What 2 nations led in old imperialism (1500-1600)?

Even though both ww1 and ww2 were in many ways the same conflict with basically the same countries facing off against each other, the way each war started was significantly different. the question is how what were the differences on how they started

Unique among the rulers of this time, persian emperors installed governors in their provinces tolerated local cultures and laws wielded absolute power maintained an extensive army

How did women contribute to the success of the american revolution