British Imperialism: 1688-2015

794 Pages·2016·5.58 MB·English

by  P.J. Cain

BRITISH IMPERIALISM
A milestone in the understanding of British history and imperialism, this ground-
breaking book radically reinterprets the course of modern economic development
and the causes of overseas expansion during the past three centuries. Employing
their concept of ‘gentlemanly capitalism’, the authors draw imperial and domestic
British history together to show how the shape of the nation and its economy
depended on international and imperial ties, and how these ties were undone to
produce the post-colonial world of today.
Containing a significantly expanded and updated Foreword and Afterword, this
third edition assesses the development of the debate since the book’s original publi-
cation, discusses the imperial era in the context of the controversy over globalisation,
and shows how the study of the age of empires remains relevant to understanding the
post-colonial world. Covering Britain’s formal empire and informal influence and
taking a broad chronological view from the seventeenth century to post-imperial
Britain today, B ritish Imperialism: 1688–2015 is an essential text for all students of
imperial and global history.
P. J. Cain is Emeritus Research Professor of History, Sheffield Hallam University.
A. G. Hopkins is Emeritus Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History, University
of Cambridge and an Emeritus Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
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BRITISH IMPERIALISM
1688–2015
P. J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 P. J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins
The right of the authors to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Pearson in 1993
Second edition published by Pearson in 2002
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cain, P. J., 1941- author.
British imperialism : 1688–2015 / P.J. Cain and A.G. Hopkins. —
Third edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-138-81772-2 (hardback : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-1-138-81773-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-1-315-67779-8 (ebook) 1. Great Britain—Colonies—
History. I. Hopkins, A. G. (Antony G.), author. II. Title.
JV1011.C17 2001
325′.341—dc23
2015034345
ISBN: 978-1-138-81772-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-81773-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67779-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
List of tables and maps xi
Extracts from reviews xiii
Preface to the first edition xvii
Preface to the second edition xviii
Preface to the third edition xxi
Note on sources xxiii
Acknowledgements xxiv
Abbreviations xxv
Foreword 1
The continuing debate on empire
PART ONE
Introduction, 1688–1914 31
1 The problem and the context 33
The historiographical setting 34
The argument 42
Gentility and the market 46
The evolution of the gentlemanly order 50
The manufacturing interest 55
The terms of the trade: expansion and imperialism 58
Ideology and methodology 61
Conclusion 65
vi Contents
2 Prospective: aristocracy, finance and empire, 1688–1850 73
Historiographical perspectives 73
The financial revolution: private interests and public virtues 76
The evolution of the military-fiscal state 83
Exporting the Revolution Settlement 91
Conclusion 100
PART TWO
The gentlemanly order, 1850–1914 117
3 ‘Something peculiar to England’: the service sector,
wealth and power, 1850–1914 119
Economic growth 119
Agricultural decline 121
Industry after 1850 122
The service sector 123
The new gentlemanly capitalists 124
The City of London and gentlemanly capitalism 130
Industry, provincialism and power 134
Gentlemanly capitalism and politics 135
Appendix One: economic interests and occupations of members
of parliament, 1868–1914 138
4 Gentlemanly capitalism and economic policy:
City, government and the ‘national interest’, 1850–1914 149
Gladstonian finance 149
Gladstonianism, the Bank of England and the gold standard 150
The City of London and the national interest 154
The Baring Crisis and its resolution 157
Industry and economic policy 159
City and government in the nineteenth century 160
5 ‘The great emporium’: foreign trade and invisible
earnings, 1850–1914 165
Commodity trade and foreign competition 165
Trade in services 171
Foreign investments 174
Commerce, finance and free trade 177
6 Two nations? Foreign investment and the domestic
economy, 1850–1914 182
The City and foreign investment 182
Foreign investment and industry 187
Contents vii
Foreign investment and economic growth 190
Foreign investment and gentlemanly capitalism 193
7 Challenging cosmopolitanism: the tariff problem
and imperial unity, 1880–1914 200
Free trade and empire unity 201
Chamberlain and protectionism 204
Industry, the City and free trade 208
Cosmopolitanism and industrial decline 212
Appendix Two: manufacturing interests in parliament, 1868–1910 215
PART THREE
The wider world, 1815–1914 221
8 ‘An extension of the old society’: Britain and the colonies
of settlement, 1850–1914 223
The international economy and the New World 223
Political liberty and financial dependence 226
Australasia 232
Canadian unity and British finance 242
Britain and the white empire after 1850 252
9 Calling the New World into existence: South America, 1815–1914 265
A continental perspective 266
Argentina 273
Brazil 279
Chile 285
The spread of informal influence 288
10 ‘Meeting her obligations to her English creditors’:
India, 1858–1914 300
Interpretations of the imperial purpose 300
Prelude, 1757–1857 303
The extension of the gentlemanly order 308
Financial imperatives and British rule 320
11 ‘The imperious and irresistible necessity’:
Britain and the partition of Africa, 1882–1902 330
Britain’s first development plan for Africa 331
The occupation of Egypt 339
Crisis and war in South Africa 344
Selective acquisitions: tropical Africa 350
From partition to paramountcy 356
viii Contents
12 ‘We offer ourselves as supporters’: the Ottoman Empire
and Persia, 1838–1914 369
The Ottoman Empire: from free trade to foreign management 370
Persia: financial diplomacy – with limited finance 379
Management without development 384
13 ‘Maintaining the credit-worthiness of the Chinese
government’, 1839–1911 392
Experiments with informal influence, 1839–94 393
The scramble for China, 1894–1911 398
The new financial empire 406
PART FOUR
Redividing the world 415
14 Britain, Germany and ‘imperialist’ war, 1900–14 417
The economics of foreign policy 417
Marxist theory and World War I 419
Anglo-German rivalry and its effects 421
15 Retrospect: 1688–1914 431
PART FIVE
The empire in the twentieth century 439
16 The imperialist dynamic: from World War I to decolonisation 441
PART SIX
The gentlemanly order, 1914–39 445
17 ‘The power of constant renewal’: services, finance and
the gentlemanly elite, 1914–39 447
Manufacturing, services and the south-east 447
Finance and industry after 1914 448
Wealth and power between the wars 452
18 Industry, the City and the decline of the international
economy, 1914–39 463
Commodity trade 464
The City and invisibles 470
Contents ix
19 Upholding gentlemanly values: the American challenge, 1914–31 479
Industry, the state, and war, 1914–21 479
The impact of the United States 485
The return to gold 487
The financial crisis, 1929–31 493
20 ‘A latter-day expression of financial imperialism’:
the origins of the Sterling Area, 1931–39 501
Financial crisis and economic orthodoxy 501
Financial imperialism without gold 505
The coming of the P ax Americana 512
PART SEVEN
The wider world, 1914–49 527
21 Maintaining financial discipline: the Dominions, 1914–39 529
The Australian debt crisis 532
Disciplining the Afrikaner 539
New Zealand breaks the shackles 544
Canada and sterling 546
Imperial preference and British finance 549
22 ‘A new era of colonial ambitions’: South America, 1914–39 560
A continental perspective 561
Argentina 565
Brazil 569
Chile 573
Debt-collecting and control in South America 573
23 ‘Financial stability and good government’: India, 1914–47 581
Patterns of trade and investment 583
The gentlemen of the Raj 587
The impact of World War I 589
The attempt to return to normality: the 1920s 590
Economic crisis and political advance: the 1930s 593
War, finance and independence 597
Holding India to the empire 599
24 ‘Playing the game’ in tropical Africa, 1914–40 607
Trade, finance and economic policy: an overview 608
Trusteeship and the trustees 611