Colonial responsibilities were previously held jointly by the
lords of trade and plantations (board) and the
secretary of state for the Southern Department, 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. 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). 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. 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==