Colonial Office

For other uses, seeColonial Office (disambiguation).

TheWhitehallheadquarters of the Foreign, India, Home, and Colonial Offices in 1866. It was at that time occupied by all four government departments; now it serves just theForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

TheColonial Officewas agovernment departmentof theKingdom of Great Britainand later of theUnited Kingdom,first created in 1768 from theSouthern Departmentto deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly theThirteen Colonies,as well as, theCanadian territoriesrecently won from France), until merged into the newHome Officein 1782. In 1801, colonial affairs were transferred to theWar Officein the lead up to theNapoleonic Wars,which became theWar and Colonial Officeto oversee and protect thecoloniesof theBritish Empire.The Colonial Office was re-created as a separate department 1854, under thecolonial secretary.It was finally merged into theCommonwealth Officein 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 theForeign Office,and theBritish PresidenciesinIndia were ruledby theEast India Companyuntil 1858, when theIndia Officewas formed to oversee the administration of the new Viceroyalty ofIndia(the Crown ruled India directly through a Viceroy after theIndian Rebellion), while the role of the Colonial Office in the affairs of theDominionswas replaced by theDominion Officein 1925.

It was headed by theSecretary 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 theSecretary of State for the Southern Departmentand a committee of thePrivy Councilknown as theBoard of Trade and Plantations.Separately, theIndian Departmentwas 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 inBritish America.With theloss of thirteen of its colonies,however, the department was abolished in 1782. Responsibility for the remaining colonies was given to theHome Office,and subsequently in 1801 transferred to theWar Department.

War and Colonial Office (1801–1854)

The War Office was renamed theWar and Colonial Officein 1801,under a newSecretary of State for War and the Colonies,to reflect the increasing importance of the colonies. In 1825 a new post ofUnder-Secretary of State for the Colonieswas created within this office. It was held byRobert William Hayinitially. His successors wereJames Stephen,Herman Merivale,Frederic Rogers,Robert HerbertandRobert Henry Meade.

From 1824, theBritish Empire(exceptingIndia,which was administered separately by theEast India Companyand then theBritish Raj) was divided by the War and Colonial Office into the following administrative departments:

North America

• Bermuda
• British North America
• Canada
• Newfoundland

West Indies

• Jamaica
• British Windward Islands
• British Honduras
• British West Indies
• British Guiana
• British Leeward Islands

Mediterranean and Africa

• Malta
• Gibraltar
• Ionian Islands
• Sierra Leoneand the West African Forts, Consulates to theBarbary States
• Cape Colony(South Africa)

Australian colonies

• South Australia
• New South Wales

• Swan River Colony(Western Australia)
• Van Diemen's Land(Tasmania)

Eastern colonies

• Ceylon
• Mauritius

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 theSecretary of State for the Colonies.The Colonial Office did not have responsibility for allBritish possessionsoverseas: for example, both theBritish Rajand other British territories near India, were under the authority of theIndia Officefrom 1858. Other, more informalprotectorates,such as theKhedivate of Egypt,fell under the authority of theForeign Office.

After 1878, when theEmigration Commissionwas abolished, anEmigration Departmentwas created in the Colonial Office. This was merged with the General Department in 1894, before its complete abolition in 1896.

The increasing independence of theDominions– Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa – following the1907 Imperial Conference,led to the formation of a separate Dominion Division within the Colonial Office. From 1925 onwards the UK ministry included a separateSecretary of State for Dominion Affairs.

After theCairo Conferenceheld in March 1921, the Colonial Office was charged for thePalestine Mandateadministration in substitution of theForeign Office.

On 16 April 1947, theIrgunplaced a bomb at the Colonial Office which failed to detonate.The plot was linked to the1946 Embassy bombing.

After theDominion of IndiaandDominion of Pakistangained independence in 1947, the Dominion Office was merged with the India Office to form theCommonwealth Relations Office.

In 1966, the Commonwealth Relations Office was re-merged with the Colonial Office, forming theCommonwealth Office.Two years later, this department was itself merged into the Foreign Office, establishing theForeign and Commonwealth Office.

The Colonial Office had its offices in theForeign and Commonwealth Office Main BuildinginWhitehall.

The Colonial Office List

From 1862, the Colonial Office published historical and statistical information concerning the United Kingdom's colonial dependencies inThe Colonial Office List,though between 1926 and 1940 it was known asThe Dominions Office and Colonial Office List.It later became known as theCommonwealth Relations Office Year BookandCommonwealth Office Year Book.In addition to the officialListpublished by the Colonial Office, an edited version was also produced byWaterlow and Sons.It can be difficult to distinguish between the two versions in library catalogue descriptions. For example,The Sydney Stock and Station Journalof 3 December 1915 commented:

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.

See also

• Colonial Land and Emigration Commission
• Colonial Service
• List of British Empire-related topics

Further reading

• Beaglehole, J.C. (1941). "The Colonial Office, 1782–1854".Historical Studies: Australia and New Zealand.1(3): 170–189.doi:10.1080/10314614108594796.
• Egerton, Hugh Edward.A Short History of British Colonial Policy(1897) 610pponline
• Laidlaw, Zoë.Colonial connections, 1815–45: patronage, the information revolution and colonial government(Oxford University Press,2005).
• McLachlan, N.D. (1969). "Bathurst at the Colonial Office, 1812–27: A reconnaissance∗".Historical Studies.13(52): 477–502.doi:10.1080/10314616908595394.
• Manning, Helen Taft (1965). "Who Ran the British Empire 1830–1850?".Journal of British Studies.5:88–121.doi:10.1086/385512.S2CID145709510.
• Shaw, A.G.L. (1969). "British Attitudes to the Colonies, ca. 1820–1850".Journal of British Studies.9:71–95.doi:10.1086/385581.S2CID145273743.

Primary sources

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