History and society: a comparison between China and foreign countries.

The formation of modern European hegemonic system and its replacement by the United States in the 20th century constitute a typical Hegelian "negation of negation". Britain has a long tradition of interfering in continental European affairs. As a latecomer, the United States has not forgotten to intervene in European affairs even when it pursues the principle of "isolationism", gradually expands its diplomatic space with the help of the strength of European countries, and takes the opportunity to beat Europe and become a world power. Studying the rise and fall of geopolitical forces on both sides of the Atlantic is helpful for us to reasonably understand and grasp the law of the rise and fall of great powers.

1.16th century, Britain defeated Spain and won sea power; /kloc-in the 0/7th century, Britain defeated the Netherlands and gained the monopoly of maritime trade; 18 and 19 centuries, Britain competed with France and Russia for overseas markets and finally won world hegemony. This process is consistent with the British bourgeois revolution and the subsequent industrial revolution. In essence, large-scale international wealth transfer is accomplished not through exchange but through violence.

The rise of great powers is a system, and the modern rise of Britain drives the rise of hegemonic system in western Europe and the decline of imperial power system in the East.

/kloc-in the middle of the 0/7th century, the British bourgeois revolution opened the gap from the feudal fortress in Europe for the first time. At that time, Central and South America was a colony of Spain and Portugal, while most of North America was mainly a colony of Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands, while China in the Asian continent did not enter a period of decline until the middle of the19th century. Britain is facing great pressure from feudal forces in continental Europe. As the source country of the rise of modern industrial capitalism, the birth of British capitalism needs strong power to resist hegemony and establish a world system suitable for its own development.

/kloc-At the beginning of the 6th century, Britain was inferior to France and Spain in economic and military strength, but the contradiction between Britain and Spain in overseas trade became increasingly acute, forcing Britain to face the pressure of maritime hegemony from Spain. 1588 In July, Britain defeated the "Armada" composed of 130 Spanish warships in two days, thus initially establishing its naval power in the Atlantic Ocean. 1609, Spain was forced to sign an armistice treaty with the Netherlands in 12, which actually recognized the independence of the Netherlands and the United States. Spanish hegemony declined and gave way to the Netherlands.

/kloc-In the middle of the 0/7th century, the Netherlands reached its heyday in navigation, colonization and trade. Long-distance merchant ships reached the Cape of Good Hope, Malacca and the east coast of North America, and had strongholds and colonies in Brazil and other places in South America. At the same time, the overseas interests of Britain and the Netherlands are becoming more and more irreconcilable. Britain decided to face the pressure of maritime hegemony from the Netherlands, so it fought three maritime wars with the Netherlands for more than 30 years. The Navigation Act was promulgated in 165 1 year, stipulating that all goods produced in Europe, Africa and America can only be brought into Britain by British ships managed by British crew. The Netherlands refused to accept it, and the first Anglo-Dutch war broke out in 1652- 1654. The Netherlands was defeated and forced to recognize the navigation act. 1664, war broke out again between Britain and the Netherlands, and Britain seized the Dutch colony in North America-New Amsterdam (1686 was renamed new york). 1672- 1674 There was a third war between Britain and the Netherlands, and the Netherlands was defeated. Since then, the Netherlands has never recovered. By the beginning of the18th century, the Netherlands had lost its maritime superiority and the corresponding trade monopoly position, while Britain had gained the maritime initiative and historical initiative.

1688, exactly 100 years after the Spanish-British naval battle, Britain's "glorious revolution" won. After the victorious British bourgeoisie came to power, it faced the relatively relaxed maritime security environment laid by Tudor (1485- 1603), Stuart and Cromwell (1599- 1658) wars.

In addition, Britain has a unique geopolitical advantage. Unlike Asia and Japan in the19th century, the British bourgeoisie faced a naturally broken Europe that was basically unified by Charlemagne (742-8 14) in 800 AD, but was unfortunately divided into three parts by his three grandchildren in treaty of verdun. The geopolitical environment of the European continent, which was broken by nature, provided the British bourgeoisie, which had just stepped onto the historical stage, with superior innate conditions than the later United States and Japan.

Second, the British industrial revolution stimulated the overseas market and investment demand of the British bourgeoisie, which inevitably caused a sharp conflict between Britain and France. The conflict reached its peak in the Napoleonic era. Although Napoleon's challenge to Britain ended in failure, he also cultivated a "grave digger" for British world hegemony, that is, the United States of America.

The victory of British bourgeois revolution accelerated the world expansion of British capital and the process of British industrial revolution driven by capital expansion, which in turn stimulated the demand of British bourgeoisie for overseas markets and investments. This brought Li Sailiu (Duke of Richelieu, 1585- 1642), Louis XIV (Louis XIV, 1638- 17 15) and Louis XV (Louis XV, 65438) into conflict.

As early as the end of 16, Britain began to set foot in North America. 1607, the London Company (later called Virginia Company) came to Jamestown and later developed into a Virginia colony. 1620, 102 Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts Bay on the ship "Mayflower" and established the New Plymouth Colony, which laid the foundation for the New England Colony. By the first half of the18th century, British colonies had established 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. At the same time, France colonized North America. 1604, the French established Port Royal, the first permanent immigrant area in North America. 1608, French colonization extended to the St. Lawrence River valley, and Quebec colony was established, which became the basis for France to expand its colonial power in North America. 1682, French colonists went south along the Mississippi River to the mouth of the river, and declared that the basin belonged to France and called it Louisiana. The expansion of France from north to south and Britain from east to west in North America has caused irreconcilable conflicts in space between the two countries. In the Spanish succession war of1701-1713, Britain captured the French colony in North America-Acadia, Newfoundland. In the "Seven Years' War" of 1756- 1763, France was defeated and had to cede Canada, all the Ohio River basins and the eastern bank of the Mississippi River to Britain and the western bank to Spain.

Since the17th century, India has gradually become an important place for Britain to compete with European powers. Since15th century, the Portuguese first came to India. 1600, Britain established the East India Company, 16 12, defeated the Portuguese fleet, landed in surat, the west coast of India, and established the first commercial station. 16 14 years, the British defeated the Portuguese again and gained the sea power in the Indian Ocean. Britain occupied Madras (1620) and Kolkata (1633) in India, and Mumbai in the 1980s. The French established the East India Company in 1604, but it was not until 1668 that an overseas trading post was established in surat. 10 years later, the French established a stronghold of colonial aggression in Cariati. /kloc-In the late 7th century, the French occupied Chandenagol in Bangladesh. Britain and France also fought in India. India was one of the important battlefields in the 1756- 1763 Seven-Year War. France failed. According to the Paris Peace Treaty, France lost almost all Indian colonies, except a few cities as commercial strongholds. France's failure in North America and India ignited France's persistent anti-British sentiment and French sympathy for the North American War of Independence. In retaliation for the failure of the "Seven Years' War", Louis XVI spared no expense to aid the North American War of Independence. After Saratoga's victory, France took the lead in recognizing American independence and allied itself with the United States to attack Britain. During the Napoleonic period, the contradiction between France and Britain became more and more serious, which was due to the fact that the French emerging bourgeoisie resisted British capital and the imperialist nature of competing with Britain for the world market. In order to defeat Britain, the French government formulated a corresponding world strategy and invested almost all its national strength to realize this strategy.

1798, after defeating the first anti-French alliance, Napoleon began to consider the strategy of cutting off the external market from the east and west, namely India and the United States. He said: "Egypt is a part of Africa. It is located in the center of the ancient world, between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, and is a natural distribution center for trade with India. " [1] "Fifty years after the Egyptian occupation, civilization may spread to the hinterland of Africa through Sennar, Ethiopia, Duffle and Fezan." [2] "The French colony in the West Indies has been lost, and France needs a new big colony that can rival the American colony." [3] He suggested to the Governor that while preparing to cross the sea to fight against Britain, he should send troops to Egypt, then occupy India, cut off the trade line from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and cut off its financial resources from India. [4] He believes: "To win the battle in such a distant battlefield (India), we must have a midway position as an attack base. Egypt is 600 miles from Toulon and 0/500 miles from Malabad/Kloc (located on the coast south of Goa to Cape Komelin). It is such an attack base. If France can gain a foothold in this country, it will become the master of India sooner or later. The vast eastern trade will also return to the ancient roads of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. In this way, on the one hand, Egypt will replace Santo Domingo and Antilles; On the other hand, it will inevitably become a military station on the road to conquering India. " ⑤ "Firmly occupying this country (Egypt) is the basis of the whole plan of expedition to India". "Once the date of sending troops to India is decided, a fleet including fifteen capital ships, six cruisers and fifteen large transport ships should set off from Brest with 5,000 soldiers and a lot of food and ammunition." [6] Napoleon 1796 attacked Italy, defeated Austria and invaded Egypt. In order to open the road to India, Napoleon signed an alliance treaty with the king of Iran in 1807, and Iran agreed to abolish the British-Iranian alliance, declare war on Britain, send troops to attack India, and force Afghanistan to attack India together; It is agreed that France will attack India through Iran, supply food for France, and open all ports in the Persian Gulf for the French army.

On the other hand, Napoleon also attacked Britain from North America. 1789 French revolution broke out, 1793 Britain formed the first anti-French alliance. 1799, Napoleon became the supreme ruler of France through the "foggy month coup". 1802 In March, Britain was forced to sign the Amiens Peace Treaty with France as a sign of reconciliation with France. In order to ensure France's political and military superiority on the European continent, Napoleon did not give up his plan to attack Britain because of a temporary truce. 1In May of 803, Britain and France broke off diplomatic relations and turned to military confrontation. 1804 Britain, Russia and Austria reached an agreement in principle on the conclusion of an anti-French alliance. Just as the relationship between Britain and France was ups and downs, Napoleon's policy towards the United States also changed rapidly, from the aversion to the United States caused by the reconciliation between the United States and Britain to the rapid reconciliation with the United States. 1801March, Thomas Jefferson became president of the United States (1801-1809). At the beginning of his tenure, he negotiated with France and was eager to buy Louisiana. At this time, the relationship between France and Britain has slowed down. Napoleon not only didn't want to give up Louisiana, but also took Florida from Spain. However, in less than a year, the relationship between France and Britain deteriorated sharply and war was imminent. How to finally destroy Britain's hegemonic position in the world became Napoleon's first consideration. On June180365438+1October 1 1, Jefferson sent Monroe as a special envoy to France for negotiations. Napoleon turned sharply and agreed to sell Louisiana to the United States. 1804, France and the United States signed the Louisiana Treaty, and the United States bought the whole Louisiana at the price of 3 cents per acre. The territory of the United States almost tripled overnight. [⑦]

Giving up Louisiana voluntarily is tantamount to rebuilding a big country in the west of Britain, and Britain's world hegemony can only collapse under the attack of France and the United States. If France wants to finally defeat its long-term rival Britain, it should, in addition to economic and military means, geopolitically foster an opponent like France in the western part of Britain, which has the same territory as France. If the United States rises, the United States and France will simultaneously contain Britain on both sides of the Atlantic. Even if Britain does not collapse, France will reduce the pressure from Britain because of American containment. On the other hand, if the United States collapses or splits, Britain will be France's eternal pain, and the contradiction between Britain and France will be an insoluble contradiction for a century. For this reason, Napoleon dealt with you the way you dealt with him. He adopted the traditional British balance of power principle and created a powerful opponent for Britain like the United States. After the American War of Independence, Britain did not want the United States to continue to expand its territory. 1803 In March, a month after the conflict between France and Britain intensified on the issue of returning malta island occupied by Britain, Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States, which was obviously an action against Britain. Moreover, Napoleon further emphasized the relationship between the United States and Britain, which led to the outbreak of the second Anglo-American War in June 18 12. A month ago, the United States announced that Florida would be merged into Mississippi. Napoleon ceded Louisiana to Britain, which led to the miraculous expansion of American territory in less than ten years, which caused great fear in Britain. 18 14, the situation of the American-British war was favorable to Britain, and Napoleon was defeated in Europe. In August, British troops occupied Washington. On February 24th, 65438, Britain and the United States signed the Ghent Peace Treaty.

Although Napoleon's challenge to Britain ended in failure, he also cultivated a "grave digger" for British world hegemony, that is, the United States of America. The appearance of the United States made Britain see its nemesis, and it was Russia after France that propped up this nemesis.

Third, after Napoleon's failure, Britain faced strategic pressure from Russia, and Russia also used the repeated chaos in Europe to compress the political space in Europe and tried to dominate European affairs. The contradiction between Britain and Russia replaced the contradiction between Britain and France and became the main line of European politics in the whole19th century.

After Napoleon's defeat, Russia gained the most benefit in land control and Britain gained the most benefit in maritime control at the Vienna conference where the powers divided the spoils. By virtue of its "hero" status, Russia tried its best to expand its territory in the European continent: it carved up Poland with the great powers and won most of Poland's land; Continue to occupy Finland and Bissalabia (Romanian territory). At this time, Britain expanded its sea power as much as possible: it continued to occupy Malta, French colony Tobago, Saint Lucia (all located in the West Indies) and Mauritius (Indian Ocean), and seized Cape Town colony in South Africa and Ceylon Island (now Sri Lanka) from the Netherlands, thus controlling the strategic location leading to the East. 1865438+In September 2005, at the initiative of Russian czar Alexander I, the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia issued a declaration in Paris and concluded the "holy alliance". Soon, all the monarchies in continental Europe joined the alliance one after another. The Russian czar replaced France as the "leader" of the European continent, further expanding Russia's sphere of influence in Europe and compressing the political space of Britain and France in the European continent.

191920s, under the planning of Russia, the Holy Alliance suppressed the Spanish Revolution. In 1930s, the Tsar sent 6.5438+0.2 million troops to suppress the Polish uprising. In the war against Turkey from 1828 to 1829, Russia occupied a large area of land in Crimea, the mouth of the Danube River and the Caucasus. In the north, Finland was seized from Sweden. In the west, it acquired most of the land of Warsaw Principality and cut Bissalabia from Romania. In a short time, Russian forces reached the Balkans, which aroused the vigilance of Britain and France. From 1853 to 1856, Russia fought against Britain and France in Crimea and controlled the Black Sea Strait and the Balkans. Russia's defeat, on the contrary, reserved an opportunity for the victory of the United States civil war five years later.

After the defeat of the Crimean war, Russia tried to open the door to the sea from Central Asia in order to get through the southern passage. 1865, Russia occupied Tashkent, 1867, Bukhara Khan and Hao Han were forcibly incorporated into Russian territory. 1873, Russia attacked Shivakend on a large scale, signed a treaty and became a vassal of Russia. Russian troops advanced into Afghanistan, which immediately caused British interception. 1878165438+10, more than 30,000 British and Indian troops invaded Afghanistan, and it was not until 1893 that Afghanistan was forced to form a dependency relationship with its suzerain country. However, the east is not as bright as the west. Just as the British army was trapped in the battlefield in Afghanistan, 1877, Russia turned around in the Balkans, declared war on Turkey under the banner of liberating Slavs, crossed the Danube and advanced to Istanbul. Britain and Austria-Hungary immediately warned Russia that Russian troops must stop attacking and make peace with Turkey.

In order to contain Russia, Britain abandoned the traditional policy of "glorious isolation" for the first time, crossed Europe, signed a treaty with Japan on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean in 1894 and 1902, and established an alliance, trying to contain Russia's pressure on Britain from the Far East. 1905 Revolution broke out in Russia, Russia was defeated in the Russo-Japanese War, and revolution broke out in Iran. Coupled with the rise of Germany and Japan, Russia was forced to compromise with Britain, and an agreement was signed on August 3 1, 1907 to coordinate the spheres of influence and strategic interests of all parties in Central Asia.

4. While Russia and Britain are engaged in tit-for-tat contest in Eurasia, they will form a force in North America that will fundamentally shake Britain's world hegemony, and the United States will get Russia's support at a critical moment.

1860 1 1 Lincoln was elected president of the United States, and South Carolina declared its secession in 12, followed by six states. 186 1 February, the southern state alliance was established and the separatist flag was publicly displayed. Thus the American Civil War broke out. 13 In May, Britain announced that it would pursue a neutral policy towards the American Civil War and recognized the Confederacy as a belligerent, which was an important step in recognizing the Confederacy as an independent country. At the same time, Britain secretly provided money, weapons and other material assistance to the south, and Britain also brought its navy into American waters to put pressure on the federal government.

Tsarist Russia also had strong expansion ambitions for the United States. As early as 1799, the colonial organization of "Russian-American Company" was established, and it was planned to expand the control scope of Russian troops from Russian Alaska to California. 182 1 In September, Tsar Alexander I promulgated the Bering Sea Navigation Ordinance, announcing that the southern border of Alaska in Russia was at 5 1 degree north latitude, and stipulating that all foreign ships were prohibited from sailing in the coastal areas north of 5 1 degree north latitude 100 nautical mile. Russia-US relations were once tense. From 1853 to 1856, Russia was attacked by the British and French allied forces in the Crimean War, and the relationship between Russia and Britain deteriorated seriously. This prompted Russia to "hope that a strong and unified United States will become a force against Britain" [8]. During the American Civil War, Russia took a completely opposite position from Britain and supported the reunification of the northern countries. In September 1863, Russia sent two fleets to new york and San Francisco, two important ports on the east and west coasts of the United States, respectively, which successfully prevented the Confederate fleet from attacking San Francisco at sea. 1853 at the beginning of the Crimean war, the governor of eastern Siberia of Russia formally proposed to Tsar Nicholas I to sell Alaska to the United States. As soon as the civil war ended, Russia and the United States accelerated negotiations in this regard.

The United States is also aware of the strategic significance of Alaska. Neil Banks, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, believes that the Aleutian Islands, a "suspension bridge between America and Asia", will give the United States new strength in the Pacific region, and it will become "the controller of the fate of all countries and the progress of mankind". Some members also believe that buying Alaska is equivalent to "caging the British lion" and making the day when "Russia and the United States become the two great powers in the world" come soon. [pet-name ruby] The United States and Russia finally signed a treaty to buy Alaska on March 30th, 867/kloc-0. 1867 On April 9, the United States Senate ratified the treaty with an absolute majority of 37: 2, and the following year, Congress passed the treaty with 1 13: 43. This makes the United States a country with a huge geographical map. Although the modern capital center headed by Britain has not ended, its death knell has begun to be sounded by the peripheral Americans.

Since the end of 18, the United States has gained a rare opportunity to rise by taking advantage of the contradictions of European countries, but it has not been smooth sailing to take advantage of this opportunity. It has to be forced to accept the threat of war from major European countries and face almost overwhelming cultural repression from Europe. The early rise of America was accompanied by humiliation.

1On September 3, 783, the United States and Britain signed the Paris Peace Treaty, and Britain recognized the independence of the United States: it confirmed that the United States borders Canada and the Great Lakes region in the north, Florida in the south, the Atlantic coast in the east and the Mississippi River in the west. In this way, the United States expanded from more than 900,000 square kilometers in the early days of the War of Independence to more than 2.3 million square kilometers. While the land area has doubled, the national risks faced by the United States have also increased year by year.

From 1783, when Britain recognized the independence of the United States, to 1865, when the American civil war ended, Britain never gave up its practical efforts to split the United States. During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain intercepted American merchant ships and blocked trade between the United States and Europe. 18 12, the United States and Britain went to war. 1865438+In August 2004, Britain occupied Washington, burned down the White House and the Capitol, attempted to dismember the United States by taking advantage of the favorable war situation, and proposed to the American peace representative that "a neutral Indian buffer state should be established along the American border" [⑩]. It was only after the unsuccessful negotiations at the European Vienna Conference and the chaos in France that Britain gave up this request and signed the Ghent Peace Treaty with the United States on February 24, 65438. 186 1 During the American Civil War, Britain declared a neutral policy towards the American Civil War and recognized the Confederacy as a belligerent. At the same time, Britain secretly provided assistance to the south and sailed its navy into American waters. Just because the battlefield advantage quickly fell to the north, "Britain's plan to recognize the south and interfere in the American Civil War was completely ruined" [1 1].

In addition, France and Spain are also panicked about the rise of the United States and tried to contain it. 186 1, 10/On October 30th, Britain, France and Spain signed the Agreement on Joint Expedition to London, Mexico, trying to forcibly insert a barrier to contain and contain the United States from the southern United States after the southern rebel state, which posed a great threat to the national unity of the United States. 186 1, 12 and the following year 10, the Spanish and British-French expeditionary forces landed in Mexico, but later withdrew from Britain and the West because of disagreement with France. France alone attacked Mexico with heavy troops. By June of 1863, France captured the capital Mexico City and supported Maximilian to come to power. 1864, 10 In April, Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte and maximilian signed the Milla Horse Agreement, which stipulated that the French army would stay in Mexico until the end of 1867. 1865, the American war ended, and the north won national reunification. The European powers' desire for the inevitable division between the North and the South of the United States failed. Under the strong pressure of the U.S. government, and in view of the huge military pressure on France after the unification of Germany by Otto von Bismarck (18 15- 1898), Charles Louis Napolé on Bonaparte has only.

While the United States is under military encirclement and suppression by European countries, its national spirit is also under cultural pressure from Europe. In the eyes of Europeans, Europe stands for "God's chosen people" and North America stands for "God's forsaken people" [12]. Europeans use aristocratic contempt to dwarf and vilify Americans. Incredibly, these prejudices were put forward earlier. Some of them are not theologians, but scientists and enlightenment thinkers, such as French naturalist Buffon, philosopher Voltaire and historian renard. Regardless of the regional differences in the American continent, these people summarized the natural conditions in North America as: cold, wet and salinization. They use the weight, length and characteristics of the animals here to try to prove-in the words of now-that this place is not a place for people to stay at all, so there can be no development in the United States. Buffon argued in the book "The Degeneration of Animals" that the North American race was in a "degraded" state together with the whole North American animals. Voltaire sarcastically said, if people are not surprised that flies will appear in the United States, why are they surprised that this group of people will appear in the United States? [