What was the main way in which imperialist nations protected their colonies and trade in the 1800s? The imperialist nations built military bases around the world. The imperialist nations required their colonies to raise armies. The imperialist nations armed their merchant ships heavily. The imperialist nations made peace treaties with other nations.

From the 15th century to the 18th century different European countries were interested in discovering and colonizing unknow lands in order to take advantage of the people and resources found on them. This led to the discovery of America, Australia, the Atlantic Archipelagos and other territories around the word that provide important advantages in terms of economy for the imperialist nations or the nations that colonized the territories. However, this situation, also meant other European countries could try to take control of the territory colonized or even attack the ships in which products from the colonies were taken to Europe. Because of this, the imperialist nations decided to built military bases or use military control in the territories they have colonized and in different parts of the world to avoid other countries invade this territory, attack the ships and to keep the native population under control which allowed imperialist countries to protect colonizes during the 18th century. Thus, the way in which imperialist nations protected their territories and trade was by building military bases around the world.