CROWN

COLONY
GOVERNMENT
Reasons for Crown Colony in the 19th Century
 BACKGROUND
What type of government existed in the Caribbean before Crown Colony?

OLD REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

This was a system which consisted of a governor, an assembly (elected lower house), and a council
(nominated upper house). Under this system, governor had power and no authority, and the assembly had
authority but no power.
 FEATURES OF OLD REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM
- Government in the West Indies was a copy of the British system of parliament.
- The British government could just have given the governor and his nominated council total powers, but
they needed to have the cooperation of the wealthy planters in the islands, who paid taxes and were
influential within the colonies.
- Candidates could only go up for elections based on land ownership, so planters were favoured over
well-off merchants. This meant that the assembly would sometimes favour policies that the British
government opposed.
 FEATURES OF OLD REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM
- The Governor passed all the laws, but the assembly often had control of the colony’s annual budget.
- Every year, there was a vote which allocated money for the governing of the island and the governor
needed the assembly’s support or else the government would not be able to buy supplies or pay
salaries.
- In Jamaica, the assembly even controlled how this money was spent. The British government was
defeated by the Jamaican assembly in 1678, when the government tried to pass laws which would have
taken away the assembly’s powers.
 OLD REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
After emancipation, the disagreements between the ‘mother colony’ and its colonies became more acute,
partly because the British government was more concerned about the former slaves than the colonists. More
plantation owners had returned to England, leaving their estates to be managed by attorneys and overseers
who, according to one historian, ‘paid little attention to agricultural efficiency or to humanitarian or social
considerations.’ The planters had never had social considerations either, but mismanagement was a factor in
the plantations making less profits. This led to more government employees being retrenched because there
was not enough money to pay them.
 OLD REPRESENTATIVE
This happened twice in 1853 in British Guiana and Jamaica, and after the second time the British government
decided that the colonial system would have to be changed to use the financial resources of the islands more
efficiently. Sir Henry Barkly was sent by the British government to Jamaica with an offer to wipe out most of
the debt if the assembly and the council passed legislation to give the governor more powers. After several
months, this was done.
 OLD REPRESENTATIVE
The structure of the assembly remained the same, but private members could no longer propose money bills.
Instead, there was now an executive committee, consisting of one council member and a maximum of three
assembly members, who were the liaison between the governor and the law-making bodies. This committee
presented the annual estimates for the budget. The council was enlarged and given the power to introduce
legislation which did not have to do with money bills.
 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH OLD REPRESENTATIVE
GOVERNMENT
In matters of finance, Assemblies had power to block or delay executive measures and
often did.
--‐ Under the Old Representative System, the limited franchise of freed people meant
that they lacked representation. Assemblies = white oligarchies (planters and
merchants) which refused to pass any measures that benefitted the advancement of
the lower classes e.g. making sale/grant of land in small parcels easier.
 PROBLEMS
➢ Class tension (between the moneyed classes and freed persons).

➢ With limited franchise, the welfare of freed persons was dependent on

gubernatorial patronage, but the Assemblies could obstruct even
sympathetic governors attempting to secure support for colonial policies
promoting the advancement of this group, thus rendering such policies
ineffective e.g. Amelioration.
 PROBLEMS
➢ Nature and functioning of the ORS hampered development of the colonies: it
allowed for the interference with, obstruction of, and resistance to policies
and measures intended to promote colonial economic and social welfare.
Any measure for which monies are to bevoted can be obstructed by a
legislative body that hold the power of purse. The Legislative Assemblies of
these colonies have, over time, perfected the art of hampering legislation
intended for good. While refusing to pass acts even for the payment of
salaries to colonial officials, they have used the methods of tacking on
provisions they desire to finance bills, and of passing bills of short term
duration, which, in the time it takes for the British Parliament to object, would
have run its course and already produced the desired effect. Over the years,
the British Parliament has found its effectiveness of governing these
colonies dampened by the unruly and intransigent conduct of the colonial
Assemblies. The only solution is to end the system.
 What was life like for peasants
under Old Representative System?
(Read pp 64 -73 of Lest you Forget.)
 INTRODUCTION OF CROWN COLONY
GOVERNMENT
What is Crown Colony Government?
A system of government prevalent in the British West Indies until the colonies became independent in the
20th century.

What are the features of Crown Colony Government?

Use the information from the class notes to answer this question.
 ADVANTAGES OF CROWN COLONY
GOVERNMENT
➢ It embodies the idea of trusteeship – that the rightful guardian and guarantor of
the welfare of the people of the colonies, in particular freed persons, is the British
Crown. Accordingly, Legislative Assembly is being replaced by Legislative Council
with government appointed Official members and unofficial members nominated
by planter/merchant class. Together they will form a reliable support for
implementing Colonial Office policies without the interference of planter-elected
assemblies that represent and safeguard only the self-interest of their class.

➢ Under the CCG, the Crown will have more direct participation in governance, and
increased powers, thus facilitating the effective implementation of colonial
development measures initiated by the Colonial Office.
 ADVANTAGES
➢ System will effectively mute the tendency of upper classes toward arbitrary rule.

➢ It will also guarantee greater representation of the interest of those who yet lack the
vote. Post-emancipation deterioration in economic conditions for the freed persons
made it imperative to implement measures securing their welfare
(unemployment);Popular unrest, protest, and other manifestations of dissatisfaction as
a result of economic hardship, unemployment, coupled with lack of representation led to
popular protests and uprisings that further threatened stability (e.g. Morant Bay
Rebellion; St. Vincent) underscored the need for constitutional change; in the
Experiments throughout the 19th century with earlier forms/features of Crown Colony
government highlighted its potential benefits (Trinidad –early Crown Colonies; BVI –
unicameralism; Executive Committees in several colonies) Timeliness of Constitutional
Change: events in Morant Bay justifies acceleration of imposition of CCG (need to
forestall spread of popular disturbances to other territories)
 ACTIVITY
READ
From Caribbean Story Book 2, Development & Decolonisation and Lest You Forget