15. Great Britain was the most dominant military and economic power, leading to the beginning of an iron-fisted Empire.
Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Great Britain was the dominant European military power and possessor of the most powerful Navy on earth. Its Navy remained the largest in the world until surpassed by the Americans’ during the World War II. Britain’s naval and economic strength was such that it exerted control over the economies of nations not within its empire, through trade policies. Not content with the size and scope of the empire, Great Britain continued to expand its global territorial holdings, though economic pressures, open warfare, and the suppression of native peoples who were not enamored with the presence of the British and the exploitation of their lands.