After years of efforts by societies like the Imperial
Federation League, the war-pressed government in London announced that a single
Imperial Parliament would be formed.
It was no new idea; the IFL had been founded in 1884 and had
supporters not only in large dominions like Canada and Australia but even to
colonies like Barbados and British Guiana. Some supported the move out of
racism, hoping to keep whites in charge of far-flung colonies with increasing
nationalistic zeal among natives. Other more liberal-minded thinkers held that
it would be a tremendous move toward inclusion of all races in government, noting
the successes of Dadabhai Naoroji and Mancherjee Bhownagree in Britain’s own House
of Commons.
An imperial parliament may have been supported by many, but proposals
for a similar political council had been defeated already in 1897 and in 1902.
Movers at home feared more influence by dominions over foreign policy and
defense, and many suspected free trade would be abandoned for preference to the
empire (which it soon was). These worries were overcome by political motivation
stemmed from the bold contributions of the dominions to the World War, which needed
repayment lest the empire face further division in generations to come.
The day following Britain’s announcement, the front page of
the New York Tribune, along with those
of just about every newspaper in the world, touted the joining of nations. A
grand conference soon was held in London to address major questions of how the
new Imperial Parliament would be composed. In the reorganization, self-ruling
dominions would be expanded, such as the joining of Australia and New Zealand
as well as Canada and Newfoundland. Further, planned land seizures following
German defeat would add German West Africa to the Union of South Africa and
German New Guinea to the already larger Australia.
Proportional representation proved to be an item automatically
rejected. The Tribune reported, “Both
wealth and population would be determining factors among the English-speaking
dominions and of South Africa, but in the instance of India, both her wealth
and population would give her a predominant voice in the imperial councils if
she were admitted to them on the same basis.” While India would receive more
self-governance, something much-demanded for decades since its annexation of
millions into the empire, it was considered a “military empire, composed
entirely of alien races with the merest smattering of English-speaking people
among them.”
An economic surge in the 1920s seemed to show that the unity
was good, even granting Ireland limited home-rule as its own dominion within
the empire. By the 1930s, however, the empire struggled with poor economic
growth. The former colonies had the worst fare with industrial production cut
nearly in half, but renewed investments from London eased the burden and
restarted development. Although the empire largely came back onto its feet by
1940, the troubles in India sparked a loud demand for equal representation. Mohandas
Gandhi, who had led many campaigns within India, reached out across the empire with
a question: was India to be a fair partner
in the empire or should it seek independence?
Ultimately, narrowly avoiding what could have become civil
war within the empire, the demand for proportional representation resulted in
an Imperial House of Commons. This prompted enormous conservative backlash in
Britain out of fear that the whole island might be made to eat curry, but the
Imperial Parliament’s powers were clearly defined to defend local rights. Using
the huge voting bloc of people of color throughout the empire, massive reforms
were instituted worldwide. Improvements in health, education, and
infrastructure greatly furthered the empire’s collective wealth through the
twentieth century. Still, many Britons feel that they have come under the
weight of their own former colonies and call for Britain itself to exit the empire
it built.
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In reality, the New
York Tribune announced that a conference would be held in London to discuss
the possibilities of an imperial parliament. Ultimately the tide of interest in
unification was doused as World War I emboldened a sense of nationalism in
individual dominions, arguably setting the course for the end of the empire
after World War II, although the Commonwealth retains economic ties.
