Interesting point about the Mongols, Gurney! You're quite right.

Trading empires are often back up by military muscle, because money talks, doesn't it?

Yes, I'm sure that everyone in the 100 years war felt justified in their efforts to take over various parts of what is now France, but the fact remains that it was primarily an effort by the English-speaking peoples from the British Isles...the English...to take over a very large area of land inhabited mostly by French-speaking peoples...the French. To that I say, "Vive La France!" ;-) If it had been the French trying to cross the channel and take over all of England (again)*, I would say, "To the battle, good sirs, and God save England for the English!"

In their expansion of power those same English-speaking people eventually took over Scotland and Ireland, and it was not appreciated by the Scots and Irish, was it? And yes, religious strife played a major part in those conflicts, as it did in the conflicts between Spain and England...and in many other parts of Europe. But that was somewhat later (than the 100 years war).

* ( William the Conqueror already did that once in 1066. My sympathies in that case would be with the local people, the Anglo-Saxons, who resisted his attempt...in that case unsuccessfully.)