Did Britain acquire imperial infrastructure or build it?

The closing question offers two explanations for imperial growth. Britain may have captured unusually advantageous harbours and colonies early. It may also have converted acquired territory into an effective support network through sustained investment, sometimes undertaken for reasons unrelated to later expansion. Geography alone does not explain how a strategic position becomes useful. Trincomalee offers a concrete case for weighing fortunate acquisition against the institutions and infrastructure that exploited it. The same question is proposed for future human expansion into space, where early access and later investment could shape which positions become strategically useful.