The final Maritime Empire to emerge during the Early Modern period will go on to become the greatest. However, don't confuse this "British Empire", with the one from the next era. In the next era, the British Empire will dominate the world. This First British Empire laid her foundation in this period. They are part of the second wave of exploration and discovery. The first wave was dominated by Spain & Portugal. These two were quickly surpassed by the Dutch and British Empires. So, as you focus on them here, they may seem similar to the others... They are. But, (foreshadowing), they will go on to dominate the globe for the next two hundred years. Below, find our last and eventually largest Maritime empire: The BRITISH EMPIRE.
Not all of these territories where acquired in this era, but they will go on to be the largest empire in world history in the next era.
This map shows British, Dutch and Spanish shipping routes from 1750 to 1800. It's been created from newly digitized logbooks of European ships during this period. (Unfortunately, the French data is not shown.) These lines are the contours of empire and of European colonialism, yes, but they're also the first intimations of the global trade and transportation system that are still with us today. This was the flattening of the world, for better and for worse.
