Origins of British Rule

WHY did Britain acquire a scattering of colonial possessions in Tropical Africa, annexing new territories and enlarging existing ones during the last quarter of the nineteenth century? What was the extent and nature of the interplay between colonialism and capitalism (or government and business) in the initial emergence of British rule? Such questions have long fascinated historians, not least because of the need to fit Africa into general explanations of European overseas expansion and because of the connection with debates over theories of imperialism.