territories on our planet. For the first time, the world is completely shared out, so that in the future territories will only be able to pass from one possessor to another, instead of acquiring a possessor for the first time.
We are, therefore, passing through a peculiar period of world-wide colonial policy, attached by the closest of ties to the most recent phase of capitalist development, that of finance-capital. And so it is indispensable to dwell above all on the facts, in order to ascertain exactly what distinguishes this period from those preceding it, and from the present situation. In the first place, two questions of fact arise here. Is there to be observed an intensification of colonial policy, an intensification of the struggle for the colonies, exactly at the period of finance-capital? And how is the world divided up at present in this regard?
The American writer, Morris, in his book on The History of Colonisation68 sets out to give the total colonial possessions of Britain, France and Germany during different periods of the nineteenth century. He obtains, briefly, the following results:
| BRITAIN | FRANCE | GERMANY | ||||
| Area in mills. of sq. miles |
Populat'n in millions |
Area in millions of sq. mls. |
Populat'n in millions |
Area in millions of sq. mls. |
Populat'n in millions | |
| 1815-1830 | — | 126.4 | 0.02 | 0.5 | — | — |
| 1860 | 2.5 | 145.1 | 0.2 | 3.4 | — | — |
| 1880 | 7.7 | 267.9 | 0.7 | 7.5 | — | — |
| 1899 | 9.3 | 309.0 | 3.7 | 56.4 | 1.0 | 14.7 |
For Britain, the period of vast colonial conquests is between 1860-1880; and the last twenty years of the 19th century are also of great
