This is an in depth post. I honestly have a difficult time accepting a lot of it because I have a viewpoint of an indigenous person from the USA.
The doctrine of discovery is an underlying force in much of the global expansion which you detail above. It's sickening to my soul to see the indigenous people of multiple continents subjected to massacre at the behest of the church.
So much of geopolitics is to do with taking of natural resources from those who cannot defend themselves from violent societies of war mongers.
Here in the USA we have over 40k homeless veterans on the streets every night. This is a symptom of war profiteering. If the decision makers weren't so invested in profiting off of war, our veterans wouldn't be hungry and homeless.
Until we shift priorities as a nation, here in the usa, we will continue to see unchecked expansion of military powers.
Thank you for your comment :)
First of all I think that the USA as a single global power from 1990 up until now needs a "balance". That balance may be Russia or China nowadays, but still the USA is more powerful in the military aspect that they can choose to destroy anyone who opposes them. The soft power of USA is incredible, strong media and propaganda can ruin someones reputation in a few days.
The battle of these powers can be seen in Europe. You have battle of media CNN & BBC and the rest vs Russia Today and Sputnik, or the battle of Europe with the investors from China coming to the Balkans (but not only there) and the EU laws who forbid that.
It is very complicated and I would need days and weeks of writing just to form some frame of thinking for my followers, so that can maybe understand whats happening around them.
I know the problem of the USA veterans, but I must say every country has a "problem" with them, USA has a bit bigger because they are in war all over the world for more then 60 years now.
I recommend you to read the realist theories of international relations or Thomas Hobs and his Leviathan to better understand the thinking of a dominant power in a world.