... operated through various methods, informal and formal - a view expressed in the phrase, "trade with informal control if possible: trade with rule when necessary." The major critic of "The Imperialism of Free Trade" was undoubtedly D.C.M. Platt, who wrote two articles criticising it, in 1968 and 1973. Platt criticized the idea of an informal empire in the mid-Victorian period but reserved his main criticism for the (intertwined) themes of British policy and its continuity throughout the Victorian era - the fundamental tenets of Gallagher and Robinson's theory. In order to determine which of Platt's criticisms is the most decisive it will be necessary to discuss the articles concerned in greater detail. It remains to be seen if the theory can still be of value or whether it was, as Platt states, merely a "catchy phrase". Platt's first article, "The Imperialism of Free Trade: Some Reservations", was concerned with what Platt called ...

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