Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the British overseas territories.

Crown, or royal, colonies were ruled by a governor appointed by the monarch. By the middle of the 19th century, the sovereign appointed royal governors on the advice of the Secretary of State for the Colonies.^[1] Under the name of "royal colony", the first of what would later become known as Crown colonies was the English Colony of Virginia in the present-day United States, after the Crown, in 1624, revoked the royal charter it had granted to the Virginia Company, taking over direct administration.^[2]

Until the mid-19th century, the term "Crown colony" was primarily used to refer to those colonies that had been acquired through wars, such as Trinidad and Tobago^[3] and British Guiana, but after that time it was more broadly applied to any colony other than the Presidencies and provinces of British India and the colonies of settlement, such as The Canadas, Newfoundland, British Columbia, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand, later to become the Dominions.^[4]

The term continued to be used until 1981, when the British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified the remaining British colonies as "British Dependent Territories". By this time, the term "Crown colony" referred specifically to those colonies ruled directly by a Governor appointed by the Monarch (as was the case in Hong Kong before the 1997 handover to the People's Republic of China), with or without the assistance of some form of council appointed by the Governor. The term was not used to apply to those colonies which were substantially autonomous, usually described as "self-governed colonies" (at that time, primarily Bermuda, which had become a Crown Colony, according to an older definition of the term, when the Crown revoked the Royal Charter it had given to the Somers Isles Company, successor to the Virginia Company, in 1684. This meant that the Crown, from then onwards, appointed the Governor of Bermuda, previously appointed by the Company. Bermuda had already been internally self-governed for sixty-four years, however, and by the Twentieth Century the definition of "Crown Colony" had narrowed to include only those territories without internal self-government. The House of Assembly of Bermuda had existed continuously since its first session in 1620, including through the Commonwealth of England, when for some years the Mother Country itself had no parliament.

From 2002, all remaining British colonies, whether Crown Colonies or self-governed, have been known as British Overseas Territories.^[5] The British Government has also encouraged most of the territories to emulate Bermuda and become increasingly self-governing and self-reliant, or, where the poorer colonies are concerned, to pool their resources and rely on each other, freeing the British Government of much of its remaining obligations in the territories, if not of its Sovereignty.

The current Crown dependencies were never considered Crown colonies; the form of government is constitutional monarchy, and the islands voluntarily cooperate with the government of the United Kingdom in certain areas. Sovereignty of the Isle of Man was purchased, and the Channel Islands are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy.

Types

There were three types of Crown colony as of 1918, with differing degrees of autonomy:

Crown colonies with representative councils such as Bermuda, Jamaica, Ceylon, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Fiji contained one or two legislative chambers, consisting of Crown appointed or locally elected members.

Crown colonies with nominated councils such as British Honduras, Sierra Leone, Grenada and Hong Kong were staffed entirely by Crown appointed members, with some appointed representation from the local population. It should be noted that Hong Kong had a representative council following the introduction of election for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 1995.

Crown colonies ruled directly by a Governor such as Basutoland,^[6] Gibraltar, Saint Helena and Singapore were fewest in number and had the least autonomy.

List

The following list includes territories belonging by settlement, conquest or annexation to the British Crown or to an independent Commonwealth country.^a

Name of colony	from	to	Reason for change of status
Aden	1937	1967	Became part of the Federation of South Arabia.
Basutoland	1884	1964	Became British protectorate in 1964; then became independent as Lesotho in 1966.
Bermuda	1684	1981	Became British Dependent Territory in 1981
British Bechuanaland	1885	1895	Became part of British Cape Colony in 1895
British Guiana	1831	1966	Became independent as Guyana in 1966.
British Honduras (renamed Belize in 1964)	1884	1981	Became independent (as Belize) in 1981.
Burma	1937	1948	Separated from British India in 1937 and became a Crown Colony.
United Province of Canada	1841	1867	Became part of the Dominion of Canada in 1867.
Cape Colony	1806	1910	Became part of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
Cayman Islands	1962	1981	Became British Dependent Territory in 1981
Ceylon	1815	1948	Became independent as Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.
British Columbia	1866	1871	Became part of the Dominion of Canada in 1871.
Cyprus	1914	1960	Became independent as Cyprus in 1960.
East Florida	1763	1783	Ceded to Spain. Later became part of the United States.
Falkland Islands	1841	1981	Became a British Dependent Territory in 1981.
Gambia Colony and Protectorate	1888	1965	Became independent as The Gambia in 1965.
Georgia	1755	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
Gibraltar	1713	1981	Became British Dependent Territory in 1981.
Gold Coast	1821	1957	Became independent in 1957 as Ghana.
Hong Kong	1841	1981	Became British Dependent Territory in 1981. Became a self-governing special administrative region when sovereignty transferred to China in 1997.[7]
Jamaica	1865	1962	Became independent in 1962 as Jamaica.
Kenya	1920	1963	United with the Kenya Protectorate in 1963 to form the independent country of Kenya
Labuan	1846	1890	Administered by British North Borneo Company from 1890–1904.
	1906	1946	Incorporated in the Straits Settlements on 30 October 1906.
	1946	1963	Incorporated in North Borneo on 15 July 1946. Became part of Malaysia in 1963[8]
Lower Canada	1791	1841	Became part of Province of Canada in 1841.
Malta	1813	1964	Became independent in 1964 as the State of Malta.
Massachusetts Bay	1692	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783 as the state of Massachusetts.
Mauritius	1903	1968	Became independent as Mauritius in 1968.
Natal	1843	1910	Became part of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
Newfoundland	1583	1907	Became the Dominion of Newfoundland in 1907, and later joined the Dominion of Canada in 1949.
New Hampshire	1692	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
New Jersey	1702	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
New South Wales	1788	1901	Became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
New York	1691	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
New Zealand	1841	1907	Became the Dominion of New Zealand in 1907.
Nigeria	1914	1960	Became independent as Nigeria in 1960.
Norfolk Island	1788	1914	Placed under administration of Australia in 1914 as a non-self governing territory. The island was self-governing between 1979 and 2015.
North Borneo	1946	1963	Became part of Malaysia in 1963 as Sabah. Labuan separated from Sabah in 1984 to become a Federal Territory.[8]
North Carolina	1729	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
Quebec	1763	1791	Divided between Upper and Lower Canada and the Northwest Territory.
Queensland	1824	1901	Became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla	1980	1981	Became British Dependent Territory in 1981
Sarawak	1946	1963	Became part of Malaysia in 1963[8]
Seychelles	1903	1976	Separated from British Mauritius in 1903 and became a Crown Colony and became independent in 1976.
Sierra Leone	1808	1961	Became independent as Sierra Leone in 1961.
South Australia	1834	1901	Became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
South Carolina	1729	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
Southern Rhodesia	1923	1980	Became independent in 1980 as Zimbabwe.
Singapore	1946	1963	Singapore became part of Malaysia in 1963;[8] then became independent as the Republic of Singapore in 1965.[9]
	1946	1946	Labuan was incorporated into North Borneo on 15 July 1946, which became part of Malaysia in 1963[8]
	1946	1955	Cocos (Keeling) Islands was transferred to Australia in 1955.[10]
	1946	1957	Christmas Island was transferred to Australia in 1957.[11]
Straits Settlements	1786	1946	Penang became part of the Malayan Union in 1946, which was re-organised as the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and became independent in 1957;[12] later became part of Malaysia in 1963[8]
	1826	1946	Singapore became a separate crown colony in 1946, after the Straits Settlements was dissolved.[13]
	1826	1946	Malacca became part of Malayan Union in 1946, which reorganised as the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and became independent in 1957;[12] later became part of Malaysia in 1963[8]
	1857	1946	Cocos (Keeling) Islands became part of the Colony of Singapore in 1946.[13]
	1874	1937	Dinding (now Manjung) became part of the Federated Malay States in 1937, which later became part of the Malayan Union in 1946; the Malayan Union became the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and became independent in 1957;[12] later became part of Malaysia in 1963.[8]
	1888	1946	Christmas Island became part of the Colony of Singapore in 1946.[13]
	1906	1946	Labuan became part of the Colony of Singapore in 1946.[13]
Tasmania	1803	1901	Van Diemen's Land from 1803 to 1856; Formerly part of New South Wales from 1803 to 1825, when made an independent colony. Became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Upper Canada	1791	1841	Became part of Province of Canada in 1841.
Vancouver Island	1848	1866	Merged with the Colony of British Columbia in 1866
Victoria	1851	1901	Became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
Virginia	1624	1783	Became part of the United States of America in 1783.
Western Australia	1829	1901	Swan River Colony from 1829 to 1832. Became part of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
West Florida	1763	1783	Ceded to Spain. Later became part of the United States.

^a Source: This article incorporates text from a work in the public domain: Great Britain Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Chronological table of the statutes. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London part of the Office of Public Sector Information.

See also

• Direct rule
• Crown dependency
• Self-governing colony
• Colonial Office
• British overseas territories
• British Empire
• Legislative council

Notes

1. Jenks, p. 70.
2. Porter, p. 477.
3. History of Parliament: Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago – Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
4. Olson, p. 343.
5. "British Overseas Territories Act 2002". Gov.Uk.
6. Jenks, pp. 71–4.
7. The ending of the British sovereignty and jurisdiction over Hong Kong, See: Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom – Hong Kong Act 1985 .
8. See: Malaysia Act 1963
9. See: the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 and the Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom – Singapore Act 1966.
10. Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955.
11. Christmas Island (Request and Consent) Act 1957 (NO. 102, 1957).
12. See: Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
13. {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}

References

• Jenks, Edward (1918). The Government of the British Empire. Little, Brown, and Company.
• Olson, James (1996). Historical Dictionary of the British Empire. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-29366-X.
• Porter, Andrew (1998). The Nineteenth Century, The Oxford History of the British Empire Volume III. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-924678-5.
• Wrong, Hume (1923). "The Old Representative System: The Change To Crown Colony Government". Government of the West Indies. England: Oxford University Press. p. 71. ISBN 1-113-74149-X. Retrieved 2010-03-30. The phrase 'Crown Colony Government' is used with various meanings. In the broadest, and perhaps most correct, sense it is applied to all the colonies in which the Crown retains the real control of the executive (i.e. to all the West Indian colonies). By both official and common usage, however, it is often narrowed as to exclude colonies with elected Assemblies, though without a responsible executive.