Imperialism

The Second Industrial Revolution created an unprecedented technological gap between Europe, North America, and the rest of the world in the late nineteenth century. As Europeans spread out across a world that was getting smaller and smaller - a world that could be circumnavigated in 80 days according to Jules Verne - Europeans began to plant new colonies in Africa and Asia. Many prominent Europeans saw in their technological superiority a sign of cultural and racial superiority, as well - a superiority that took a hit when Japan, which had embraced Western technology, defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. The Treaty of Portsmouth, which concluded the Russo-Japanese War, was mediated by Teddy Roosevelt, marking the entry of the United States onto the world stage.