Decline Of Empires

Empires Summary

The chart below gives a few examples of famous empires and the causes attributed to their demise.

Patterns in Empires

While each empire is unique, historically, there are some major consistencies among societies and countries that rose to power. Below are four common themes in imperial governments.

• A monopolization of territory, (particularly with valuable resources, transport, and trade routes).
• A strong military presence.
• An influential culture/religion.
• Building lasting monuments/landmarks.

Fig. 2 Puck Magazine 1884, shows El Mahdi in Egypt and Sudan

The Lifespan of an Empire

According to John Bagot Glubb in his 1978 book The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival, the average span of an empire is 250 years. Glubb lived through both World Wars and spent much of his career serving in the Middle East. He is a controversial character, as he was a British soldier not only exerting influence in Arabic matters but also studying and writing about them in his many books.¹

The lifespan of an Empire can generally be broken down into seven stages:

• Outburst: A group of people becomes unified in a shared need or cause, often under a charismatic or influential leader.
• Conquest: The new nation must establish strength by conquering and/or consolidating territories (colonization is common in this stage).
• Commerce: Now that the nation has an established territory, it must expand monetarily by utilizing resources and trade to foster wealth.
• Affluence: The empire invests in its own infrastructure, and an improving economy benefits people across the territories.
• Intellect: The cultural progress of the empire expands past wealth, into innovation (science, education, technology, and art).
• Decadence: An age of complacency when the state often falls into debt, neglecting the lessons learned in the foundation of the empire.
• Decline: The previous power is subverted as a new influence rises (either by internal revolution or an external group conquering).

Fig. 3 Cole Thomas' The Course of Empire Destruction 1836

Reasons for Decline of Empires

Empires decline for a few key reasons, the first being that society has expanded so much it can no longer sustain itself and exert control over all of its territories. A large civilization produces opposition and must combat invading countries.

Economic Decline of Empires

The constant expansion of an Empire was often its downfall. Financial crises were common as the empire expansion meant spending money on wars to conquer others, allocating money needed to try and sustain this new territory, and overspending on unimportant elements. Historian David Hackett Fischer theorizes that economic failure creates social distress and inflation, producing unrest and conflict throughout the Empire, and leading to its demise.³

Fig. 4 Economy illustration 1902

Natural Causes and the Decline of Empires

But not all reasons behind the decline of an Empire were man-made, often natural disasters contributed to the downfall of an empire, showing us just how fragile the success of an Empire's reign was.

Internal Division of Empires

History proves that peace and unity among an Empire were crucial to its success and a very common reason for its downfall.

Political Enemies and the Decline of Empires

Empires were designed to give a national power and control over others, so it is no surprise that causes of the decline of empires are often due to their fight to be the most powerful. A few examples of political and military warfare between enemies are as follows:

Decline of Empires Examples

Let's have a closer look into what caused the downfall of some of the Empires we have already mentioned!

Decline of French and British Empires

The British empire began with overseas settlements in the 16^th century, increasing British maritime expansion during the next century. Settlements in the West Indies and North America marked the beginning of the British Empire: a worldwide system of territories under the control of the British government.

The first French Empire was also rising in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, they quickly became competitors as they were colonizing empires.

Fig.6 British Empire in America Illustration

The North American colonies in the 18^th century saw French and British conflict after the British military succeeded in expanding their empire into Canada and India. Britain was victorious and the Treaty of Paris 1763 resulted in their dominance over Canada and ensured their supremacy over France in India.

Decline of the British Empire

The 20th century saw the demise of the British Empire. Here's why:

• The creation of dominions, like Canada, which in 1907 still held allegiance to the British Empire but were given independence in their governments.
• States that became dominions quickly became known as the British Commonwealth of Nations.
• With this newly formed Commonwealth came a spread of nationalism, and independence grants which started in India in 1947.
• The rise in nationalism meant the end of imperialism for the British Empire, and by the 1960s Britain no longer had sufficient controlled colonies to be seen as an empire.
• Economic failure after WWI and WWII.

Decline of the French Empire

The French Empire also saw its beginning to an end during WWII as its empire was being occupied by its foreign competitors of Japan, Britain, and Germany. Decolonization began with Vietnam's independence and the 1945 French defeat and subsequent retreat from Vietnam. This continued and by 1962, Alergia was also declared independent. The economy of France had begun to collapse. With a growing population came a thinly stretched food supply, and the long winter of 1788 created agricultural struggles and nationwide starvation. These bad conditions led to riots across the Empire and weakened its structure, eventually ending the French Empire on September 4, 1870.

Decline of Gunpowder Empires

Also known individually as the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires, the Gunpowder Empire was one of the three Empires to emerge in Euroasia.

Fig. 7 Gunpowder Empire Illustration