The 1930 Imperial Conference was the sixth

Imperial Conference Imperial Conferences (Colonial Conferences before 1907) were periodic gatherings of government leaders from the self-governing colonies and dominions of the British Empire between 1887 and 1937, before the establishment of regular Meetings of ...

bringing together the prime ministers of the

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

s of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. It was held in London. The conference was notable for producing the Statute of Westminster, which established legislative equality for the self-governing Dominions of the British Empire with Great Britain, thereby marking the effective legislative independence of these countries. Economic relations within the British Empire was also a key topic with proposals for a system of

Imperial preference Imperial Preference was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire following the Ottawa Conference of 1932. As Commonwealth Preference, the proposal was later revived in regard to the members of the Commonwealth of ...

- empire-wide trade barriers against foreign (i.e. non-empire) goods. These proposals were further discussed at the

British Empire Economic Conference The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 August ...

in 1932.

Background

The

1926 Imperial Conference The 1926 Imperial Conference was the fifth Imperial Conference bringing together the prime ministers of the Dominions of the British Empire. It was held in London from 19 October to 22 November 1926. The conference was notable for producing th ...

produced the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

that Dominions were autonomous and not subordinate to Great Britain. The 1929 Conference on Dominion Legislation and Merchant Shipping Laws was intended to move from the Balfour Declaration's broad statement of principle to a substantive legal framework, but the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

and the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tr ...

demanded greater practical autonomy than the other attendees would allow. The 1930 Conference would instead address the issue. Historian George Woodcock argues it marks the beginning of the end of the British Empire.Woodcock, 1974.

The Conference

The conference was hosted by King-Emperor

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

, with his Prime Ministers and members of their respective cabinets:

References

Citations

Sources and further reading

* Holland, R. F. "The 1930 Imperial Conference." in ''Britain and the Commonwealth Alliance 1918–1939'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 1981) pp. 115–126. * JWW-B. "The Imperial Conferences of 1926-1930 and the Conduct of Foreign Policy." ''Bulletin of International News'' (1931): 3-1
online
* Keith, Berriedale. "The Imperial Conference of 1930." ''Journal of Comparative Legislative and International Law'' 3d ser. 13 (1931): 26+. * Woodcock, George. (1974) "1930: The Climacteric of Empire." ''History Today'' (Oct 1974), Vol. 24 Issue 10, pp 673–683 online. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imperial Conference 1930 Imperial Conference History of the Commonwealth of Nations

1930 in international relations Events in London 1930 conferences 1930 in the British Empire October 1930 events November 1930 events 1930s in the City of Westminster