1897 Colonial Conference

The 1897 Colonial Conference was a conference between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the 11 self-governing colonies of the British Empire. The conference was convened in London by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain in 1897 on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Chamberlain's intention was to draw the self-governing colonies into closer co-operation with the United Kingdom.^[1][2]

1897 Colonial Conference
Host country	United Kingdom
Dates	24 June–8 July 1897
Venue(s)	Colonial Office, Whitehall
Cities	London
Heads of Government	11
Chair	Joseph Chamberlain (Secretary of State for the Colonies)
Follows	1894
Precedes	1902
Key points
Imperial council, imperial defence

Delegates were sent to the conference by Canada, Newfoundland Colony, New Zealand, the Australian self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia, and the South African Cape Colony and Colony of Natal.^[1]

Chamberlain proposed the creation of a permanent Imperial Council made up of delegates from the colonies to act as an Empire-wide parliament with the power to bind the colonies on imperial matters but this was rejected by the colonies due to fears of loss of autonomy. Chamberlain also propose that colonies increase their contributions to the Royal Navy but only some colonies agreed to increase their contributions and no permanent arrangement was agreed to.^[1]

Chamberlain also proposed a customs union between the colonies and Britain while Canada proposed preferential trade but no decision was made by the delegates.^[3][4]

Participants

The conference was hosted by Queen Victoria, with her Colonial Secretary and the premiers of various colonies:

Nation	Name	Portfolio
United Kingdom	Joseph Chamberlain	Secretary of State for the Colonies (Chairman)
	William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne	Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
	Sir John Bramston	Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies
Canada	Sir Wilfrid Laurier	Prime Minister
Cape Colony	Sir John Gordon Sprigg	Prime Minister
Colony of Natal	Sir Harry Escombe	Prime Minister
Newfoundland Colony	Sir William Whiteway	Premier
Colony of New South Wales	Sir George Reid	Premier
Colony of New Zealand	Richard Seddon	Premier
Colony of Queensland	Sir Hugh Nelson	Premier
South Australia	Charles Kingston	Premier
Colony of Tasmania	Sir Edward Braddon	Premier
Victoria	Sir George Turner	Premier
Western Australia	Sir John Forrest	Premier

^[5][6]

See also

• Imperial Conference

References

1. Historical dictionary of European imperialism. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1991. pp. 136–137. ISBN 0313262578.
2. Kendle, J.E. (1967). The Colonial and Imperial Conferences, 1887-1911: A Study in Imperial Organization. Imperial Studies. Vol. XXVIII. London: Longmans for the Royal Commonwealth Society. ASIN B0000CO3QA. doi:10.1086/ahr/74.3.999.
3. "Colonial Conference". Sydney Mail. 10 July 1897. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
4. Historical dictionary of European imperialism. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1991. p. 138. ISBN 0313262578.
5. Crowley, F.K. (2000). Big John Forrest, 1847–1918: A Founding Father of the Commonwealth of Australia. University of Western Australia Press. p. 187. ISBN 9781876268442.
6. Proceedings of a conference between the secretary of state for the colonies and the premiers of the self-governing colonies at the Colonial Office, London, June and July 1897 [microform]. 2 August 1897. ISBN 9780665007187. Retrieved 27 December 2014.

External links

• Minutes of the 1911 Imperial Conference