ABSTRACT
Classical economists' theorising on the empire moved through two fairly distinct stages over the period 1776 to 1860.(1) In phase one, from 1776 to the 1820s, the economists' hostility to colonies was founded on Adam Smith's free trade doctrine and the growth of the United Kingdom's commercial dominance. In contrast, from the 1820s to 1860, the economists' growing concern over the nation's excessive population resulted in the colonies being viewed as outlets for the mother country's surplus population.(2) Wakefield utilised the concept of surplus population in conjunction with his thesis of overproduction to produce a generally accepted theory of colonisation.(3) By 1860, J S Mill's writings combined all the important strands of classical thought and policy prescriptions for the empire.
