History of colonialism colonies had acquired independence during the Latin American revolutions at the beginning of the 19th century. In Asia, The Great Game, which lasted from 1813 to 1907, opposed the British Empire against Imperial Russia for supremacy in central Asia. China was opened to Western influence starting with the First and Second Opium Wars (1839–1842; 1856–1860). After the visits of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1852–1854, Japan opened itself to the Western world during the Meiji Era (1868–1912). Imperialism also took place in Burma, Indonesia (Netherlands East Indies), Malaya and the Philippines. Burma had been under British rule for nearly a hundred
Luxury goods of China Luxury goods of China The market for luxury goods in China composes a significant proportion of all luxury goods sales worldwide. In 2012, China surpassed Japan as the world's largest luxury market. According to a blue paper on commercial development in China, released in 2010 by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China's luxury goods market had increased to US$9.4 billion by the end of 2009. This accounted for 27.5% of the world's luxury goods market, an increase from 25% in 2008. On current growth rates, the luxury goods market in China is expected to grow to US$14.6 billion