Crown Agency
Encyclopedia
A crown agency was an administrative body of the British Empire
, distinct from the Civil Service Commission
of Great Britain or the government administration of the national entity in which it operated. These enterprises were overseen from 1833 to 1974 by the Office of the Crown Agents in London, thereafter named the Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administration. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd
became a private Limited company providing development
services in 1996.
Today the term is also used to refer to state-controlled companies in some states of the British Commonwealth.
. This office became, in the late 19th century, the sole official British commercial and financial agent of all British protectorates and Crown colonies. The Colonial Office enforced a policy of sole usage of crown agencies for all purchases of goods for government use, creating a virtual monopoly over government retail supply within the colonies of the British Empire
. The Crown Agencies also became financial institutions, supplying capital, routes for investment, and pensions to all public works and government in British dependent colonies (excluding such Dominions as Canada or Australia). Crown Agencies were the bodies responsible for all large projects sucha as railway or harbour construction throughout British Africa, India, and the West Indies.
and in 1833 the British government, hived off from the Colonial Office
as a financing, stores, transport, and development (to use a modern term) office. Historians have argued that crown agencies, whose organisations operated across the British Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were the de facto administrators of British colonies. Crown Agencies welded governmental powers through the maze of British, territories, protectorates, dependencies, Mandates, and Crown Colonies which de jure
made up the British Empire of the late 19th century. From 1833 to 1880, they also operated in areas with Dominion
status. After this, their mandate was reduced to "dependent" colonies (most of British Africa, India, and the West Indies), but they were given near monopoly rights over finance and supply of non-local manufactures for any public or government use.
With the dissolution of the British Empire, many of these agencies reverted to control by their respective governments, became parts of the British government, or became Non-governmental organisations. The central Crown Agency Office became involved in the secondary banking sector, but the Secondary Banking Crisis of 1973–75 drove the Agency into a debt of over two million British pounds and the agency filed for bankruptcy in 1974. The British government at the time found the Agency useful for overseas development and, argues one writer, enabled aid to be channeled to British goods, while providing cover for unsavory expenditures such as arms sales. This last function was carried out by what was originally a wholly owned subsidiary of the crown agency, Millbank Technical Services (1967–79, when it was transferred to the Ministry of Defence and renamed), which has since been accused of Neocolonial involvement in former British colonies and covert arms sales. The British government incorporated the Crown Agency as a government mandated corporation tied to the Minister of Overseas Development, called the Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administration. In 1997, the Crown Agency was privatised. As a private limited company
, the CAOGA
has a number of contracts to provide governmental or para-governmental services throughout the world, such as providing the customs services of the Government of Angola
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, distinct from the Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Commission
-Chairmen:*John Houghton MHK, 2004-date*George Waft MLC, 1996-2004*Clare Christian MLC, 1981-1982*Noel Cringle MLC, 1992-1996*Walter Gilbey, years unknown...
of Great Britain or the government administration of the national entity in which it operated. These enterprises were overseen from 1833 to 1974 by the Office of the Crown Agents in London, thereafter named the Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administration. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd
Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd
The Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd is a Greater London, UK based company. Prior to 1979, the Crown Agents was an autonomous body working for the British and other governments, and for multilateral development and funding institutions...
became a private Limited company providing development
Land development
Land development refers to altering the landscape in any number of ways such as:* changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing...
services in 1996.
Today the term is also used to refer to state-controlled companies in some states of the British Commonwealth.
Operation
Crown agencies nominally reported directly to (and were wholly owned by) the Crown, but in practice, reported to the Crown Agency Office in London, thus independent of the Colonial OfficeColonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
. This office became, in the late 19th century, the sole official British commercial and financial agent of all British protectorates and Crown colonies. The Colonial Office enforced a policy of sole usage of crown agencies for all purchases of goods for government use, creating a virtual monopoly over government retail supply within the colonies of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The Crown Agencies also became financial institutions, supplying capital, routes for investment, and pensions to all public works and government in British dependent colonies (excluding such Dominions as Canada or Australia). Crown Agencies were the bodies responsible for all large projects sucha as railway or harbour construction throughout British Africa, India, and the West Indies.
History
Crown Agencies, trace their founding to the time of the British EmpireBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and in 1833 the British government, hived off from the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
as a financing, stores, transport, and development (to use a modern term) office. Historians have argued that crown agencies, whose organisations operated across the British Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were the de facto administrators of British colonies. Crown Agencies welded governmental powers through the maze of British, territories, protectorates, dependencies, Mandates, and Crown Colonies which de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
made up the British Empire of the late 19th century. From 1833 to 1880, they also operated in areas with Dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
status. After this, their mandate was reduced to "dependent" colonies (most of British Africa, India, and the West Indies), but they were given near monopoly rights over finance and supply of non-local manufactures for any public or government use.
With the dissolution of the British Empire, many of these agencies reverted to control by their respective governments, became parts of the British government, or became Non-governmental organisations. The central Crown Agency Office became involved in the secondary banking sector, but the Secondary Banking Crisis of 1973–75 drove the Agency into a debt of over two million British pounds and the agency filed for bankruptcy in 1974. The British government at the time found the Agency useful for overseas development and, argues one writer, enabled aid to be channeled to British goods, while providing cover for unsavory expenditures such as arms sales. This last function was carried out by what was originally a wholly owned subsidiary of the crown agency, Millbank Technical Services (1967–79, when it was transferred to the Ministry of Defence and renamed), which has since been accused of Neocolonial involvement in former British colonies and covert arms sales. The British government incorporated the Crown Agency as a government mandated corporation tied to the Minister of Overseas Development, called the Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administration. In 1997, the Crown Agency was privatised. As a private limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
, the CAOGA
Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd
The Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations Ltd is a Greater London, UK based company. Prior to 1979, the Crown Agents was an autonomous body working for the British and other governments, and for multilateral development and funding institutions...
has a number of contracts to provide governmental or para-governmental services throughout the world, such as providing the customs services of the Government of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
Contemporary usage
The legal category of crown agencies still exit in some nations of the former British Empire. In most places, these have been replaced by government agencies, state-controlled companies, and (in parts of the Commonwealth) Crown Corporations. Canada and New Zealand maintain the category of government managed or owned entities called Crown Agencies.Canada
Where existing today, as in Canada they report to the sovereign governments in the states where they operate. In Canada, the term may refer to any government agency, created by statute, which does not report to a government Ministry. CN Rail and the Ontario Heritage Foundation, for instance, are under Canadian Law "Crown Agencies".New Zealand
The term is also used under New Zealand law to designate state owned enterprises which do not report directly to a single Ministry.Crown bodies
In the United Kingdom, the term is sometimes used to refer to Crown Bodies: public bodies which have Crown status, meaning that material which they produce is subject to Crown copyright protection.Further reading
- Marjorie A. R. Laird. The Ontario Crown Agency Act, 1959. The University of Toronto Law Journal, Vol. 13, No. 2 (1960), pp. 281–284
- Lillian M. Penson. The Origin of the Crown Agency Office. The English Historical Review, Vol. 40, No. 158 (Apr., 1925), pp. 196–206
- David Sunderland. Managing the British Empire: The Crown Agents for the Colonies, 1833–1914. Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer (2004).
- David Sunderland. Managing British Colonial and Post-Colonial Development: The Crown Agents, 1914–1974. Suffolk: Boydell and Brewer (2007) ISBN 9781843833017
- Arthur William Abbott. A Short History of the Crown Agents and Their Office. Eyre and Spottiswoode, H.M. Printers (1959) ASIN: B0007JAS74 (A privately published history by a former director, cited in a number of sources detailing the less savory involvement of the Crown Agency in the run up to decolonisation)
External links
- Crown Agency Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.48.
- Directors of Crown Corporations: An Introductory Guide to Their Roles and Responsibilities. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (2002).