John Robert Seeley was one of famous British historians in the late 19th century, a vital advocate and promoter of the specialization of history in Britain. Seeley opposed the literary history represented by T. B. Macaulay and advocated scientific history. At the same time, he believed in the close relationship between history and politics, stressing that the study of history was the study of politics, claiming that history was a science about states and history was a school for statesmanship. Seeley expressed a strong realistic concern in his works, his exploration of the expansion of England was also a response to the problems faced by British Empire, and had a profound influence on British imperial sentiment and later researches concerning empire.