Colonialism and Imperialism, part 2

I came to this topic while thinking about developments in the changes in fuel use over time. Rapid changes began in the early 1800s. And I wondered if what I was finding reflected an American (USA) bias. Broadening the topic to industrial innovation --- again led me to London and the USA. Realized that China was pretty closed at the time, and Africa and India and the Middle East were dominated by a few European countries - and the connection between industrial innovation and Imperialism was made. And Imperialism is really about capitalism (wealth) competition between countries. So, who were these countries where so much industrial innovation was occurring? Imperialism gave countries wide access to natural resources, and getting as much out of those resources pushed technological innovation. (While often the USA is seen as less involved in Colonialism and Imperialism, someone pointed out that our (the USA government) history with the native Americans and Central America does seem to qualify as I&C.)


Who were some of the leading figures in the construction of the oil empires and in their expansion and/or demise?



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_oil_shale_industry
http://www.worldsocialism.org/english/what-capitalism
https://hbr.org/2011/03/capitalism-for-the-long-term
http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/backgrounds/colonialism-and-imperialism/benedikt-stuchtey-colonialism-and-imperialism-1450-1950