From the 1500s to the 1900s the peoples, nations, kingdoms, sultanates and tribes of the Asia-Pacific were seen as fair game for colonialization by European empires. From tiny Pacific islands like Niue to the vastness of Australia and India, almost nowhere was immune from the attention of European explorers, traders and missionaries. This book shows how colonialism began in the pursuit of trade by the Portuguese, and expanded into a rush for territory that peaked in the 19th century with Britain ruling over a vast territory, taking what was seen as 'civilization' to these ancient lands.