This chapter provides a historical point of comparison for the contemporary cases explored earlier. By testing my argument in a different historical context, I am able to provide an additional assessment of the external validity of my theory. In this chapter I show that the European powers, especially the British, were able to establish stable forms of hierarchy and informal empire in China and the Ottoman Empire. In contrast, in Egypt they faced resistance, and these forms of hierarchy broke down, resulting in formal empire. The chapter demonstrates that these different outcomes can be explained by the different levels of contestation and rent-seeking in these states.