[]

Dutch Empire
Lands held by Netherlands at various times. Dark green: colonies that were, or originated from, lands controlled by Dutch West India Company. Light green: Dutch East India Company. Yellow: lands occupied in 19th century

1581–1795

The Dutch Republic controlled various territories after the Dutch achieved independence from Spain in the 16th century. Their skills in shipping and trading aided the building of an overseas colonial empire which lasted from the 16th to the 20th century. The Dutch initially built up colonial possessions on the basis of indirect state capitalist corporate colonialism, with the dominant Dutch East India Company. A cultural flowering roughly spanning the 17th century is known as the Dutch Golden Age, in which Dutch trade, science and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. Dutch military power was at its height in the middle of the 17th century and in that era the Dutch navy was the most powerful navy in the world.^[24]

By the middle of the 17th century, the Dutch had overtaken Portugal as the dominant player in the spice and silk trade, and in 1652 founded a colony at Cape Town on the coast of South Africa, as a way-station for its ships on the route between Europe and Asia. After the first settlers spread out around the Company station, nomadic white livestock farmers, or Trekboers, moved more widely afield, leaving the richer, but limited, farming lands of the coast for the drier interior tableland. Between 1602 and 1796, many Europeans were sent to work in the Asia trade. The majority died of disease or made their way back to Europe, but some of them made the Indies their new home. Interaction between the Dutch and native population mainly took place in Sri Lanka and the modern Indonesian Islands. Through the centuries there developed a relatively large Dutch-speaking population of mixed Dutch and Indonesian descent, known as Indos or Dutch-Indonesians.

First British Empire[]

1600–1815

George III of the United Kingdom

The First British empire began in the 17th century as a combination of factors led to its creation, such as the growth in British trade with Mughal India, the success of the British East India Company, numerous British maritime explorations around the world, and the vast Royal Navy. The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.^[25]

British Empire
The territories that were at one time or another part of the British Empire.
See also: Late British Empire (Below)

During the 17th and 18th centuries, British colonies were created along the east coast of North America, but by the late 18th century 13 of them rebelled in the American War of Independence (1775–1783) and formed the United States of America.

The Second British Empire was built primarily in Asia, the Middle East and Africa after 1800. It included colonies in Canada, the Caribbean, and India, and shortly thereafter began the settlement of Australia and New Zealand. Following France's 1815 defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain took possession of many more overseas territories in Africa and Asia, and established informal empires of free trade in South America, Persia, etc.

At its height the British Empire was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. In 1815–1914 the Pax Britannica was the most powerful unitary authority in history due to the Royal Navy's unprecedented naval predominance.^[26]

Mughal India[]

1526-1857 India's Mughal Empire was a Turkic-Mongol imperial power from Uzbekistan, that ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in 16th and 17th century.^[28] In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire, which lasted for over 300 years, ruling 1/4 of the world's population at the time.^[29]

The Mughal Dynasty rapidly expanded and ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it went into a slow decline after 1707 and was finally defeated during the 1857 War of Independence also called the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The famous emperor Akbar, who was the grandson of Babur, tried to establish an inclusive empire. However, later emperors such as Aurangzeb expanded the empire beyond its previous limitations through Islamic sharia. Under his reign Mughal India became the world's largest economy, worth 25% of world GDP,^{[30][31][32][self-published source?][33]} and its wealthiest subdivision, the Bengal Subah, a long time major global nation, signaled the proto-industrialization and showed signs of the Industrial revolution.^[34] His death marks the end of Medieval India and beginning of European conquests of India.

Ottoman Empire[]

1299 - 1923

Istanbul, then called Constantinople or Konstantiniyye became the capital of Ottoman Empire after its conquest.

The Ottoman Empire was a Turkic state, which at the height of its power (16th–17th centuries) spanned three continents (see: extent of Ottoman territories) controlling parts of Southeastern Europe, the Middle East and most of North Africa.^[35] The empire has been called by historians a "Universal Empire" due to both Roman and Islamic traditions.^[36] It was the head of the Gunpowder Empires.

Ottoman Empire
Ottoman territories at its greatest extent (See: list of territories).
See also: Late Ottoman Empire (Below)

The empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. The Ottoman Empire was the only Islamic power to seriously challenge the rising power of Western Europe between the 15th and 19th centuries. With Istanbul (or Constantinople) as its capital, the Empire was in some respects an Islamic successor of earlier Mediterranean empires—the Roman and Byzantine empires.

Ottoman military reform efforts begin with Selim III (1789–1807) who made the first major attempts to modernize the army along European lines. These efforts, however, were hampered by reactionary movements, partly from the religious leadership, but primarily from the Janissary corps, who had become anarchic and ineffectual. Jealous of their privileges and firmly opposed to change, they created a Janissary revolt. Selim's efforts cost him his throne and his life, but were resolved in spectacular and bloody fashion by his successor, the dynamic Mahmud II, who massacred the Janissary corps in 1826.

The effective military and bureaucratic structures of the previous century also came under strain during a protracted period of misrule by weak Sultans. But in spite of these difficulties, the Empire remained a major expansionist power until the Battle of Vienna in 1683, which marked the end of Ottoman expansion into Europe. Much of the decline took place in the 19th century under pressure from Russia. Egypt and the Balkans were lost by 1913, and the Empire disintegrated after the First World War, leaving Turkey as the successor state.^[37]

Polish Empire[]

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent, ca. 1635

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest, most powerful and most populous^[38] countries in 16th, 17th, and 18th century Europe. Its political structure was formed in 1569 by the Union of Lublin, which united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and lasted in this form until the adoption of the Constitution of May 3, 1791. In the 16th century, the area of the Commonwealth reached almost 1 million km²., with a population of 11 million. Poland–Lithuania was a political, military and economic power.

Homage by deposed Russian Tsar Vasyl IV Shuysky and his brothers, Dmitri and Ivan, rendered to Polish King Sigismund III Vasa and Prince Władysław, Warsaw, 1611

The Union possessed features unique among contemporary states. This political system unusual for its time stemmed from the ascendance of the szlachta noble class over other social classes and over the political system of monarchy. In time, the szlachta accumulated enough privileges (such as those established by the Nihil novi Act of 1505) that no monarch could hope to break the szlachta's grip on power. The Commonwealth's political system does not readily fit into a simple category; it may best be described as a melange of:

• confederation and federation, with regard to the broad autonomy of its regions. It is, however, difficult to decisively call the Commonwealth either confederation or federation, as it had some qualities of both of them;
• oligarchy, as only the szlachta—around 9% of the population—had political rights;
• democracy, since all the szlachta were equal in rights and privileges, and the Sejm could veto the king on important matters, including legislation (the adoption of new laws), foreign affairs, declaration of war, and taxation (changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones). Also, the 9% of Commonwealth population who enjoyed those political rights (the szlachta)^[39] was a substantially larger percentage than in majority European countries;^[40] note that in 1789 in France only about 1% of the population had the right to vote, and in 1867 in the United Kingdom, only about 3%.^[39][40]
• elective monarchy, since the monarch, elected by the szlachta, was Head of State;
• constitutional monarchy, since the monarch was bound by pacta conventa and other laws, and the szlachta could disobey decrees of the king that they deemed illegal.

The Polish "Golden Age", in the reigns of Sigismund I and Sigismund II, the last two Jagiellonian kings, and more generally the 16th century, is identified with the culture of the Polish Renaissance. This flowering had its material base in the prosperity of the elites, both the landed nobility and urban patriciate at such centers as Kraków and Danzig. After victories in the Dimitriads (the Battle of Klushino, 1610), with Polish forces entering Moscow, Sigismund III's son, Prince Władysław of Poland, was briefly elected Tsar of Russia.

Portugal[]

1415–1999^[41]

Portuguese Empire
Anachronous map of Portuguese Empire (1415–2002)

Vasco da Gama's departure for India, 1497

The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, and also the earliest and longest-lived of the Western European colonial empires. Portugal's small size and population restricted the empire, in the 16th century, to a collection of small but well defended outposts along the African coasts, the main exceptions being Angola, Mozambique and Brazil. For most of the 16th century, the Portuguese Indian Armadas, then the world leader navy in shipbuilding and naval artillery, dominated most of the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canary Islands, the Indian Ocean and the access to the western Pacific. The height of the empire was reached in the 16th century but the indifference of the Habsburg kings and the competition with new colonial empires like the British, French and Dutch started its long and gradual decline. After the 18th century Portugal concentrated in the colonization of Brazil and African possessions.

The Treaty of Tordesillas, between Spain and Portugal, divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly along a north–south meridian 370 leagues, or 970 miles (1,560 km), west of the Cape Verde islands. However, as it was not possible at the time to correctly measure longitude, the exact boundary was disputed by the two countries until 1777. The completion of these negotiations with Spain is one of several reasons proposed by historians for why it took nine years for the Portuguese to follow up on Dias's voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, though it has also been speculated that other voyages were in fact secretly taking place during that time. Whether or not this was the case, the long-standing Portuguese goal of finding a sea route to Asia was finally achieved in a ground-breaking voyage commanded by Vasco da Gama.

Prussia[]

1701-1917

The Kingdom of Prussia dominated northern Germany politically, economically, and in terms of population, and was the core of the unified North German Confederation formed in 1867. Prussia was by far the largest and most important component of the German Empire or Deutsches Reich formed in 1871.

Prussia attained its greatest importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century, it became a European great power under the reign of Frederick II of Prussia (1740–86). During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck pursued a policy of uniting the German principalities into a "Lesser Germany" which would exclude the Austrian Empire.

Spanish Empire[]

Spanish Empire
An anachronous map showing areas pertaining to the Spanish Empire at various times over a period exceeding 400 years.
Map of the territories come under the Spanish monarch during the Iberian Union.

1492–1975

In the 16th century Spain and Portugal were in the vanguard of European global exploration and colonial expansion and the opening of trade routes across the oceans, with trade flourishing across the Atlantic Ocean between Spain and the Americas and across the Pacific Ocean between Asia-Pacific and Mexico via the Philippines. Conquistadors toppled the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations, and laid claim to vast stretches of land in North and South America. For a long time, the Spanish Empire dominated the oceans with its navy and ruled the European battlefield with its infantry, the famous tercios. Spain enjoyed a cultural golden age in the 16th and 17th centuries as Europe's foremost power.

From 1580 to 1640 the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire were conjoined in a personal union of its Habsburg monarchs, during the period of the Iberian Union, though the empires continued to be administered separately.

From the middle of the 16th century silver and gold from the American mines increasingly financed the military capability of Habsburg Spain, then the foremost global power, in its long series of European and North African wars. Until the loss of its American colonies in the 19th century, Spain maintained one of the largest empires in the world, even though it suffered fluctuating military and economic fortunes from the 1640s. Confronted by the new experiences, difficulties and suffering created by empire-building, Spanish thinkers formulated some of the first modern thoughts on natural law, sovereignty, international law, war, and economics — they even questioned the legitimacy of imperialism — in related schools of thought referred to collectively as the School of Salamanca.

Constant contention with rival powers caused territorial, commercial, and religious conflict that contributed to the slow decline of Spanish power from the mid-17th century. In the Mediterranean, Spain warred constantly with the Ottoman Empire; on the European continent, France became comparably strong. Overseas, Spain was initially rivaled by Portugal, and later by the English and Dutch. In addition, English-, French-, and Dutch-sponsored privateering and piracy, overextension of Spanish military commitments in its territories, increasing government corruption, and economic stagnation caused by military expenditures ultimately contributed to the empire's weakening.

Spain's European empire was finally undone by the Peace of Utrecht (1713), which stripped Spain of its remaining territories in Italy and the Low Countries. Spain's fortunes improved thereafter, but it remained a second-rate power in Continental European politics. However, Spain maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire until the 19th century, when the shock of the Peninsular War sparked declarations of independence in Quito (1809), Venezuela and Paraguay (1811) and successive revolutions that split away its territories on the mainland (the Spanish Main) of the Americas.

Swedish Empire[]

1611–1721

Swedish Empire
Formation of the Swedish Empire, 1560–1660.

The German Church in Stockholm.

The mid-17th and early 18th centuries were Sweden's most successful years as a Great Power. Sweden also had colonial possessions as a minor colonial Empire that existed from 1638 to 1663 and later 1784 to 1878. Sweden reached its largest territorial extent during the rule of Charles X (1622–1660) after the treaty of Roskilde in 1658. However, after more than a half century of almost constant warfare the Swedish economy had deteriorated. It would become the lifetime task of Charles' son, Charles XI (1655–1697), to rebuild the economy and refit the army. His legacy to his son, the coming ruler of Sweden Charles XII, was one of the finest arsenals in the world, a large standing army and a great fleet. Sweden's largest threat at this time, Russia, had a larger army but was far behind in both equipment and training. The Swedish army crushed the Russians at the Battle of Narva in 1700, one of the first battles of the Great Northern War. This led to an overambitious campaign against Russia in 1707, however, ending in a decisive Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava (1709). The campaign had a successful opening for Sweden, which came to occupy half of Poland and making Charles able to claim the Polish throne. But after a long march exposed by cossack raids, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great's scorched-earth techniques and the very cold Russian climate, the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered confidence, and enormously outnumbered against the Russian army at Poltava. The defeat meant the beginning of the end for Sweden as an empire.^[42][43]

Tsardom of Russia and after[]

1400–1815

Russian Empire
The Tsardom of Russia, c. 1700, during the reign of Peter the Great.
See also: Russian Empire and Soviet Union (Below)

The St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in Saint Petersburg.

The Russian Empire formed from what was Tsardom of Russia under Peter the Great. Peter I, (1672–1725), played a major role in bringing his country into the European state system, and laid the foundations of a modern state in Russia. From its modest beginnings in the 14th century, Russia had become the largest state in the world by Peter's time. Three times the size of continental Europe, it spanned the Eurasian landmass from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

Egypt[]

1805–1914

The provinces of the Egyptian Khedivate Empire in Africa, Asia and Europe.

The Egyptian Khedivate was a major world and regional power which began to emerge starting from the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt. This modern-age Egyptian Empire has expanded to control several countries and nations including present-day Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, northern Somalia, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Greece, Cyprus, southern and central Turkey, in addition to parts from Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as northwestern Saudi Arabia, parts of Yemen and the Kingdom of Hejaz. During that era, Egypt has succeeded to re-emerged again to its previous centuries-long glory as a global Islamic power to an extent that was even stronger and healthier than the fading Ottoman Empire.

The Egyptian-based Albanian Muhammad Ali dynasty has brought several social, educational, political, economic, judicial, strategic and military reforms that have deeply depended on the human resources of Egyptians as the native powerhouse of the country instead of depending on foreigner Circassians and Turks who were associated with the Ottoman warlords during the Ottoman control of Egypt.

Egypt has been successful in reforming its economy to become based on developed agriculture and modernised industries. A big number of factories have been set up and new Nile canals have been dug to increase the surface area of Egyptian fertile arable land. Another notable fact of the internationally competitive economic progress of Egypt during that era was the development of new cultivations such as Cotton, Mango and many other crops. The legacy of these agricultural advancements was the base of Egypt's current success in taking its rightful place as one of the best sources of high-quality cotton on a global scale.

Depending on the emerging world-class national Egyptian industries, the Egyptian Army has showed an international level of prowess to the extent that it was the major Islamic military in the Islamic World. Egypt became also one of the first countries in the world to introduce railway transportation.

High modern historical and existing powers[]

19th, 20th, and 21st centuries

France[]

1815–1956

French colonial empire
Map of the first (light green) and second (dark blue — plain and hachured) French colonial empires.

The Eiffel Tower, 1902.

France was a dominant empire possessing many colonies in various locations around the world. The French colonial empire is the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s (some see the French control of places such as New Caledonia as a continuation of that colonial empire). In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire extended over 12,890,000 km² (4,980,000 sq mi) of land at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. Including metropolitan France, the total amount of land under French sovereignty reached 13,500,000 km² (5,200,000 sq mi) at the time, which is 8.7% of the Earth's total land area.

France began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean and India, following Spanish and Portuguese successes during the Age of Discovery, in rivalry with Britain for supremacy. A series of wars with Britain during the 18th and early 19th centuries which France lost ended its colonial ambitions on these continents, and with it is what some historians term the "first" French colonial empire. In the 19th century, France established a new empire in Africa and South East Asia. Some of these colonies lasted beyond the Second World War.

Second British Empire[]

1815–1956

British Empire
Anachronous map showing British Empire from 1600–present. By 1920 it had become the largest empire in history, constituting approximately 25% of the world's surface and 25% of the world's people.[44]
See also: Early British Empire (Above)

The Palace of Westminster, with Elizabeth Tower and Westminster Bridge.

The British Empire was the largest empire in world history. During the 19th century the United Kingdom was the first country in the world to industrialise and embrace free trade, giving birth to the Industrial Revolution. The rapid industrial growth after the conquests of the wealthy Mughal Bengal, transformed Great Britain into the world's largest industrial and financial power, while the world's largest navy gave it undisputed control of the seas and international trade routes, an advantage which helped the British Empire, after a mid-century liberal reaction against empire-building, to grow faster than ever before. The Victorian empire colonised large parts of Africa, including such territories as South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, and Ghana, most of Oceania, colonies in the Far East, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, and took control over the whole Indian subcontinent, making it the largest empire in the world.^[45]

After victory in the First World War, the Empire gained control of territories such as Tanzania and Namibia from the German Empire, and Iraq and Palestine (including the Transjordan) from the Ottoman Empire. By this point in 1920 the British empire had grown to become the largest empire in history, controlling approximately 25% of the world's land surface and 25% of the world's population.^[44] It covered about 36.6 million km² (14.2 million square miles). Because of its magnitude, it was often referred to as the empire on which the sun never sets.^[46]

The political and social changes and economic disruption in the United Kingdom and throughout the world caused by First World War followed only two decades later by the Second World War caused the Empire to gradually break up as colonies were given independence. Much of the reason the Empire ceased was because many colonies by the mid-20th century were no longer as undeveloped as at the arrival of British control nor as dependent and social changes throughout the world during the first half of the 20th century gave rise to national identity. The British Government, reeling from the economic cost of two successive world wars and changing social attitudes towards empire, felt it could no longer afford to maintain it if the country were to recover economically, pay for the newly created welfare state, and fight the newly emerged Cold War with the Soviet Union.

The influence and power of the British Empire dropped dramatically after the Second World War, especially after the Partition of India in 1947 and the Suez Crisis in 1956. The Commonwealth of Nations is the successor to the Empire, where the United Kingdom is an equal member with all other states.

Late Spanish Empire[]

1815–1898

Spanish Empire
An anachronous map showing areas pertaining to the Spanish Empire at various times over a period exceeding 400 years.
See also: Early Spanish Empire (Above)

After the Napoleonic period the Bourbon dynasty was restored in Spain and over the huge number of Spanish territories around the world. But the shock of the Peninsular War sparked declarations of independence in the Latin America controlled by Spain and by 1835 successive revolutions had signed the end of the Spanish rule over the majority of this countries. Spain retained fragments of its empire in the Caribbean (Cuba and Puerto Rico); Asia (Philippines); and Oceania (Guam, Micronesia, Palau, and Northern Marianas) until the Spanish–American War of 1898. Spanish participation in the Scramble for Africa was minimal: Spanish Morocco was held until 1956 and Spanish Guinea and the Spanish Sahara were held until 1968 and 1975 respectively. The Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and the other Plazas de Soberanía on the northern African coast have remained part of Spain.

Austrian Empire (Austria-Hungary)[]

1804–1867 and 1867–1918

The Habsburg Austria became one of the key powers in Europe after the Napoleonic wars, with influence over Central Europe, Germany, and Italy. During the second half of the 19th century, Austria could not prevent the unification of Italy and Germany. Eventually, complex internal pressures resulted in establishing a so-called dual monarchy between the House of Habsburg in Austria and the Hungarian royals. Following the defeat and dissolution of the monarchy after the First World War, Austria became an independent and self-governing republic (First Austrian Republic) together with the First Czechoslovak Republic in Central Europe. Other political entities emerged from the destruction of the Great War including Poland, Hungary, and Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

Prussia and Germany[]

1815–1871, 1871–1918 and 1933–1945

German Empire
German colonies in 1914.

Reichstag in Berlin, 1900.

The Kingdom of Prussia dominated northern Germany politically, economically, and in terms of population, and was the core of the unified North German Confederation formed in 1867, which became part of the German Empire or Deutsches Reich in 1871 when the southern German states, excluding Austria, were added. Prussia attained its greatest importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck pursued a policy of uniting the German principalities into a "Lesser Germany" which would exclude the Austrian Empire.

Germany rose again in world power status during the Third Reich (or Nazi Germany) under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler between 1933 and 1945. It seized Austria and Czechoslovakia, and invaded Poland which launched World War II in Europe. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide turned against the Third Reich as it suffered major military defeats in 1943; Germany was fully defeated by 1945.

Late Ottoman Empire[]

1815–1923

Galata Bridge in Constantinople, between the 19th and 20th century.

Ottoman Empire
Ottoman territories in 1900 (See: list of territories).
See also: Early Ottoman Empire (Above)

The Ottoman Empire during the 19th century was still a considerable power, with a great extension of territories over Europe, Asia and Africa; but the empire was in a condition of decline and during this period lost progressively its influence, and the majority of his territories were conquered by other powers. The empire ended after the Turkish War of Independence in 1923 when the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.

Russian Empire and Soviet Union[]

1815–1917 and 1917–1991

Moscow, 1931, with Lenin's Tomb.

Russian Empire
Russian Empire (green) as of 1866, at the time of the maximum territorial expansion of the empire.[47]
The Soviet Union.
See also: Tsardom of Russia (Above)

The Russian Empire as a state, existed from 1721 until it was declared a republic 1 September 1917. The Russian Empire was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongolian empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched from Northern Europe across Asia and into North America.

At the beginning of the 19th century the Russian Empire extended from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea on the south, from the Baltic Sea on the west to the Pacific Ocean on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic, and religious positions. Its government, ruled by the Emperor, was one of the last absolute monarchies in Europe. Prior to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 Russia was one of the five major Great Powers of Europe. After the October revolution it was transformed into the Soviet Union.^[48]

Following the death of the first Soviet leader, Vladimir Lenin, in 1924, Joseph Stalin eventually won a power struggle and led the country through a large-scale industrialization with a command economy and political repression. In World War II, in June 1941, Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union, a country with which it had signed a non-aggression pact. After four years of brutal warfare, the Soviet Union emerged victorious as one of the world's two superpowers, the other being the United States.

The Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states engaged in the Cold War, a prolonged global ideological and political struggle against the United States and its Western Bloc allies, which it ultimately lost in the face of economic troubles and both domestic and foreign political unrest. In the late 1980s, the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev tried to reform the state with his policies of perestroika and glasnost, but the Soviet Union collapsed and was formally dissolved in December 1991 after the abortive August coup attempt. The Russian Federation assumed its rights and obligations.

Italian Empire[]

Italian Empire
Every territory ever controlled by the Italian Empire as some point in time during World War II. Kingdom of Italy (dark green), Italian colonial empire (light green) and Italian occupied territories (grey).

1871–1947

The Altare della Patria, in Rome, Italy.

The Italian colonial empire was created after the Kingdom of Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". Modern Italy as a unified state only existed from 1861. By this time France, Spain, Portugal, Britain, and the Netherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. One of the last remaining areas open to colonisation was on the African continent.^[49][50]

By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Italy had annexed Eritrea and Somalia, and had wrested control of portions of the Ottoman Empire, including Libya, though it was defeated in its attempt to conquer Ethiopia. The Fascist regime under Italian dictator Benito Mussolini which came to power in 1922 sought to increase the size of the empire further. Ethiopia was successfully taken, four decades after the previous failure, and Italy's European borders were expanded. An official "Italian Empire" was proclaimed on 9 May 1936 following the conquest of Ethiopia.^[51]

Italy sided with Nazi Germany during World War II but Britain soon captured Italian overseas colonies. By the time Italy itself was invaded in 1943, its empire had ceased to exist. On 8 September 1943 the Fascist regime of Mussolini collapsed, and a Civil War broke out between Italian Social Republic and Italian Resistance Movement, supported by Allied forces.

Empire of Japan[]

1868–1945

Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan in 1942. The empire until 1905 is in dark green, acquisitions until 1930 are in lighter green, and occupied/conceded territories are in the lightest green.

The Tokyo Imperial Palace.

The Empire of Japan, officially the Empire of Great Japan or simply Great Japan (Dai Nippon), was an empire that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan on 3 May 1947.

Imperial Japan's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan (富国強兵, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army") led to its emergence as a great power, eventually culminating in its membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region. At the height of its power in 1942, the Japanese Empire ruled over a land area spanning 7,400,000 square kilometres (2,857,000 sq mi), making it one of the in history.

After winning wars against China (First Sino-Japanese War, 1894–95) and Russia (Russo-Japanese War, 1904–05) the Japanese Empire was considered to be one of the major powers worldwide. The maximum extent of the empire was gained during Second World War, when Japan conquered many Asian and Pacific countries (see Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere).

After suffering many defeats and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, and a new constitution was created with American involvement. The constitution came into force on 3 May 1947, officially dissolving the Empire. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose title is simply that ("the nation of Japan" Nippon-koku) or just "Japan".

1900–present^{[52][53][54][55][56]} Some analysts assert that Italy is an "intermittent" or the "least of the great powers".^[57]

Cold war era great powers[]

Further information: Cold War, Pax Americana, and Pax Sovietica

United States[]

The United States of America, or simply America, emerged as one of the great powers at the end of World War II in 1945., which is attributed to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagaski and the surrendering of the Empire of Japan. This also began the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States 2 years later with the Truman Doctrine in 1947, which was further developed in 1948 when Harry Truman pledged to stop the communist uprisings in Greece and Turkey. During this era, the United States would often go into regional proxy wars with the Soviet Union, some proxy wars of significance being the Korean War and Vietnam War, which caused the creation of North Korea and South Korea, and the temporary split of Vietnam into two countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Due to the Truman Doctrine and rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the term "red scare" was coined to describe the propaganda made during this time negatively biased towards The Soviet Union, often with the colors of red and yellow being associated with authoritarianism. During this era, the United States was a great economic and military power.

The rapid industrialization of America in the 1950s and economic prosperity led to many Americans viewing the 1950s as a golden age, both in modern times, and the 1950s. However, there were also class divides between the wealthy and those below the poverty line in the 1950s in America, and racial issues between African Americans and Caucasian Americans in the 1950s as well due to institutionalized segregation. This age was also where the Red Scare was at its greatest, ascribed to the possible nuclear threat of the Soviet Union and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the 1960s, the Vietnam War was officially declared. Due to news of the war spreading out to American citizens, they began to be divided on the issue of U.S interference. Some citizens wanted peace and no war, and began the Countercultural movement, or informally the hippie movement, in protest. The other New Right movement was in full support of the Vietnam War. America also faced great racial instability during the 1960s, due to the Civil Rights Movement fighting for racial equality and several prominent speakers, the most famous being Martin Luther King Jr. This was also when the Space Race began in the late 1960s, which exhilarated the Red Scare to its full extent of influence yet again, until American astronauts Neil G. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the moon, ending the Space Race in 1966. the Civil Rights Movement ended two years later (1968) due to the legalization of interracial marriage in 1968 by Loving v. Virginia. However, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 also abolished the 1924 nations-and origins-immigration system of the U.S in 1965 after a 40 year long run, which had made the U.S generally favor North and West Europeans over other races to immigrate to America.

In 1969, the Nixon Doctrine was created by the United States in an attempt to have positive relations with the Soviet Union and also wean the influence of the U.S interference in the Vietnam War. A cease-fire agreement was finally signed on January 27, 1973, between North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States. The agreement would have the U.S withdraw from South Vietnam and end military operations there. In the 1970s also, the U.S economy began to decline from a 20 year long high, having the stock market decline and industrial production decline as well. Wage and price controls were put into place. In 1973, the Watergate Scandal was revealed to the general public, forcing Nixon to withdraw from his position as president after impeachment in 1974 of August 8, causing what was the vice president at the time (Gerald R. Ford) to become president of the United States. Ford was mainly focused on improving the U.S economy. An Arab oil embargo during the Yom Kippur War had made oil prices jump to record highs, causing both an worldwide inflation and recession. The term stagflation was created to describe this phenomenon. The 70s was also when Americas most popular space programs had been canceled by NASA due to completion/failure, examples including the Apollo 11 space program, ended in 1975 due to completion, and the Skylab space station, which was the first space station owned and operated by NASA, fell down into the Indian Ocean near Australia in 1979, and disintegrated as it did so.

At the start of the 1980s, the geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States showed no signs of warming. Thus, arms control advocates argued for a "nuclear freeze"; an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. on June 12, 1982, almost a million people rallied in support of the nuclear freeze that would cool down tensions and stop nuclear threats in Central Park, New York City. It was also a protest against nuclear energy, thus earning it the name Anti-Nuclear March by historians. During and after the 1980 U.S presidential election, the disaffected liberals of the Rust Belts, turned off by Americas problems in the 1970s and 60s, came to be known as “Reagan Democrats.” They voted for the former governor of California, Ronald Reagan, over the incumbent Democratic president, Jimmy Carter. Reagan got 51% of the vote and carried all but five states and the District of Columbia. His optimistic persona appealed to many Americans. Reagan was nicknamed “the Gipper” for his 1940 film role as a Notre Dame football player named George Gipp. In 1981, Ronald Reagan became President of the United States. The Reagan Doctrine was made by Reagan during his State of the Union address in 1985. The doctrine was a plan to hand out money and resources to any anti-communist government, mostly in South America, so countries would not become Communist during the Cold War.

Military spending also increased greatly during the 1980s. The new military weaponry made in the 1980s was designed with Soviet targets in mind, and in 1981 a $8.5 billion weapon sale to Saudi Arabia involving aircraft, tanks, and Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Israel protested, since the AWACS would undermine its strategic attack capabilities. To mollify Israel and its powerful lobby in Washington, the United States promised to supply it with an additional F-15 squadron, a $600 million loan, and permission to export Israeli-made Kfir fighting aircraft to Latin American armies. All of this was happening as crime was also skyrocketing in the United States, mostly due to the crack epidemic, which saw sales of crack cocaine increase greatly during 1981–1991. This had Reagan declare the War on Drugs which combated drug trafficking and aimed to end the crack epidemic in America. The idea of the War on Drugs was inspired in deterrence theory, where more laws and stricter punishments would deter people away from committing crimes. The 100-to-1 ratio between powdered cocaine and crack cocaine was used as a guideline for minimal mandatory punishment. An example of this policy is an minimum penalty of 5 years was administered for 5 grams of crack cocaine, or 500 grams of powdered cocaine. 6 years was administered for 6 grams of crack cocaine, and so on. This resulted in a surplus of imprisonment and the U.S prison population,. The War on Drugs mostly focused on African-American communities and small drug dealers, who were mostly poor African-American city males. In 1986 the U.S Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which put 1.7 billion U.S dollars of funding into the War on Drugs.

Soviet Union[]

Post Cold War era great powers[]

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United States[]

The United States emerged as the world's sole superpower after the conclusion of the cold war. The conclusion of the cold war resulted in the other superpower, the Soviet Union collapsing following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This was followed by a period where the United States was seen as in its greatest by the majority of the population inside of the United States. This led to a period of absolute dominance by the United States of America, stretching from 1993 to 2001. The events of 9/11 were seen as profoundly damaging to United States prestige, and the subsequent failure of the War on Terrorism, the response to the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States were all seen to further damage the credibility of the United States^[58]

In March 2003, the United States officially declared war on Iraq because Hussein, leader of Iraq at the time did not want to exit Iraq within 48 hours. In May 2003, after the George W. Bush "Mission Accomplished" speech, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was ended after the Battle of Baghad was won by the United States. In 2004, the U.S presidential election began, with George W. Bush winning again and getting to serve a second term.

2008 Recession[]

The housing crisis began well before 2008 in the United States. Signs of it showed on November 17, 2006, when housing prices began to fall and the ordering of durable goods was lower than 2005.^[59] This, essentially, had foreshadowed a possible housing crisis. The Commerce Department, the Department responsible for managing prices, said in October 2006 prices would fall even more if the U.S government did nothing. Hedge funds and banks sold assets like mortgage-backed-securities to each other as investments in the house market. These assets were also backed by questionable mortgages, offered at low interest rates to high-risk buyers who were more likely to default on a loan. After a certain period, these loans reset back to their normal prices, which were much higher than the prices offered. As a result, more people defaulted on these loans. Home prices fell at the beginning of 2007 with interest rates resetting at that same time. In February 2007, existing home sales peaked at an annual rate of 5.79 million. Prices had already begun falling in July 2006, when they hit $230,400. Some said it was because the Federal Reserve had just raised the fed funds rate to 5.25%. In January 2007, new homes prices peaked at 254,400 U.S dollars. During February., skepticism of the U.S economy and stock market only increased, a sell-off being triggered on February 28. At the beginning of March, the housing crisis grew its influence enough to affect the hedge funds market. However, on March 26, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 157 points after dropping from 600 points on February 27, 2007. However, despite this, the U.S economy was still in a very bad shape. When the market turned bad, many hedge-funds invested in the bet that it was going to turn worse. This resulted in immense profit for the hedge funds, but the opposite for the U.S economy, and the DOW dropping by 2 points on March 2.

On April 17, 2007, the Federal Reserve, the banking system of the United States, announced that the U.S federal regulatory agencies would encourage them(the banks) to work with lenders to work out loan arrangements rather than foreclose on the loans. In September 2007, the Reserve began to lower interest rates. By the end of 2007, the U.S interest rate was 4.25%. However, this did nothing to calm the mortgage market, only pulling the United States into a subprime mortgage crisis at the end of 2007.^[60] At the beginning of January 2008, the U.S stock market began to plunge. As a result of this, on January 18, 2008, George W. Bush proposed a stimulus package, proposing $800 per individual and $1600 per couple in tax refunds.^[61] However, this had never been officially enforced. On February 5, a tornado, dubbed the Super Tuesday Outbreak in the Southern United States killed 58 people.^[62][63] The damage was estimated to cost over 50 million dollars(61 million adjusted for inflation).

As the months passed by, 2007 was starting to turn more and more dire for the United States, due to the recession.^[64] By December, unemployment rates were 13.9%, higher than the 1994 unemployment rates.^[65] In September 2007, the lending rate for short-term loans rose sharply, because banks were not lending to each other in fear of being caught with shady mortgages.^[66] In October, existing-home sales fell 1.2% to a rate of 4.97 million.^[67] The sales pace was the lowest since the National Association of Realtors began tracking in 1999. Home prices fell 5.1% from 2006 to $207,800.^[68] Housing inventory rose at 1.9% to 4.45 million, a 10-month supply.

To keep the market going, the Reserve announced the creation of a tool called The Term Auction Facility (TAF). It supplied short-term credit to banks with sub-prime mortgages. The Reserve held two $20 billion auctions for the TAF on December 11 and December 20. However, this did nothing to stop the recession, and in 2008 of January, it began.

United Kingdom[]

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The United Kingdom is considered to be a Great Power.^[69] It is ranked as the world's fifth largest economy by GDP.^[70] The cultural, political, historical and economic links that the UK holds with much of the Commonwealth allows it to exert disproportionate influence on the world,^[71] leaning on close allies such as Canada, India and the United States.

London is considered to be a major financial hub, with a highly developed financial and banking sector.^[72]

As a member of the G7, NATO and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council the United Kingdom also holds much power within international organisations, despite its withdrawal from the European Union.

France[]

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France is considered to be a great power.^[73] France is a major contributor to art and science. France was ranked the first in tourist destination. France was the world's, seventh largest economy in terms of GDP.

Russia[]

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Russia is the largest country by area and has the 6th highest GDP in PPP terms in the world. It is also the 9th country by population with a population of 143 million people excluding Crimea. It has the second strongest military after the United States.

Germany[]

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Japan[]

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Japan is a considered to be a great power.^[74] Japanese culture was one of the most prominent culture around the world including art, music. animation, and video games. Japanese economy was the world's, second largest economy in terms of GDP until it was surpassed by China in 2010.

China[]

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China has grown into its current status of power in recent years. Despite China's aging population,^[75] through involvement in the likes of the Belt and Road Initiative, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and much more factors, China has succeeded economically and politically.^[76]

India[]

Consideration of the Republic of India as a great power is very recent as compared to other contemporary great powers, given its fairly recent economic and military expansion. There is no collective agreement among observers for the status of India.^[77][78][79] However, most scholars believe that India is a great power or emerging as so.^[80][81] It maintains one of the largest armed forces and military budgets in the world.^[82] Although India maintains a position as a major economic and military power, it is not a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Italy[]

The country has been referred to as a great power by a number of academics and commentators throughout the post cold war era.^{[83][52][53][54][84][56]} Some analysts assert that Italy is an "intermittent" or the "least of the great powers".^[57] the country still manages to exercise global influence. The tight relationships with the Papacy, the pivotal role of NATO Quint in the security of Western Bloc.

See also[]

• Concert of Europe, after 1814
• Diplomatic history of World War I
• Diplomatic history of World War II
• European balance of power
• Foreign policy of the Russian Empire
• Great Eastern Crisis, 1875–1878
• Historic recurrence
• Historiography of the British Empire
  • History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom
  • Pax Britannica
  • Timeline of British diplomatic history
• History of colonialism
• History of French foreign relations
• History of German foreign policy
• History of globalisation
• International relations, 1648–1814
• International relations (1919–1939)
• International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)
• List of ancient great powers
• List of largest empires
• List of medieval great powers
• Middle power
• New Imperialism
• Power (international relations)
• Timeline of imperialism
• Timeline of United States diplomatic history

Notes[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Banks, Arthur. (1988) A World Atlas of Military History 1861–1945
• Cambridge Modern History Atlas (1912) online free. 141 maps
• Catchpole, Brian. (1982) Map History of the Modern World
• Cooper, F. (2008). Empires and Political Imagination in World History. Princeton [u.a.]: Princeton University Press.
• Daniels, Patricia S. and Stephen G. Hyslop, Almanac of World History (3rd ed 2014); 384pp well illustrated
• Doyle, M. W. (1986). Empires. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press.
• Farrington, K. (2003). Historical Atlas of Empires. London: Mercury.
• Grenville, J.A.S. (1994) A History of the World in the Twentieth Century (1994). online free
• Haywood, John. (1997) Atlas of world history online free
• Kinder, Hermann and Werner Hilgemann. The Penguin Atlas of World History (2 vol, 2004); advanced topical atlas. excerpt of vol 1 also see excerpt vol 2
• Langer, William, ed. (1973) An Encyclopedia Of World History (1948 And later editions) online free
  • Stearns, Peter, ed. The Encyclopedia of World History (2007), 1245pp; update of Langer
• Mckay, Derek, and H.M. Scott (1983). The Rise of the Great Powers 1648 – 1815. Pearson. ISBN 9781317872849.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Pella, John & Erik Ringmar, (2019) History of international relations Online free
• O'Brian, Patrick K. Atlas of World History (2007) Online free
• Rand McNally Atlas of World History (1983), maps #76–81. Published in Britain as the Hamlyn Historical Atlas online free
• Roberts, J. M. and Odd Arne Westad, eds. The Penguin History of the World (6th ed. 2014) 1280pp excerpt
• Robertson, Charles Grant. An historical atlas of modern Europe from 1789 to 1922 with an historical and explanatory text (1922) online free