Gentlemanly capitalism

Gentlemanly capitalism is a theory of New Imperialism first put forward by the historians Peter J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins in the 1980s and developed in their 1993 work British Imperialism.^[1] The theory posits that British imperialism was driven by the business interests of the City of London and landed interests. It encourages a shift of emphasis, away from seeing provincial manufacturers and geopolitical strategy as important influences, and towards seeing the expansion of empire as emanating from London and the financial sector.^[2][3]