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How important was trade as a motive for Britain’s expansions and interventions oversees in the
period 1839-1886?

During the period 1839-1886 Britain continued to expand overseas despite opposition from much of
the British people. It was believed that this expansion did not fit into ideas about Britain as a minimal
state and there were fears over the costs of protecting colonies, as well as people viewing other
empires as autocratic and corrupt (Hack, 2017, p.390). This expansion and intervention can be seen
as being due to trade, although it can also be argued it is due to other reasons such as wanting
cultural reformation, threats to already established colonies, investments and the expansion of the
army. This essay will explore this looking at Gallagher and Robinson’s theory of imperialism of free
trade and the case of the Opium Wars to explore whether trade was the most important, and the
case study of India and settler colonies to explore if other motives were more important.

In one way, trade can be seen as the most important motive for expansions and interventions in this
period. This is best argued by Gallagher and Robinson’s theory of imperialism of free trade. During
the 19th century there was a shift from mercantilism to free trade, however this did not fit with the
fact that Britain kept on expanding its empire. Gallagher and Robinson attempted to explain this
with their theory which suggested trade and empire remained constant and the reason for
expansion was to protect free trade at the lowest cost (Hack, 2017, pp.392-393). There were fears
that the market would be restricted, and this led to more expansions, “Hence the mergence and
sudden flowering of the movement for expansion” (Gallagher and Robinson, 1953, p.2). This shows
that there were fears Britain would not be able to trade as easily or cheaply with the rest of the
world without the empire, so it was thought expansion was necessary to allow trade to continue.
Trade with overseas territories generated a lot of money for Britain and remined important for the
economy, Gallagher and Robinson suggest that between 1815 and 1880 £1,187,000,000 in credit
was acquired abroad (Gallagher and Robinson, 1953, p.5). This shows that a lot of money was being
made aboard, so despite opposition to expansion it was still important for trade and Britain’s
economy.

Another way trade can be seen as the most important reason for interventions and expansions
abroad is through the case study of the Opium Wars. The war following the ban on the opium trade
in China and the destruction of British opium supplies led to the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in
August 1842. The conditions of this treaty meant that China had to pay for British losses, five ports
were opened for British trade and British sovereignty over Hong Kong was acknowledged. This
shows the theory of imperialism of free trade as Britain used force to open trade with China (Hack,
2017, pp.396-7). This shows that free trade with China was one of the reasons behind this
intervention and further confirms Gallagher and Robinsons theory that expansions continued to
ensure free trade for Britain. Furthermore, the Opium Wars show how trade was a big motive for
interventions abroad as the opium trade was one of the most profitable exports in the empire. India
depended on the trade of opium and this would have an effect in Britain if sales stopped (Su, 2008,
p.45). This shows how Britain intervened in China to protect trade in the empire, showing how
important trade was as a motive.

On the other hand, trade can be seen as not the most important reason for interventions and
expansions overseas and this can be seen through the case study of India. The case of India does not
fit the theory of imperialism of free trade. It can be argued some of the reasons for intervention in
India were cultural and educational reasons. During this period there was debate about whether the
Indian princely states should be preserved with little interference or whether India should be
reformed, as the Anglicist’s suggested. Anglicists wanted to spread English language and customs

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throughout India. This is further shown through Thomas Macauley’s book ‘Minute on Education in
India’ which suggested they wanted to create a class to help interpret between the British and those
they governed that were “Indian in blood, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, in intellect”.
The Anglicists were successful in securing some reforms such as the end of suttee and female
infanticide (Hack, 2017, p.401-402). This shows that interventions in India could have been
motivated by a desire for reformation and possibly a sense of missionary work. Intervention was
seen as necessary to allow Britain to govern India effectively.

Another reason for expansion and intervention in India was because of threats to their current
empire. Britain wanted to limit any influence Russia may have over India’s neighbouring countries
such as Afghanistan and Persia (Iran). Loyalty rested on shifting tribal loyalties and Britain often used
a mixture of raids and payments to encourage tribes to remain loyal to them. Britain’s advances
often ended badly. The first Afghanistan war ended in British retreat and after several defeats in the
second Afghanistan war, Afghanistan promised to consult Britain over their foreign policy (Hack,
2017, p.410). This shows how expansion during this period was important to preserve the current
empire and keep the image of Britain as a powerful empire.

Expansion and intervention in India during this period could also be due to investment and also the
army. Firstly, there was lots of investment into railways in India by British investors. This is because
Indian investments were more likely to return a profit for the middle-class in Britain. During the
1860s around £100 million was invested into the railways (Hack, 2017, p.409). This shows that
intervention and continued expansion in India was also due to the fact that money could be made in
India for middle-class investors in Britain so was useful for Britain’s economy. The British army was
also expanded during intervention in India. After the mutiny in India the military was reorganised to
include 130,000 Indians, especially Nepali Gurkhas (Hack, 2017, p.410). This shows that another
reason for expansion and intervention in India was recruitment to the army as it allowed the British
army to become a bigger, stronger military power.

Furthermore, expansions overseas could also be seen as due to settler colonies. These colonies
contained nearly 80% of the empires land mass. They were important for protecting British interests
and the economy. Britain wanted to have a strong federation that could compete with the growing
powers of Germany, Russia and the USA. Throughout the century colonies were created throughout
Australia such as South Australia, Queensland and Victoria, as well as in upper Canada and New
Zealand. The British government wanted to create an interconnected British world. This was also
important for the British economy, especially after gold was found inland from Melbourne leading to
gold rush (Hack, 2017, pp.414-421). This shows how expansion may have also been about creating
this new interconnected British world and a strong empire that could compete with other strong
large federations. Expansion and intervention could also have been due to the fact it benefitted the
British economy not just through trade but also through factors such as the gold rush.

In conclusion, there were many different reasons for expansion and intervention overseas during the
period 1839-1886. Trade was one of the reasons for this. Despite the fact there were tensions
surrounding expansion and the empire, Gallagher and Robinson’s theory of imperialism of free trade
explains that expansion continued to facilitate free trade by the cheapest method. The Opium Wars
further show how interventions were important for trade as the Treaty of Nanking opened five ports
for British trade. However, there can be seen to be other reasons for intervention and expansion in
this period. Anglicists wanting to culturally and educationally reform India was another reason for
intervention, as they wanted to make it easier to rule the empire. Threats from Russia to India’s
neighbours led to further expansion to protect the already established empire. The opportunity for

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British investments and expanding the army were further reasons for intervention and expansion in
India. The development of settler colonies and the creation of an interconnected British world that
can compete with other big federations was another reason why Britain continued to expand in this
period. Overall, trade was an important motive, but other reasons played just as big a role for
expansions and interventions and many expansions happened for other reasons rather than trade.

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References:

Gallagher, J. and Robinson, R. (1953) ‘The imperialism of free trade’, Economic History Review, vol 6,
no 1, pp.1-5.

Hack, K. (2017) ‘Unit 15 Britain and empire, 1839-1886’ in Loftus, D (ed.) Confidence and crisis, 1840-
1880, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp.387-428.

Su, C. (2008) ‘Justifiers of the British opium trade: arguments by parliament, traders, and the Times
leading up to the Opium War’, Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal, no. 7 (April), pp. 45–51
[Online]. Available at https://web.stanford.edu/group/journal/cgi-bin/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2012/09/Su_SocSci_2008.pdf (Accessed 22/02/2020)