Book excerpt: "Empires and Colonies in the Modern World takes on world history 1450-present through the sweeping events and human experiences of empires, imperialism, and colonialism. More than just a history of one or more empires, this volume ties together all of the modern empires, and also considers the development of global commerce, shared ideas about race and gender, and the political development of the international system in which we live. It is more than just a narrative of events. Rather, it is a guide to major debates in the field: What is an empire? What were the global origins of sixteenth century European overseas empires? How and why did the 'new imperialism' happen? Are there empires in the world today? In exploring the answers to these questions, the book focuses not only on political and economic history but also on cultural and social history, with a particular eye to the lasting legacies of colonialism to be found in migration patterns, intellectual thought, ecology, consumption, and belief. An intellectual volume engaged with cutting-edge research, it is also an accessible chronicle that connects English Puritans, the Ottoman Empire, and the Qing Dynasty with American politics, struggles in the modern Middle East, and Chinese foreign policy today"--Provided by publisher.