Age of Imperialism
Overview
An era that lasted most of the 30s, usually lasting from the end of the OmniSent Conflict in 31 to the Leviathan War in 37 WR. During this time period larger powers absorbed and consolidated smaller powers, and drew smaller powers into their orbit. During this time their emerge the four so-called Great Powers, the Tasnica Republic, the Kingdom of Guardia (the principal member of GATO and, earlier, a driving force behind the Gate Three), the Esper Union (with its associated members in the Fascist Pact), and the Scandian League and Ticondera-led Communist Protectorate. This tetrapolar constellation continues in some form to modern politics.
Although Gate led the way in Space colonization, other great powers followed them into space, and this was a time of rapid expansion, advancement, and exploitation into that sphere.
This was an era of instability for many of the Web's old monarchies, particularly those in Crystal.
The Age of Imperialism also marked the relative decline of the power of the Grand Army, as the House of Lords intervened to prevent the GA from fighting in several international wars.
The Leviathan War between the Communist Protectorate and the Fascist Pact (with the other great powers involved in varying degrees) brought this era to an explosive end; after the war reforms like the Alliance Congress, the New Peace, and the Hosluftgrad Conventions sought to build a more restrained, peaceful Web. In the ten years following the Leviathan War there was a significant decrease in major interweb conflicts, and no all-out Great Power war.
It would, however, be foolish to suggest that the policies of imperialism ended with this era; Tasnica absorbed the Kingdom of Carrion and a part of Ticondera, while the communists continued to expand with the enlargement of the Merge League, and space colonization continues. The biggest problem is that expansionist policies now become hard to defend in the eyes of Web opinion, whereas in the Age of Imperialism they were regarded as normal.
