developing very powerful monopolistic forces within its own economy long
before its relatively slight excursion into imperialism, notably in the
Philippines. Other countries that developed in this way also showed no incli-
nations towards imperialism or colonialism (Emmanuel, 1972a). Britain, a
country of cartels and other forms of capitalist concentration, did. Monopoly
capital and particularly finance capital were more a feature of German imperi-
alism than of British or French.
The motivation behind the imperialistic adventures of the advanced and
advancing industrialized economies of the West is varied and complex.
Studies of specific imperialist annexations reveal combinations of many
factors – diplomatic, strategic, geopolitical, cultural and racial, as well as
economic. It is not possible to reduce all of these to economic pressures.
Colonialism was often expensive, with only indirect benefits. The American
political theorist Edward McNall Burns summarized the non-economic
objectives of the new imperialism as follows:
National pride played a part in it also; and so did the desire of zealous
Christians to convert the heathen. Military and naval chieftains demanded
bases, coaling stations, and new sources of able-bodied recruits.
Politicians argued the need for territories where surplus inhabitants of the
mother country could settle without being ‘lost to the flag’. Few ever
migrated, but the argument continued to be used that colonies were nec-
essary to provide relief for population congestion in the developed
nations. (McNall Burns, 1963, p. 505)
States were sometimes drawn into colonial expansionism as a result of
conflict sparked off by the activities of traders, missionaries and explorers.
When the stability of regions became threatened by internal conflicts
among the indigenous communities and trade was thereby threatened, the
European state was drawn in to restore order. It was sometimes a matter of
trade following the flag, sometimes of the flag following trade. In West
Africa, when indigenous leaders found themselves integrated and subordi-
nated into an alien imperial system after believing that they had merely
entered into trading arrangements with European companies, and expressed
disquiet, alarm and outright hostility, they were quickly overcome by supe-
rior military technology, rapidly followed by an administrative apparatus.
The colonization of parts of Africa is frequently represented as a competi-
tion between European nations from the late nineteenth century. This was not
necessarily based on a sense of immediate economic advantage, but through
fear that European competitors might pre-empt territory, forestalling subse-
quent opportunities for trade and the extraction of raw materials. The British
Theories of Imperialism and Colonialism 33