OP said an empire; and you know what he means by that, historically speaking, usually tends to last 250 years.
We have no clue what a world government would be like, because one has never really existed. So you're basing your claim on pure speculation as opposed to OP'S research.
honestly i can see it being so, but i would also make an argument that the US is not the average empire (but i'm biased because i haven't experienced many others), so it might not be appropriate to give it the average span.
America didn't become an Empire until 1898 with the Spanish American war. If 250 years is the rule of thumb then America still has another 130 years left to run.
The year 1898 is when America acquired its first overseas territories. The Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Kingdom of Hawaii were all taken over in 1898. Before then America grew by settling mostly empty lands on the frontier. The frontier closed in the 1890s and America began to look overseas and become involved in foreign entanglements. There were several military exclusions into South and Central America to secure access to rubber and bananas. The Panama Canal was also built through military intervention a few years later. Panama used be part of Columbia before the Americans snatched it away and created a puppet state.
Nah I don't really think they count since they never built a civilization. If you count native tribes that would mean Canada is an empire. I don't buy it. The proper American empire began in 1898.
redneck grunts "well i reckon since they only live in them there deer skin tents and aint got no walls or nuthin, we can just go ahead and take it!" yeehaw in background fade to black
Disease wiped out 90% of the Native Americans which left huge tracts of basically unclaimed land for white American settlers. Nature abhors a vacuum. Empty territory will not be left unsettled.
Oh, so as long as 90% of them got wiped out, it's okay to take their land, force them to learn english, kill them, destroy their food sources, take control of their water sources?
Ahh gotcha. My bad.
I didn't understand.
Now I do though.
43 comments
n/a FonzieThePonzi 2017-02-21
The empire never ended.
n/a TheMadQuixotician 2017-02-21
RemindMe! 9 years!
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n/a cjluthy 2017-02-21
It's quaint you think this bot will still be working in 9 years.
n/a TheMadQuixotician 2017-02-21
And therein lays the source of the joke :)
n/a Brodusgus 2017-02-21
A global economy would have an experiation date as well.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
Would it?
Explain please
n/a Brodusgus 2017-02-21
OP said it. I'm just using that logic.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
You aren't using logic.
OP said an empire; and you know what he means by that, historically speaking, usually tends to last 250 years.
We have no clue what a world government would be like, because one has never really existed. So you're basing your claim on pure speculation as opposed to OP'S research.
n/a Brodusgus 2017-02-21
I would like to that scientific journal written by OP
n/a ldp242 2017-02-21
i didn't believe you so i calculated the average myself it is indeed 258 years
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
Yay we might have an extra 8 years :)
n/a mirareset 2017-02-21
That's like an entire extra President. Dreadful!
n/a ldp242 2017-02-21
honestly i can see it being so, but i would also make an argument that the US is not the average empire (but i'm biased because i haven't experienced many others), so it might not be appropriate to give it the average span.
n/a monopoly_man_pass_go 2017-02-21
Do you mind sharing sources? I believe you but I would also like to see min, max, median, and standard deviation.
n/a ldp242 2017-02-21
i manually entered the data from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_empires
min: 2 years (lol) max: 1850 years
i did not do median (nor did i save the file..) but from the looks of it, it's a pretty normal curve.
n/a Bacore 2017-02-21
Not a math problem! At least give a multiple choice.
n/a EricCarver 2017-02-21
How old do you consider chinese empire?
n/a lavendula13 2017-02-21
What Chinese empire. What do you think Mao was doing all those years, playing tiddly winks? The Cultural Revolution put an end to empire. https://www.britannica.com/event/Cultural-Revolution
n/a conspiracyjunkie 2017-02-21
ELI5
n/a lavendula13 2017-02-21
What are you trying to tell me?
n/a homogenized 2017-02-21
He wants you to waste time explaining Mao's industrialization of china and the revolution that killed off the ruling and academic class.
n/a lavendula13 2017-02-21
Ah. Thank you. Not happening.
n/a homogenized 2017-02-21
Oh and Explain Like I'm 5 (years old) is ELI5
n/a Sjwpoet 2017-02-21
They've never been an empire that projected power over the known world.
n/a EricCarver 2017-02-21
True. Guess they spend all that energy on the empire of Billion+ diverse people in that country.
n/a UnderwritingRules 2017-02-21
Average is 250. ok.
What's the longest? What's the mean?
n/a Shiftyze 2017-02-21
Isn't the Ottoman Empire the longest?
n/a UnderwritingRules 2017-02-21
Just looked it up: Empire of Japan: minimum 1743 years to date
n/a deaznutelanutz 2017-02-21
I think it might be the Romans if you consider Byzantine empire as Rome (considering how it was the eastern empire of Rome)
n/a SpagzExec 2017-02-21
Nah it was the Pandayan Empire in India. Lasted like 1,850 years
n/a Novusod 2017-02-21
America didn't become an Empire until 1898 with the Spanish American war. If 250 years is the rule of thumb then America still has another 130 years left to run.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
And what makes you say that?
n/a Novusod 2017-02-21
If the American empire started in 1898, then 1898+250 = year 2148 approximate fall of the American empire.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
No no, what makes you say it started in 1898?
n/a Novusod 2017-02-21
The year 1898 is when America acquired its first overseas territories. The Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Kingdom of Hawaii were all taken over in 1898. Before then America grew by settling mostly empty lands on the frontier. The frontier closed in the 1890s and America began to look overseas and become involved in foreign entanglements. There were several military exclusions into South and Central America to secure access to rubber and bananas. The Panama Canal was also built through military intervention a few years later. Panama used be part of Columbia before the Americans snatched it away and created a puppet state.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
Native Americans?!
n/a Novusod 2017-02-21
Nah I don't really think they count since they never built a civilization. If you count native tribes that would mean Canada is an empire. I don't buy it. The proper American empire began in 1898.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
LOL.
redneck grunts "well i reckon since they only live in them there deer skin tents and aint got no walls or nuthin, we can just go ahead and take it!" yeehaw in background fade to black
The beginning of and Empire.
n/a Novusod 2017-02-21
Disease wiped out 90% of the Native Americans which left huge tracts of basically unclaimed land for white American settlers. Nature abhors a vacuum. Empty territory will not be left unsettled.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
Oh, so as long as 90% of them got wiped out, it's okay to take their land, force them to learn english, kill them, destroy their food sources, take control of their water sources?
Ahh gotcha. My bad. I didn't understand. Now I do though.
/s
n/a Seeds_of_2nd_Sight 2017-02-21
How dare any of just assume that the American Empire is merely 'average'. /s
n/a HashtagDadJoke 2017-02-21
We were never meant to be an empire.
n/a DrSultanPhDD 2017-02-21
Muh timer.
Remember December 21, 2012? I do.
n/a Novusod 2017-02-21
If the American empire started in 1898, then 1898+250 = year 2148 approximate fall of the American empire.
n/a Zigora 2017-02-21
No no, what makes you say it started in 1898?
n/a ldp242 2017-02-21
i manually entered the data from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_empires
min: 2 years (lol) max: 1850 years
i did not do median (nor did i save the file..) but from the looks of it, it's a pretty normal curve.