History repeats itself, it may probably, at least following History’s pattern, pan out like this:

1) 1 or 2 nations will explore the new frontier, Other Nations will join in but the bulk of the work will be completed by the big 2, constantly competing with each other for more and more.  

An example in history of this is when Spain and Portugal were exploring the oceans and looking for new lands to conquer, a modern example is the Space Race of the Cold War.

2) These two powers will start to claim territory and grow in power, one country may be significantly stronger than the other, or they could be about even.  Other countries will see profit and join in, but will not be nearly as strong as the main players.

An example in history supports this idea, in 1550 the only major powers with claims beyond the home continent were Spain and Portugal, a hundred years later, Spain and Portugal are still very strong outside the continent, but other countries join the bid; these countries were England, France, Netherlands, what is now known as Turkey and Russia

In the near future, the main players could be the U.S. and China and/or Russia and minor players could be Japan, India, various European countries and maybe Brazil.

3) All Nations take what they can and expand their power, the original main players may be overtaken by the minor players as all nations gain power and territory.  Treaties and alliances may be formed and wars may be fought.  Colonies will be set up and will further expand into more territory.  New resources will be found and exploited, trade will emerge and new cultures will develop and spread

An example in history for the first sentence include the Spanish Armada, where Great Britain won a devastating victory over the Spanish, another example would be when the USSR collapsed and the US emerged as the sole super power for some time.  

An example for the second would be when Portugal and Spain agreed to split South America, with Portugal gaining what is now Brazil and lands to the East and Spain gaining the rest of SA and lands to the West.  A similar Example may be a treaty to split the moon into hemispheres.

An example for the third would be the original thirteen colonies.  A future example may be colonies built on Luna or Mars.

An example for the fourth would be all the crops grown in the South, such as Cotton and Tobacco where as a future example may mining in the Asteroid Belt.

4) Nations may drop out of the race, either due to internal conflict, such as revolution of depression, or due to external conflict, such as losing a war.  Certain colonies will become rich and powerful enough to attempt revolution and gain independence, possibly leading the the first sovereign nation existing entirely beyond Earth’s surface.  Other colonies will fail, and remain firmly under the power of the mother nation.

An example of a successful revolution would be the American Revolution, where conditions made it     impossible for Great Britain to remain in control of the colonies

An example of a failed revolution would be Northern Ireland, where the UK still fights to control its closest conquered land.

I imagine anyone could think up examples for the future, such as an independent Martian colony, or maybe a powerful mining corporation that monopolizes asteroid belt, only to be destroyed by an Earth alliance to regain the valuable resources.

5) Inevitably most or maybe all colonies may try for independence, and many will probably succeed.  This wouldn’t be for hundreds of years, but one day there could be many independent nations beyond Earth’s Surface, all with their own culture, military, alliances and interests.  Some colonies would go to war with each other and conquer one another, others will expand and rival and perhaps even overtake nations from the “Old World” in terms of technology and economic power. As time goes on, alliances will shift and a terrible conflict may ensue that would involve all nations throughout the solar system, a war so grand in scale it was never previously conceived to be possible; it could be called the Great War, or the War to End all Wars, but history will tell us how that plays out….

This is all speculative and based on modern European history, but the way I see it, the situation seems to fit.  A new era of colonization, empire building and nation building is upon us, assuming we don’t kill each other now.

Also let me know where it's at (link wise)

Humanities = More than one humanity.
Humanity's = Belonging to humanity.

I know, I know, possessive's grammar rules suck. I mean, possessives grammar rule's… I mean… oh never mind.