1897 Colonial Conference

{{Short description|Conference between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the British Empire}}

{{EngvarB|date=May 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox summit meeting

| summit_name = 1897 Colonial Conference

| other_titles =

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| country = {{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} United Kingdom

| dates = {{nowrap|24 June–8 July 1897}}

| venues = Colonial Office, Whitehall

| cities = London

| participants =

| heads_of_state_label = {{nowrap|Heads of Government}}

| heads_of_state = 11

| chairperson = Joseph Chamberlain
(Secretary of State for the Colonies)

| follows = 1894

| precedes = 1902

| website =

| keypoints = Imperial council, imperial defence

}}

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.{{cite book |last1=Kendle |first1=J.E. |author-link1=John Kendle |year=1967 |title=The Colonial and Imperial Conferences, 1887-1911: A Study in Imperial Organization |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/74/3/999/91500 |series=Imperial Studies |volume=XXVIII |publication-place=London |publisher=Longmans for the Royal Commonwealth Society |asin=B0000CO3QA |doi=10.1086/ahr/74.3.999 }}

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.

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.{{cite book|title=Historical dictionary of European imperialism|year=1991|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0313262578|pages=136–137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC}}

Chamberlain also proposed a customs union between the colonies and Britain while Canada proposed preferential trade but no decision was made by the delegates.{{cite news|title=Colonial Conference|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qxsRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JZUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6172,322193&dq=colonial+conference&hl=en|accessdate=27 December 2014|newspaper=Sydney Mail|date=10 July 1897}}{{cite book|title=Historical dictionary of European imperialism|year=1991|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=0313262578|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC|page=138}}