The Great Game: Quest for Empire, 1756-2024
Hybrid – Wednesday 3:10 pm – 4:50 pm
Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, Nov. 6 
The term “The Great Game” was coined in 1840 by Arthur Connolly, a captain in the British Army. The term became popular when Rudyard Kipling’s book, Kim, was published in 1901.
The Great Game, played by the Great Powers, was played for centuries, long before Captain Connolly invoked it. We confine ourselves to the modern era, beginning with Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Russia. We trace the changes to the club of imperialist powers, in the 19th into the 20th century, with Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands becoming non-players as they were replaced by Italy, Germany, Japan and the United States, followed in 1945 by the Soviet Union. Now the United States and China are the major players in a multipolar world.
We get to know personalities of the era—Metternich, Talleyrand, Castlereagh, Mackinder, Beveridge, Spykman, Kennan, Kissinger and Brzezinski and others. The Great Game is played for strategic position since land is an overriding concern, along with resources and financial primacy, all of which translate into domination.
- Week 1: World’s First World War: The Seven Years War, 1756-1763, the Great Powers jockey for position
- Week 2: Hercules in a Cradle: Growth of the United States, 18th through 19th century
- Week 3: Changing of the Guard: Spain, Portugal and Netherlands receding; Germany, Italy, Japan and United States on the rise
- Week 4: The Mackinder Effect: Halford Mackinder, British historian and foreign policy guru
- Week 5: The Great War: There is no World War I and World War II, only The Great War,
1914-1922; 1931-1945. - Week 6: Le Grand Jeu: 1945-1991: Tenuous balance of power, United States and Soviet Union
- Week 7: Crude Reality: Oil and the Great Game
- Week 8: The Grand Chessboard: 21st century and the evolving nature of the Great Game
Mark Albertson is the historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine in Monroe and the historian for the Army Aviation Association of America. He has authored several books and articles in newspapers and magazines. He works in many venues, presenting on a wide spectrum of topics. In May 2005, Mark was presented with a General Assembly Citation by the Connecticut legislature for his work commemorating the centennial of the battleship Connecticut.