28-568: Gold commissioner was an important regional administrative post in the colonies of the British Empire where extensive gold prospecting took place, including in Canada ( Colony of British Columbia ), Australia ( New South Wales , Victoria , Queensland and Western Australia ), New Zealand and in South Africa. The key responsibilities of gold commissioners were to uphold the law, provide access to
56-730: A Crown colony in 1684, when the government revoked a royal charter given to the Somers Isles Company , successor to the Virginia Company , which had previously controlled administration, including the appointment of governors. Afterwards the British government appointed the Governor of Bermuda .) Despite its later usage, the term "Crown colony" was used primarily, until the mid-19th century, to refer to colonies that had been acquired through wars, such as Trinidad and Tobago . After that time it
84-411: A different type of English colonial administration before then. ^ Ben Bathurst Colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, the rule remains separate to the original country of the colonizers, the metropolitan state (or "mother country"), which together have often been organized as colonial empires , particularly with
112-401: A product of colonization , nor become colonially organized territories. Territories furthermore do not need to have been militarily conquered and occupied to come under colonial rule and to be considered de facto colonies, instead neocolonial exploitation of dependency or imperialist use of power to intervene to force policy, might make a territory be considered a colony, which broadens
140-493: A settlement became known as its metropolis ("mother-city"). Since early-modern times, historians, administrators, and political scientists have generally used the term "colony" to refer mainly to the many different overseas territories of particularly European states between the 15th and 20th centuries CE , with colonialism and decolonization as corresponding phenomena. While colonies often developed from trading outposts or territorial claims , such areas do not need to be
168-552: A varying degree dominated by remaining colonial settler societies or neocolonialism . The term colony originates from the ancient Roman colonia , a type of Roman settlement. Derived from colonus (farmer, cultivator, planter, or settler), it carries with it the sense of 'farm' and 'landed estate'. Furthermore, the term was used to refer to the older Greek apoikia ( Ancient Greek : ἀποικία , lit. 'home away from home'), which were overseas settlements by ancient Greek city-states . The city that founded such
196-650: The British Nationality Act 1981 . Many British citizens in the colonies (with the exceptions of the Falkland Islanders and subsequently the Gibraltarians ) found that their "Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies" had changed overnight to British Dependent Territories Citizenship , a form of British citizenship that stripped them of some of their rights, including the right to reside and work in
224-651: The Colony of Virginia in 1619 and the House of Assembly of the Parliament of Bermuda in 1620. While initially limited in government even with an elected lower house, over the centuries in some Crown colonies, more independent authority was given. All remaining British colonies, whether Crown (such as the Falkland Islands ) or self-governing (such as Bermuda ), were renamed " British Dependent Territories " from 1 January 1983 under
252-509: The House of Commons of the British Parliament has never included seats for any of the colonies, there was no direct representation in the sovereign government for British subjects or citizens residing in Crown colonies. The administration of Crown colonies changed over time and in the 1800s some became, with a loosening of the power of royal governors, self-governing colonies , within which
280-780: The People's Republic of China . In 2002, the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 further changed their name to British Overseas Territories . There were three types of Crown colony as of 1918, with differing degrees of autonomy: Crown colonies with representative councils , such as Bermuda , Jamaica , Ceylon and Fiji , contained two legislative chambers, consisting of Crown-appointed and locally elected members. Crown colonies with nominated councils , such as British Honduras , Sierra Leone , British Windward Islands and Hong Kong , were staffed entirely by Crown-appointed members, with some appointed representation from
308-436: The Virginia Company and assumed control of the administration. Executive crown governors are sometimes complemented by a locally appointed and/or elected legislature with limited powers – that is, such territories lack responsible government . For example, while the House of Assembly of Bermuda has existed continuously since its first session in 1620, Bermuda has only had responsible government since 1968. (Bermuda became
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#1732844880314336-621: The sovereign state (the UK Government) delegated legislation for most local internal matters of governance to elected assemblies, with consent of the governor, overseen by the Colonial Office and the Board of Trade and Plantations . The Colonial Office gave way to the Dominion Office for some of these territories in 1925. Elected lower houses had their beginnings in the House of Burgesses of
364-546: The Colonies . The term Crown colony continued to be used until 1981, when the British Nationality Act 1981 reclassified the remaining British colonies as "British Dependent Territories". By this time, the term "Crown colony" referred specifically to colonies lacking substantial autonomy, which were administered by an executive governor, appointed by the British Government – such as Hong Kong , before its transfer in 1997 to
392-477: The United Kingdom. From 2002, the dependent territories have been known officially as British Overseas Territories . Early English colonies were often proprietary colonies , usually established and administered by companies under charters granted by the monarch. The first "royal colony" was the Colony of Virginia , after 1624, when the Crown of the Kingdom of England revoked the royal charter it had granted to
420-475: The bulk of the office's power and legacy inherited by the government agent , who typically was also Indian agent as well as mines commissioner, which was a post associated with each of the mining districts. The office of chief gold commissioner continued, however, and still functions today as the administrator and chief regulatory authority for the Mineral Tenure Act, Coal Act and associated acts dealing with
448-530: The concept, including indirect rule or puppet states (contrasted by more independent types of client states such as vassal states ). Subsequently, some historians have used the term informal colony to refer to a country under a de facto control of another state. Though the broadening of the concept is often contentious. The word "colony" comes from the Latin word colōnia , used for ancient Roman outposts and eventually for cities. This in turn derives from
476-465: The development of modern imperialism and its colonialism . This coloniality and possibly colonial administrative separation, while often blurred, makes colonies neither annexed or integrated territories nor client states . Colonies contemporarily are identified and organized as not sufficiently self-governed dependent territories . Other past colonies have become either sufficiently incorporated and self-governed , or independent , with some to
504-439: The duties of government agent, Indian agent , magistrate , mines commissioner, surveyor , sheriff , and coroner . The powers of a gold commissioner within his designated jurisdiction were second only to the governor . The position remained as a fixture in the new province when the colony joined Canada in 1871, although by the end of World War I nearly all gold commissioner positions had been devolved to separate offices, with
532-650: The first to hold the office. Colonies of the Crown A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England , and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire . There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government , with or without the assistance of a local council. In some cases, this council
560-480: The gold fields, issue mining licences, and register gold claims. Such a role was required due to the lawlessness that often followed gold rushes . In the Colony of British Columbia during the 1860s, Governor Douglas had three priorities to protect the two colonies he governed: to protect the boundaries, to uphold law and order, and to provide access to the gold fields. In 1859, the Pig War together with McGowan's War
588-641: The holding and maintenance of mineral and coal tenure (claims and leases) within British Columbia. The current chief gold commissioner (April 28, 2023) of British Columbia is Donna Myketa. Previous BC chief gold commissioners include Mark Messmer, May Mah-Paulson, Edmund J. Collazzi, Anne Currie, Gary Townsend, Laurel Nash, Jody Shimkus, Lisa Nye, William Phelan, Patrick O’Rourke, Gerald German, Denis Lieutard, John Clancy, M.R. Rutherford, E.J. Bowles, R.H. McCrimmon, K.B. Blakey, P.J. Mulcahy, Noel Wallinger , Robert J. Steenson, Peter O'Reilly , and Chartres Brew ,
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#1732844880314616-510: The local population. Hong Kong had a representative council following the introduction of election for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 1995. Crown colonies ruled directly by a governor , such as Basutoland , Gibraltar , Saint Helena and Singapore , were fewest in number and had the least autonomy. The "from" column lists the year the colony began to be administered by the Crown. These colonies may have existed under
644-461: The previous year, underlined concerns that American settlers might challenge the British jurisdictions. After the native population in the Washington Territory was devastated and the annexed land was opened to colonization , its colonist population grew rapidly to more than 11,000. General William Harney , after meeting with Douglas, reported to Washington that the population of the colony
672-447: The word colōnus , which referred to a Roman tenant farmer . Settlements that began as Roman coloniae include cities from Cologne (which retains this history in its name) to Belgrade to York . A telltale sign of a settlement within the Roman sphere of influence once being a Roman colony is a city centre with a grid pattern. The Special Committee on Decolonization maintains
700-511: Was largely American with few British and that it would soon be a commercial necessity for the colonists to yield Vancouver Island to the U.S. government. In these circumstances, Douglas enhanced the limited military capability of the Royal Engineers and developed the office of gold commissioner buttressed by the periodic visits of a traveling judge . The ten commissioners were appointed to specific geographic jurisdictions. Their primary role
728-522: Was more broadly applied to every British territory other than British India , and self-governing colonies, such as the Province of Canada , Newfoundland , British Columbia , New South Wales , Queensland , South Australia , Tasmania , Victoria , Western Australia , and New Zealand . By the mid-19th century, the monarch was appointing colonial governors only on the advice of the Secretary of State for
756-492: Was split into two: an executive council and a legislative council , and the executive council was similar to the Privy Council that advises the monarch. Members of executive councils were appointed by the governors, and British citizens resident in Crown colonies either had no representation in local government, or limited representation in a lower house . In several Crown colonies, this limited representation grew over time. As
784-520: Was to issue mining licences and register gold claims. The commissioners also acted as agents of everyday authority. They settled mining disputes, collected government revenues, oversaw land claims, served as electoral officers, and dealt with the natives. They displayed the British flag . They acted as a receiver-cashier for gold, which was held until the Gold Escort could deliver it to the capital. A gold commissioner's powers and duties also encompassed
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