A striking feature of European overseas initiatives is their multisectoral character.

Governments, profit-oriented companies, and missionary bodies had their distinct reasons for reaching out. Each had the capacity to do so on its own. But a country’s sectoral institutions often found it convenient to work in tandem.

Initiatives by sectoral actors sometimes had a cumulative impact even when the actors did not deliberately collaborate. For example, merchants or missionaries working in an indigenous society could disrupt it in ways that facilitated takeover by soldiers and administrators at a later point.

Variations among metropoles in cross-sector relations account for differences in the character and durability of specific empires. But still they are variations on a common theme. The multifaceted character of all metropoles’ activities is high­lighted when one draws comparisons with the behavior of Chinese and Arabs in overseas settings.