Colonial agent
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A colonial agent was the official representative of a
British colony 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 ...
based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
during the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. The role evolved during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Initially established as a temporary role to deal with a specific problem, by the eighteenth century the role became more permanent. However, this did not always mean there was full continuity


Earliest colonial agents

At first a colony would send occasional special agents on a temporary basis. Thus
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
engaged John Clarke as their agent both to the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
government of
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
and the restoration regime of Charles II.


Following the "Glorious Revolution"

At the time of the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
four colonies had started to have more permanent representation:
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, and
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. About 200 men served. They were selected and paid a fixed salary by the colonial government, and given the long delays in communication, they played a major role in negotiating with royal officials, and explaining colonial needs and resources. Their main business was with the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for Business and Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
, where the agent dealt with land problems, border disputes, military affairs, and Indian affairs. They provided the British officials with the documents and news, secured acceptance of controversial colonial legislation, and tried to head off policies objectionable to the colonies. They handled the appeal cases, which usually went to the Privy Council. Permanent agents became the practice after 1700; most were Americans but some were British. Many of the agents worked together 1730-1733 to oppose a bill establishing a monopoly in West Indian rum, sugar and molasses.


Notable colonial agents

The most famous agent was
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, who was employed for 15 years by Pennsylvania, and also by Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Others include Richard Jackson, a prominent London lawyer who represented Connecticut, and Charles Pinckney who represented South Carolina. In 1768, the colony of Georgia hired Franklin, who was already Pennsylvania's colonial agent. Franklin favored Georgia's lower house, to the annoyance of the upper house and royal governor. He cut back his work for Georgia after 1771, because the colony was delinquent in paying his fees.
William Samuel Johnson William Samuel Johnson (October 7, 1727 – November 14, 1819) was an American Founding Father and statesman. He attended all of the four founding American Congresses: the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, the Congress of the Confederation in 1785–1 ...
, a Connecticut lawyer, was known in the 1760s as a colonial rights. As the colonial agent for Connecticut he sharply criticized British policy toward the colonies. His experience in London in 1767 convinced him that Britain's policy was shaped more by ignorance of American conditions and not through the sinister designs of a wicked government, He felt that the American Revolution was not necessary and that independence would be bad for everyone concerned. Robert Sewell was a lawyer who after emigrating to
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
returned to England where he combined being a colonial agent for that colony (1795-1806) with being a member of parliament for
Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...
(1796 to 1802). *
William Byrd II William Byrd II (March 28, 1674August 26, 1744) was an American planter, lawyer, surveyor and writer. Born in the English colony of Virginia, Byrd was educated in London, where he practiced law. Upon his father's death, Byrd returned to Virginia ...
was colonial agent for Virginia 1698 - 1702 and had a long history as a tobacco plantation owner. * Nathaniel Blakiston was colonial agent for Virginia and Maryland after 1706 having served as the 8th Royal Governor of Maryland from 1698 to 1702. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000662/html/am662--49.html "THE AGENT IN ENGLAND. This office was by its nature unavailable to residents of Maryland, and it existed on a satisfactory basis only during Colonel Nathaniel Blakiston's incumbencies, from 1702 to 1709 and from 1713 to 1721"


Other countries

In southern Ethiopia, Amhara colonial agents in the 19th century were known as neftenya.


References

* Appleton, Marguerite. "Richard Partridge: Colonial Agent," ''New England Quarterly'' Vol. 5, No. 2 (Apr., 1932), pp. 293-30
in JSTOR
* Bond Jr., Beverley W. "The Colonial Agent as a Popular Representative," ''Political Science Quarterly'' Vol. 35, No. 3 (Sep., 1920), pp. 372-39
in JSTOR
* Lonn, Ella. ''The Colonial Agents of the Southern Colonies'' (U of North Carolina Press, 1945
online edition
* Morgan, David T. ''The Devious Dr. Franklin, Colonial Agent: Benjamin Franklin's Years in London'' (1996) * Hoffman, Ross J. S. ''Edmund Burke, New York Agent: With His Letters to the New York Assembly and Intimate Correspondence with Charles O'Hara, 1761-1776'' (American Philosophical Society, 1956
online edition
* Tanner, Edwin P. "Colonial Agencies in England During the Eighteenth Century," ''Political Science Quarterly'' Volume 16, Number 1 (Mar., 1901), pp. 24-4
in JSTOR


Notes

{{Authority control
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...