<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Western imperialism in Asia as presented in this article pertains to Western European entry into what was first called the East Indies . This was sparked early in the 15th century by the search for trade routes to China that led directly to the Age of Discovery, and the introduction of early modern warfare into what was then called the Far East . By the early 16th century the Age of Sail greatly expanded Western European influence and development of the Spice Trade under colonialism . There has been a presence of Western European colonial empires and imperialism in Asia throughout six centuries of colonialism, formally ending with the independence of the Portuguese Empire's last colony East Timor in 2002 . The empires introduced Western concepts of nation and the multinational state . This article attempts to outline the consequent development of the Western concept of the nation state . </P> <P> The thrust of European political power, commerce, and culture in Asia gave rise to growing trade in commodities--a key development in the rise of today's modern world free market economy . In the 16th century, the Portuguese broke the (overland) monopoly of the Arabs and Italians of trade between Asia and Europe by the discovery of the sea route to India around the Cape of Good Hope . With the ensuing rise of the rival Dutch East India Company, Portuguese influence in Asia was gradually eclipsed . Dutch forces first established independent bases in the East (most significantly Batavia, the heavily fortified headquarters of the Dutch East India Company) and then between 1640 and 1660 wrestled Malacca, Ceylon, some southern Indian ports, and the lucrative Japan trade from the Portuguese . Later, the English and the French established settlements in India and established a trade with China and their own acquisitions would gradually surpass those of the Dutch . Following the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, the British eliminated French influence in India and established the British East India Company as the most important political force on the Indian Subcontinent . </P>

When did imperialism start in the middle east