This book is a concise survey of the various theories of imperialism put forward since the end of the 19th century by contemporary critics, politicians, and scholars. Baumgart confines his study to the "classical" examples of imperialist policies: those of Great Britain and France in the "classical" period of imperialism (1880-1914), and primarily to their "classical" field of activity: Africa. This translation of the German original, which was published in 1974, has been extensively revised.