Colonial Office

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Colonial Office (disambiguation).

The Whitehall headquarters of the Foreign, India, Home, and Colonial Offices in 1866. It was at that time occupied by all four government departments; it presently serves a single department, now called the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The Colonial Office was a

Commonwealth Office
in 1966.

Despite its name, the Colonial Office was responsible for much, but not all, of Britain's Imperial territories; the protectorates fell under the purview of the

Dominion Office
in 1925.

The department for much of its history was headed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, known informally as the Colonial Secretary.

First Colonial Office (1768–1782)

Prior to 1768, responsibility for the affairs of the British colonies was part of the duties of the

Indian Department
was responsible for relations with indigenous nations in North America from 1755 onwards.

In 1768 the separate American or Colonial Department was established, in order to deal with colonial affairs in British America. With the loss of thirteen of its colonies, however, the department was abolished in 1782. Responsibility for the remaining colonies was given to the Home Office, and subsequently in 1801 transferred to the War Department.

War and Colonial Office (1801–1854)

The War Office was renamed the

Frederic Rogers, Robert Herbert and Robert Henry Meade.[2]

From 1824, the British Empire (excepting India, which was administered separately by the East India Company and then the British Raj) was divided by the War and Colonial Office into the following administrative departments:[3]

North America

West Indies

Mediterranean and Africa

Australian colonies

Eastern colonies

Second Colonial Office (1854–1966)

In 1854, the War and Colonial Office was divided in two, the War Office and a new Colonial Office, created to deal specifically with affairs in the colonies and assigned to the

Foreign Office
.

After 1878, when the

Emigration Commission was abolished, an Emigration Department was created in the Colonial Office. This was merged with the General Department in 1894, before its complete abolition in 1896.[4]

The increasing independence of the Dominions – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa – following the 1907 Imperial Conference, led to the formation of a separate Dominion Division within the Colonial Office. From 1925 onwards the UK ministry included a separate Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.

After the

Foreign Office.[5]

On 16 April 1947, the Irgun placed a bomb at the Colonial Office which failed to detonate.[6][7] The plot was linked to the 1946 Embassy bombing.[8]

After the

Commonwealth Relations Office
.

In 1966, the Commonwealth Relations Office was re-merged with the Colonial Office, forming the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
.

The Colonial Office had its offices in the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Main Building in Whitehall
.

The Colonial Office List

From 1862, the Colonial Office published historical and statistical information concerning the United Kingdom's colonial dependencies in The Colonial Office List,[9] though between 1926 and 1940 it was known as The Dominions Office and Colonial Office List.[10] It later became known as the Commonwealth Relations Office Year Book and Commonwealth Office Year Book. In addition to the official List published by the Colonial Office, an edited version was also produced by Waterlow and Sons.[11] It can be difficult to distinguish between the two versions in library catalogue descriptions. For example, The Sydney Stock and Station Journal of 3 December 1915 commented:[12]

This used to be the "Colonial Office Journal," but it looked – or sounded – too official, so they changed it to "The Colonial Journal." But it is still edited by Sir W. H. Mercer, K.C.M.G., one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, but it is printed by Waterlow and Sons, London Wall. It comes as near to being an "Official publication" as possible, but we'll assume that it isn't.

Timeline

History of English and British government departments with responsibility for foreign affairs and those with responsibility for the colonies, dominions and the Commonwealth
Northern Department
1660–1782
Secretaries — Undersecretaries 		Southern Department
1660–1768
Secretaries — Undersecretaries 		—
Southern Department
1768–1782
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
1782: diplomatic responsibilities transferred to new Foreign Office 		Colonial Office
1768–1782
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Undersecretaries
Undersecretaries
War Office
1794–1801
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
War and Colonial Office
1801–1854
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Colonial Office
1854–1925
Secretaries — Undersecretaries 		India Office
1858–1937
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Colonial Office
1925–1966
Ministers — Undersecretaries
 		Dominions Office
1925–1947
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
India Office and Burma Office
1937–1947
Secretaries — Undersecretaries
Commonwealth Relations Office
1947–1966
Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
Commonwealth Office
1966–1968
Secretaries — Ministers — Undersecretaries
Undersecretaries
Undersecretaries

See also

References

  1. ^ Colonial Office, The Canadian Encyclopedia
  2. ISBN 978-0-521-53450-5
  3. ^ Young, Douglas MacMurray (1961). The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century. London: Published for the Royal Commonwealth Society by Longmans. p. 55.
  4. ^ "Emigration. North America and Australia, 1835. Volume 2. Public Offices and A to Z (5 Jan 1835 – 5 Jan 1836)". Migration to New Worlds. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  5. OCLC 885441839
    . Retrieved 17 May 2021. (PhD dissertation)
  6. St. Petersburg Times
    . 17 April 1947.
  7. ^ "Police Say Woman Bomb "Planter" Now in Custody". The Age. A.A.P. 13 June 1947. The woman, who is a Jewess, claims French nationality. Officers of the special branch of Scotland Yard who have been investigating Jewish terrorist activities are satisfied the man who made the bomb is also under arrest.
  8. ^ "EUROPE-WIDE SEARCH FOR MAN WHO MADE BOMB". The Argus (Melbourne). A.A.P. 19 April 1947. Retrieved 26 May 2018. The bomb was of the same type as that used in the explosion at the i British Embassy in Rome last year and in several other outrages by Jewish terrorists.
  9. ^ Great Britain. Colonial Office (1862–1925), The Colonial Office List for [year], London: Harrison and Sons; Great Britain. Colonial Office (1946–1966), The Colonial Office List, London: H.M.S.O.
  10. ^ Great Britain. Office of Commonwealth Relations (1926–1940), The Dominions Office and Colonial Office List for [year], London: Waterlow and Sons
  11. ^ See, for example, "Publications received: The Colonial Office List", The Queenslander, Brisbane, p. 3, 26 June 1915
  12. ^ "The Colonial Journal", The Sydney Stock and Station Journal, p. 4, 3 December 1915

Further reading

Primary sources

  • Bell, Kenneth Norman, and William Parker Morrell, eds. Select documents on British colonial policy, 1830–1860 (1928).
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