Confrontation in Central Asia, 1885
Raymond A. Mohl describs how the nineteenth century history of Anglo-Russian conflict in Central Asia is marked by gradual Russian advances and gradual British retreats.
During the last quarter of the nineteenth century the frontiers of Europe were extended around the globe. The quest for colonies and concessions in the underdeveloped areas of the world was the dominant theme of this new imperialism. Britain, Germany and France each established hegemony over large areas of Africa, while in Asia, Russia joined the Great Powers in carving out spheres of influence.
Large portions of Europe and of Asia had gradually been absorbed by Russia during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. By 1850, the force of imperialism had carried Russian boundaries into Eastern Europe and Finland, across the wide stretches of Siberia to the Pacific coast, into the region of the Caucasus, and in a southerly direction across the Kazahk steppes.
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