Some states with existing colonies strengthened their control over those colonies and in some cases assumed direct control over colonies previously held by non-state entities. Some examples of these Non-state to state colonial control include; the shift from the private ownership of the Congo by King Leopold II to the Belgium government; and the shift from the Dutch East India Company to Dutch government control in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Also, European states as well as the United States and Japan acquired territories throughout Asia and the Pacific, while Spanish and Portuguese influence declined. Examples of European state expansion in Africa include; Britain in West Africa, Belgium in the Congo, and French in West Africa. In addition, Many European states used both warfare and diplomacy to expand their empires in Africa. Furthermore, Europeans also established settler colonies in some parts of their empires such as in New Zealand. This period also saw the United States, Russia, and Japan expanded their land holdings by conquering and settling neighboring territories.

Although King Leopold never step foot on the African continent, he was well aware of the natural resources it contained. He used the Congolese people, as seen above, to collect rubber sap daily, and if they could not meet their quota then a hand was severed.