The Colonial Empire in the 1930s

The history of colonial policy, especially as seen from the Colonial Office, has been marked by the tension between two general considerations. The view that colonial management should contribute significantly to Britain’s strength and well-being has commonly confronted another which has emphasized Britain’s moral or humanitarian obligation to promote the material welfare and general progress of colonial subjects. Frequently, of course, colonial affairs were settled without reference to such principles. The assumption that they were in harmony with each other, or required little effort of reconciliation, had a respectable intellectual pedigree; it was also a convenient resort for the unimaginative, the timid or precedent-ridden, and the majority of men who welcomed a quiet life. In the 1930s, however, such optimism or complacency was difficult to sustain. It became increasingly clear that, despite administrative reorganization in Whitehall, colonial policy in practice often lacked momentum or direction and served neither principle effectively.

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