Following newly opened trade routes, the capitalist nations of the West were pouring into the Pacific looking for new territories in which to sell their goods and acquire resources. Here they explored, conquered and colonized.
當時正值西方產業革命方興未艾之際，資本主義國家為推銷產品、尋找原料，伴隨著新航路的開闢，紛紛來到太平洋探尋新領土，進行殖民征服和探險。