Historical Organization
Colonial Office
Colonial Office
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Organization Timeline
The Commons orders additional reports on Jamaica’s rebellion
📅 10 April 1832On 10 April 1832, the British House of Commons ordered copies of further communications from Lord Belmore, Jamaica’s governor, about the recent rebellion. This parliamentary record follows the 1831...
The Slavery Abolition Act receives royal assent
📅 28 August 1833On 28 August 1833, Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act received royal assent. Its implementation from 1 August 1834 changed the legal status of many enslaved people across British colonies but placed most...
Parliament debates immediate abolition amid evidence from Jamaica
📅 29 March 1838On 29 March 1838, the House of Commons debated immediate abolition of apprenticeship across the British colonies. Speakers cited evidence from Jamaica, including James Williams’s account and reports...
A dispatch exposes pressure on liberated Africans in St Helena to emigrate
đź“… 5 May 1848A letter dated 5 May 1848 concerning emigration from St Helena described policy that cut rations to encourage liberated Africans to leave for the Caribbean. The people concerned had been freed from...
The Royal Commission begins investigating Morant Bay and its suppression
📅 23 January 1866On 23 January 1866, the Jamaica Royal Commission began its inquiry into the Morant Bay uprising and the colonial government’s response. The commissioners interviewed witnesses and examined the actions...
The Jamaica Act authorizes constitutional change under imperial authority
📅 23 March 1866On 23 March 1866, the British Parliament enacted the Jamaica Act, providing that constitutional acts passed by Jamaica’s legislature would take effect after the Queen’s assent was proclaimed in the...
The Royal Commission reports excessive punishment and insufficient proof against Gordon
đź“… 9 April 1866Dated 9 April 1866, the Jamaica Royal Commission report criticized the repression following Morant Bay. It found that martial law lasted longer than necessary, executions were too frequent,...
Colonial Secretary Cardwell condemns aspects of the Morant Bay repression
📅 18 June 1866On 18 June 1866, Colonial Secretary Edward Cardwell sent Governor Henry Knight Storks a dispatch accepting the Royal Commission’s criticism of the repression. The British Government condemned Gordon’s...
A limited elected element returns to Jamaica’s Legislative Council
📅 19 May 1884On 19 May 1884, the final Order in Council restructured Jamaica’s Legislative Council and restored a limited elected element. Nine of the Council’s members were elected, while the Governor, ex-officio...