Gentlemanly Capitalism and British Expansion Overseas I. The Old Colonial System, 1688-1850

Abstract

In an earlier survey of the history of imperialism we suggested that closer attention should be given to the connexions between the slow and uncertain development of industry and the pace and direction of overseas expansion.1 We also argued that insufficient regard had been paid to the influence of non-industrial forms of capitalism on both overseas development and imperial policy. In the course of that survey, the former problem was dealt with in some detail, whereas the latter was treated briefly and tentatively. The purpose of the present article is to correct this deficiency and to advance a new perspective on imperialism for the period between the Glorious Revolution and the Second World War. We begin by emphasizing that, despite their many differences, Marxist and non-Marxist historians share a conception of imperialism which is derived from certain broad assumptions about the place of the industrial revolution in modern history. These assumptions are made explicit in Marxist theories, which attempt to relate empire building to stages in the evolution of industrial capitalism. They also underlie the leading non-Marxist explanations, which emphasize the diverse commercial, political, and cultural forces brought to the fore by industrial progress. Thus, Gallagher and Robinson, though concerned to refute Marxist claims and to avoid charges of economic determinism, nevertheless started from the position that British industrialization caused an ever-extending and intensifying development of overseas regions, and they proceeded to interpret the rise of free trade and the growth of informal empire from this standpoint.2 The implications of this common approach, based on the story of the triumph of industry, extend well beyond the boundaries of the nineteenth century. Historians as far apart ideologically