The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire.

The colonial secretary never had responsibility for the provinces and princely states of India, which had its own secretary of state.

From 1768 until 1966, the secretary of state was supported by an under-secretary of state for the colonies (at times an under-secretary of state for war and the colonies), and latterly by a minister of state.

History

Colonial responsibilities were previously held jointly by the lords of trade and plantations (board) and the secretary of state for the Southern Department,American and West Indian colonies before 1782, National Archives who was responsible for Ireland, the American colonies, and relations with the Catholic and Muslim states of Europe, as well as being jointly responsible for domestic affairs with the Secretary of State for the Northern Department.

Colonial Secretary 1768–1782 The Colonial Secretary position was first created in 1768 to deal with the increasingly troublesome North American colonies, following passage of the Townsend Acts. Joint responsibility between the secretary and board first continued at this time, but subsequent diminution of the board's status led it to became an adjunct to the new secretary's department.Records of the Board of Trade and of successor and related bodies, Department code BT, The National Archives

Following the loss of the American colonies, both the board and the short-lived secretaryship were dismissed by the king on 2 May 1782; both were abolished later by the Civil List and Secret Service Money Act 1782 (22 Geo. 3, c 82).Council of trade and plantations 1696–1782, in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 3, Officials of the Boards of Trade 1660–1870, pp. 28–37. University of London, London, 1974. Following this, colonial duties were given to the Home Secretary, then Lord Sydney.

1782–1854

Responsibility for the Colonies in the years between 1782 and 1854 included: Home Secretary 1782–1801 Secretary of State for War and the Colonies 1801–1854 Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1854

Following the Treaty of Paris 1783, a new board, named the Committee of Council on Trade and Plantations (later known as 'the First Committee') was established under William Pitt the Younger, by an Order in Council in 1784. In 1794, a new office was created for Henry Dundas – the secretary of state for war, which now took responsibility for the Colonies. The office was renamed the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1801.

1854–present In 1854, military reforms led to the colonial and military responsibilities of this secretary of state being split into two separate offices, with Sir George Grey becoming the first secretary of state for the colonies under the new arrangement.

In the latter part of the nineteenth century, Britain gained control over a number of territories with the status of "protectorate". The ministerial responsibility for these territories was initially held by the Foreign Secretary.

By the early years of the twentieth century the responsibility for each of the protectorate territories had been transferred to the colonial secretary as well. The League of Nations mandated territories acquired as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 became a further responsibility of the Colonial Office in the aftermath of the First World War.

In 1925, part of the Colonial Office was separated out as the Dominions Office, with its own secretary of state. The new office was responsible for dealing with the Dominions together with a small number of other territories (most notably Southern Rhodesia).

In the twenty years following the end of the Second World War, much of the British Empire was dismantled as its various territories gained independence. In consequence, the Colonial Office was merged in 1966 with the Commonwealth Relations Office (which until 1947 had been the Dominions Office) to form the Commonwealth Office, while ministerial responsibility was transferred to the secretary of state for Commonwealth affairs (previously known as the secretary of state for Commonwealth relations). In 1968, the Commonwealth Office was subsumed into the Foreign Office, which was renamed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

List of secretaries of state for the colonies

Secretaries of state for the colonies (1768–1782)

Sometimes referred to as Secretary of State for the American Colonies.

+ Secretary of State for the ColoniesChris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1830–1900 (Macmillan Press 1980) 29. Secretary Term of office Ministry Monarch Wills Hill 1768 1772  Grafton  George III North William Legge 1772 1775 Lord George Germain 1775 1782 Welbore Ellis 1782 1782

Office abolished in 1782 after the loss of the American Colonies.E.B. Fryde and others, Handbook of British Chronology (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press 1986) 125.

Secretaries of state for the colonies (1854–1966)

Secretary of State for the Colonies Term of office Party Ministry Monarch Sir George Grey, Bt. 1854 1855 Whig Aberdeen Victoria Sidney Herbert 1855 1855 Whig Palmerston I Lord John Russell 1855 1855 Whig Sir William Molesworth, Bt. 1855 1855 Radical Henry Labouchere 1855 1858 Whig Edward StanleyLord Stanley 1858 1858 Conservative Derby–Disraeli II Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1858 1859 Conservative Henry Pelham-Clinton5th Duke of Newcastle 1859 1864 Liberal Palmerston II Edward Cardwell 1864 1866 Liberal Russell II Henry Herbert4th Earl of Carnarvon 1866 1867 Conservative Derby–Disraeli III Richard Temple-Grenville3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 1867 1868 Conservative Granville Leveson-Gower2nd Earl Granville 1868 1870 Liberal Gladstone I John Wodehouse1st Earl of Kimberley 1870 1874 Liberal Henry Herbert4th Earl of Carnarvon 1874 1878 Conservative Disraeli II Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt. 1878 1880 Conservative John Wodehouse1st Earl of Kimberley 1880 1882 Liberal Gladstone II Edward Stanley15th Earl of Derby 1882 1885 Liberal Frederick Stanley 1885 1886 Conservative Salisbury I Granville Leveson-Gower2nd Earl Granville 1886 1886 Liberal Gladstone III Edward Stanhope 1886 1887 Conservative Salisbury II Henry Holland1st Baron Knutsford 1887 1892 Conservative George Robinson1st Marquess of Ripon 1892 1895 Liberal Gladstone IV Rosebery Joseph Chamberlain 1895 1903 Liberal Unionist Salisbury Edward VII Balfour Alfred Lyttelton 1903 1905 Liberal Unionist Victor Bruce9th Earl of Elgin 1905 1908 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman Robert Crewe-Milnes1st Marquess of Crewe 1908 1910 Liberal Asquith George V Lewis Vernon Harcourt 1910 1915 Liberal Bonar Law 1915 1916 Conservative Asquith Coalition Walter Long 1916 1919 Conservative Lloyd George Alfred Milner1st Viscount Milner 1919 1921 Liberal Winston Churchill 1921 1922 Liberal Victor Cavendish9th Duke of Devonshire 1922 1924 Conservative Law Baldwin I James Henry Thomas 1924 1924 Labour MacDonald I Leo Amery 1924 1929 Conservative Baldwin II Sidney Webb1st Baron Passfield 1929 1931 Labour MacDonald II James Henry Thomas 1931 1931 National Labour National I Philip Cunliffe-Lister 1931 1935 Conservative National II Malcolm MacDonald 1935 1935 National Labour National III) James Henry Thomas 1935 1936 National Labour Edward VIII William Ormsby-Gore 1936 1938 Conservative George VI National IV) Malcolm MacDonald 1938 1940 National Labour Chamberlain War) George Lloyd1st Baron Lloyd 1940 1941 Conservative Churchill War Walter Guinness1st Baron Moyne 1941 1942 Conservative Robert Gascoyne-CecilViscount Cranborne 1942 1942 Conservative Oliver Stanley 1942 1945 Conservative Churchill Caretaker George Henry Hall 1945 1946 Labour Attlee Arthur Creech Jones 1946 1950 Labour Jim Griffiths 1950 1951 Labour Oliver Lyttelton 1951 1954 Conservative Churchill III Elizabeth II Alan Lennox-Boyd 1954 1959 Conservative Eden Macmillan Iain Macleod 1959 1961 Conservative Reginald Maudling 1961 1962 Conservative Duncan Sandys 1962 1964 Conservative Douglas-Home Anthony Greenwood 1964 1965 Labour Wilson Frank Pakenham7th Earl of Longford 1965 1966 Labour Frederick Lee 1966 1966 Labour

Responsibility for the colonies held by: Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs 1966–1968 Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1968–present Following the British Nationality Act 1981, the term "colony" ceased to be used; Britain's rule over Hong Kong, the last significant colony, ceased in 1997. Britain retains certain overseas territories.

Notes

Secretaries from the colonies

A few title holders were born in colonies under their portfolio and some beyond:

Bonar Law – born in pre-Canada colony of New Brunswick and later moved to the United Kingdom Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin – born in Canada during his father's, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, term as Governor General of Canada and a British appointee Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner – born in Grand Duchy of Hesse (now in Germany) to Charles Milner (who had English roots from his father) Leo Amery – born in British India to an English father serving in India

See also Colonial Land and Emigration Commission

References