The European nations, the United States, and Japan all wanted to make money there, but the United States had a problem.
Well, missionaries (a person that promotes Christianity in a foreign country) and apostles were spreading Christianity through Rome. Eventually the emperor became Christian and churches were quickly build in the Rome Empire. And also Rome was very poor at that time and the emperor that allowed Christianity was Constantine.
I hope this helps I wrote it personally.
Answer:
It declined in importance due to competition from cheap foreign oil.
Explanation:
The enlightenment brought new ideas that basically said that there should be freedom and equality for all. This sparked the interest of some colonies to try to gain their independence from Britain.