importance. For France and Germany it is chiefly during these last twenty years that the gains are important.
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 importance. For France and Germany it is chiefly during these last twenty years that the gains are important.
We have seen previously that the limit of pre-monopoly capitalist development, of capitalism with a predominance of free competition, is between 1860 and 1870. We now see that it is just immediately following that period that the "boom" in colonial annexations begins, and that the struggle for a territorial division of the world becomes extraordinarily keen. It is, therefore, beyond doubt that the transition of capitalism to monopoly-capitalism, to finance-capitalism, is connected with the intensification of the struggle for the partition of the world.
Hobson, in his work on imperialism, marks the years 1884-1900 as being those of the greatest colonial "expansion" of the chief European States. According to his estimate, Britain acquired during these years, 3,700,000 square miles of territory with a population of 57,000,000 inhabitants; France acquired 3,600,000 square miles with a population of 36,000,000 inhabitants; Germany 1,000,000 square miles with a population of 14,700,000 inhabitants; Belgium 900,000 square miles with 30,000,000 inhabitants; Portugal 800,000 square miles with 9,000,000 inhabitants. The hunt of all the capitalist States for colonies at the end of the 19th century is a fact well-
