export is an essential factor in public prosperity."

并且出口是国家繁荣的关键要素
In other words,

换句话说
colonies were essential to a strong national economy.

殖民对于发展国家经济来说是至关重要的
And the rise of Germany

而德国的崛起
and even the rise of the United States and Russia

甚至是美国和俄国的崛起
meant that France needed exclusive access to new markets

都意味着法国需要深入其他市场
and sources for raw materials that in the eyes of many people

并获取原材料而在许多人看来
only colonies could provide.

这只有通过殖民才能做到
Closely tied to these economic imperatives of empire

严格按照帝国的这些经济规则行事
were strategic ones.

极其重要
Rivalries between nations in Europe, as they often had in the past,

欧洲各国之间的竞争就如过去一样
spilled out into the rest of the world,

会波及整个世界