Imperial domination occurred in two phases - pre-industrial phase and the post- Industrial Revolution phase. There were different leaders for different phases. Spanish, Portuguese and the Dutch took the lead in the first phase when they entered the new world and established their colonies.

After the Industrial Revolution these countries lost out to the new industrial powers like Great Britain and France. The initial interventions in the colonies were made by individuals, missionaries and chartered companies but gradually in all the cases the governments of the dominating countries took over formal control of the dominated societies. With the arrival of the new industrial powers, the entire world came under domination.

After the Industrial Revolution, trade ceased to be the major motivation behind imperialist expansion. Now the needs of the new industrial empires dictated the pattern of imperial domination. The colonies were required as suppliers of raw material for the industries of Britain and France and as markets for their manufactured goods. In all this, the British colonial empire was easily the largest. It was claimed by the British imperialist rulers that sun never set on the British Empire.

Till 1900 Britain remained the unquestioned world leader. The total British Empire extended to around twelve million square miles and nearly one-fourth of world's population. India was considered a jewel in the British Crown. The British imperial supremacy was possible because of her being the major industrial power. This monopoly began to break down from 1860s onwards when other countries like Germany and USA began to catch up with Britain in industrialization.

Towards the end of the 19th century Italy, Japan and Belgium also joined the race for colonies. British monopoly gradually came to an end. Now began a fierce battle among the imperial powers for a control over the colonies. Thus started the famous 20th century struggle for domination of the entire world.