View source for Crown colony

{{Short description|Type of British colony directly administered by the British central government}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2010}}
[[File:Coat of arms of England (1603–1649).svg|thumb|Coat of arms of King [[James VI and I|James I]]. In 1624, the Crown revoked the royal charter earlier granted to the [[Virginia Company]], and assumed direct government of the colony.]]
A '''Crown colony''' or '''royal colony''' was a [[colony]] governed by [[Kingdom of England|England]], and then [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] or the [[United Kingdom]] within the [[English overseas possessions|English]] and later [[British Empire]]. There was usually a [[Governor#United Kingdom overseas territories|governor]] to represent the Crown, appointed by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]] on the advice of the [[Government of the United Kingdom|UK Government]], with or without the assistance of a local council. In some cases, this council was split into two: an executive council and a [[legislative council]], and the executive council was similar to the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|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 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 colony|self-governing colonies]], within which 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|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 the [[Colony of Virginia]] in 1619 and the [[House of Assembly of Bermuda|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.

Like most colonial establishments, the main focus was the extraction of local resources and raw materials. 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 the [[British Nationality Act 1981]]. Many British citizens in the colonies (with the exceptions of the [[Falkland Islander]]s and subsequently the [[Gibraltar]]ians) found that their "Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies" {{clarify|date=October 2021|reason=Already restrictive to CUKCs who had no immediate connections with the UK as a result of the Commonwealth Immigrants Acts 1962 and 1968 and the Immigration Act 1971.|text=had changed overnight to [[British Dependent Territories Citizen]]ship, a form of British citizenship that stripped them of some of their rights, including the right to reside and work in the United Kingdom.}} From 2002, the dependent territories have been known officially as [[British Overseas Territories]].<ref name=bota2002>{{cite web| title=British Overseas Territories Act 2002| publisher=Gov.Uk| url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/8/contents| access-date=11 July 2012| archive-date=30 January 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130040455/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/8/contents| url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
Early English colonies were often [[proprietary colonies]], usually established and administered by [[Joint-stock company|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 the [[Virginia Company]] and assumed control of the administration.<ref>[[#refOHBEv3|Porter]], p. 477.</ref>

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 a Crown colony in 1684, when the government revoked a royal charter given to the [[Somers Isles Company]], successor to the [[London Company|Virginia Company]], which had previously controlled administration, including the appointment of governors. Afterwards the British government appointed the [[Governor of Bermuda]].){{Cn|date=May 2024}}

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]].<ref>[http://www.ttparliament.org/about.php?mid=50 History of Parliament: Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613232939/http://www.ttparliament.org/about.php?mid=50 |date=13 June 2017 }} – Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.</ref> After that time it was more broadly applied to every [[British Empire|British territory]] other than [[British India]],<ref>{{citation|author=Mark Doyle|title=The British Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia &#91;2 volumes&#93;|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fJgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|year=2018|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-4198-9|pages=82–|access-date=13 May 2019|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729190129/https://books.google.com/books?id=2fJgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|url-status=live}}</ref> and self-governing colonies, such as the [[Province of Canada]], [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], [[British Columbia]], [[New South Wales]], [[Queensland]], [[South Australia]], [[Tasmania]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], [[Western Australia]], and [[New Zealand]].<ref>[[#refHDBE|Olson]], p. 343.</ref>
{{Campaignbox British Empire World War II}}
By the mid-19th century, the monarch was appointing colonial governors only on the advice of the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]].<ref>[[#refJenks|Jenks]], p. 70.</ref>

===Reclassification (1981)===
{{further|British Overseas Territories citizen}}
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 the [[China|People's Republic of China]].{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} In 2002, the ''British Overseas Territories Act 2002'' further changed their name to [[British Overseas Territories]].{{Cn|date=May 2024}}

==Types==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2024}} 
There were ''three'' types of Crown colony as of 1918, with differing degrees of autonomy:

Crown colonies ''with representative councils'', such as [[Bermuda]], [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]], [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]] and [[Colony of Fiji|Fiji]], contained two legislative chambers, consisting of Crown-appointed and locally elected members.

Crown colonies ''with nominated councils'', such as [[British Honduras]], [[Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate|Sierra Leone]], [[British Windward Islands]] and [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], were staffed entirely by Crown-appointed members, with some appointed representation from 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]],<ref>[[#refJenks|Jenks]], pp. 71–4.</ref> [[Gibraltar]], [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha|Saint Helena]] and [[Colony of Singapore|Singapore]], were fewest in number and had the least autonomy.

==List==
{{Incomplete list|date=March 2023}}
The "from" column lists the year the colony began to be administered by the Crown.  These colonies may have existed under a different type of English colonial administration before then.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+Crown colonies
|-
! Name of colony
! from
! to
! class="unsortable"|Reason for change of status
|-
| {{flagicon|Aden}} [[Colony of Aden|Aden]]
| 1937
| 1967
| Became part of the [[Federation of South Arabia]].
|-
| {{flag|Akrotiri and Dhekelia}}
| 1960
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flag|Anguilla}} 
| 1980
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flag icon|Antigua and Barbuda|colonial}} [[History of Antigua and Barbuda (1871–1958)|Antigua]]
| 1663
| 1967
| Became an [[West Indies Associated States|associated state]].
|-
| {{flag icon|United Kingdom}} [[Ashanti (Crown Colony)|Ashanti]]
| 1902
| 1957
| Became part of the dominion named [[Ghana]] upon its establishment in 1957.
|-
| {{flagicon|Bahamas|colonial}} [[British Bahamas|Bahamas]]
| 1718
| 1973
| Became an independent [[Commonwealth realm]].
|-
| {{flagicon|Barbados|1885}} [[Barbados]]
| 1663
| 1966
| Became an independent [[Commonwealth realm]].
|-
| {{flagicon|Lesotho|colonial}} [[Basutoland]]
| 1884
| 1966
| Became independent as [[Lesotho]] in 1966.
|-
| {{flag|Bermuda}}
| 1684
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flag|British Antarctic Territory}}
| 1962
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[British Bechuanaland]]
| 1885
| 1895
| Became part of [[British Cape Colony]] in 1895.
|-
| [[File:Flag of the Colony of British Columbia.svg|23px|border|link=Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)]] [[Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)|British Columbia]]
| 1866
| 1871
|Became part of [[Canada]] in 1871.
|-
| {{flagicon|British Guiana}} [[British Guiana]]
| 1831
| 1966
| Became independent as [[Guyana (1966–1970)|Guyana]] in 1966.
|-
| {{flagicon|British Honduras}} [[British Honduras]] (renamed Belize in 1973)
| 1884
| 1981
| Became independent (as [[Belize]]) in 1981.
|-
| {{Flag icon|British Indian Ocean Territory}} [[History of the British Indian Ocean Territory (1965-1982)|British Indian Ocean Territory]]
| 1965
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon|British Burma}} [[British rule in Burma|Burma]]
| 1937
| 1948
| Separated from British India in 1937 and became a Crown colony. Became independent in 1948 as [[Myanmar|Burma (later Myanmar)]].
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Province of Canada]]
| 1841
| 1867
|Became part of [[Canada]] in 1867.
|-
| [[File:Flag of the Cape Colony 1876-1910.svg|23px|border|link=British Cape Colony]] [[British Cape Colony|Cape Colony]]
| 1806
| 1910
|Became part of the [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910.
|-
| {{flag|Cayman Islands}}
| 1962
| 1982
|Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon|Ceylon|colonial}} [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]]
| 1815
| 1948
|Became independent in 1948 as [[Dominion of Ceylon]] (later [[Sri Lanka]]).
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Christmas Island]]
| 1958
| 1958
|Became a territory of [[Australia]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Cyprus|colonial}} [[British Cyprus (1878–1960)|Cyprus]]
| 1914
| 1960
|Became independent as [[Cyprus]] in 1960.
|-
| {{flagicon|Dominica|1955}} [[Dominica]]
| 1763
| 1967
| Became an [[West Indies Associated States|associated state]].
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[East Florida]]
| 1763
| 1783
|Ceded to Spain. Later became part of the United States.
|-
| {{flag|Falkland Islands}}
|1841
|1982
|Became a [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Fiji (1924–1970).svg}} [[Colony of Fiji|Fiji]]
| 1874
| 1970
| Became independent as [[Dominion of Fiji|Fiji]] in 1970
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of The Gambia (1889–1965).svg}} [[Gambia Colony and Protectorate|Gambia Colony]]
| 1888
| 1965
|Became independent as [[The Gambia (1965–1970)|The Gambia]] in 1965.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]]
| 1755
| 1776
|Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flag|Gibraltar|ensign1939}}
| 1713
| 1982
|Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (1937–1976).svg}} [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]]
|1916
|1976
|Separate [[Kiribati]] and [[Tuvalu]] colonies
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the Gilbert Islands (1976–1979).svg}} [[Kiribati]]
| 1976
| 1979
| Became independent in 1979.
|-
| {{flag icon|Gold Coast}} [[Gold Coast (British Colony)|Gold Coast]]
| 1821
| 1957
|Became independent in 1957 with [[Ashanti (Crown Colony)|Ashanti]] and [[Northern Territories of the Gold Coast]] as [[Dominion of Ghana|Ghana]].
|-
| {{flag icon|Grenada|1903}} [[Grenada]]
| 1763
| 1967
| Became an [[West Indies Associated States|associated state]].
|-
| {{flag icon|UK}} [[Heligoland]]
| 1814
| 1890
| Ceded to the [[German Empire]].
|-
|{{flagicon|Hong Kong|1959}} [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]
|1843
|1982
|Imperial Japan military occupied 1941–1945. Reclassified as a British Dependent Territory in 1983. Transferred to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
|-
| {{flagicon|Jamaica|1957}} [[Colony of Jamaica|Jamaica]]
| 1655
| 1962
|Became independent in 1962 as [[Jamaica]].
|-
|{{flagicon|Kenya|colonial}} [[Kenya Colony|Kenya]]
|1920
|1963
|United with the Kenya Protectorate in 1963 to form the independent country of [[Kenya (1963–1964)|Kenya]].
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Labuan (1912–1946).svg}} [[Crown Colony of Labuan|Labuan]]
| 1846
| 1890
|Administered by [[British North Borneo Company]] from 1890 to 1904.
|-
|{{flagicon image|Flag of Lagos Colony (1888–1906).svg}} [[Lagos Colony|Lagos]]
|1862
|1906
|Became part of [[Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria]] in 1906.
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Lower Canada]]
| 1791
| 1841
| Became part of [[Province of Canada]] in 1841.
|-
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Malacca (1946-1957).svg}} [[Crown Colony of Malacca|Malacca]]
|1946
|1957
|Became part of [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]] in 1957.
|-
| {{flagicon|Malta|1943}} [[Malta Colony|Malta]]
| 1813
| 1964
|Became independent in 1964 as the [[State of Malta]].
|-
| {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of Maryland|Maryland]]
| 1689
| 1715
|Reverted to [[proprietary colony|proprietary rule]] in 1715, and later became part of the United States of America in 1776. 
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts Bay]]
|1691
|1776
|Became part of the [[United States]] of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flagicon|Mauritius|1923}} [[British Mauritius|Mauritius]]
| 1810
| 1968
| Became independent as [[Mauritius (1968–1992)|Mauritius]] in 1968.
|-
| {{flag|Montserrat}}
| 1636
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| [[File:Flag of the Natal Colony 1875-1910.svg|23px|border|link=Colony of Natal]] [[Colony of Natal|Natal]]
| 1843
| 1910
|Became part of the [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910.
|-
| [[File:Dominion of Newfoundland Blue Ensign, 1870–1904.svg|23px|border|link=Newfoundland Colony]] [[Colony of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]]
| 1825
| 1907
|Became the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] in 1907, and later joined [[Canada]] in 1949.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]
|1692
|1776
|Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[New Ireland (Maine)|New Ireland]]
|1779
|1783
|Ceded to the United States of America after Revolutionary War and again after War of 1812 (1814-1815).
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]]
| 1702
| 1776
| Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flagicon|New South Wales}} [[Colony of New South Wales|New South Wales]]
| 1788
| 1901
|Became part of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] in 1901.
|-
|{{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of New York|New York]]
| 1685
| 1776
| Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flagicon|New Zealand}} [[Colony of New Zealand|New Zealand]]
|1841
|1907
|Became the [[Dominion of New Zealand]] in 1907.
|-
| {{flagicon|Nigeria|colonial}} [[Colonial Nigeria|Nigeria]]
| 1914
| 1960
| Became independent as [[Federation of Nigeria|Nigeria]] in 1960.
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Norfolk Island]]
|1788
|1914
|Placed under administration of [[Australia]] in 1914 as a non-self governing territory. The island was self-governing between 1979 and 2015.
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of North Borneo (1948–1963).svg}} [[Crown Colony of North Borneo|North Borneo]]
| 1946
| 1963
| Became part of [[Malaysia]] in 1963 as [[Sabah]]. [[Labuan]] separated from Sabah in 1984 to become a [[Federal Territory (Malaysia)|Federal Territory]].<ref name="Malaysia Act 1963">''See'': [[Malaysia Act 1963]]</ref>
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of North Carolina|North Carolina]]
| 1729
| 1776
|Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Nova Scotia]]
| 1710
| 1867
| Became part of [[Canada]] in 1867.
|-
| {{flag|Orange River Colony}}
| 1900
| 1910
|Became part of the [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910.
|-
|{{flag|Pitcairn Islands}} 
|1887
|1982
|Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
|{{flag icon|Penang|1952}} [[Crown Colony of Penang|Penang]]
|1946
|1957
|Became part of [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]] in 1957.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Quebec]]
| 1763
| 1791
| Divided between [[Upper Canada|Upper]] and [[Lower Canada]] and the [[Northwest Territory]].
|-
|{{flagicon|Queensland}} [[Colony of Queensland|Queensland]]
|1859
|1901
|Became part of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] in 1901.
|-
| {{flagicon|Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla|1958}} [[Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla]]
| 1882
| 1967
| Became an [[West Indies Associated States|associated state]].
|-
| {{flagicon|Saint Helena}} [[Saint Helena]]
| 1659
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon|Saint Lucia|1875}} [[Saint Lucia]]
| 1814
| 1967
| Became an [[West Indies Associated States|associated state]].
|-
| {{flagicon|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|colonial}} [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|Saint Vincent]]
| 1776
| 1969
| Became an [[West Indies Associated States|associated state]].
|-
| {{flagicon|Crown Colony of Sarawak}} [[Crown Colony of Sarawak|Sarawak]]
| 1946
| 1963
| Became part of [[Malaysia]] in 1963.<ref name="Malaysia Act 1963"/>
|-
| [[File:Flag_of_Seychelles_1961-1976.gif|23px|border]] [[History of Seychelles#Crown Colony|Seychelles]]
| 1903
| 1976
| Separated from [[British Mauritius]] in 1903 and became a Crown Colony and became independent in 1976.
|-
| [[File:Flag of Sierra Leone 1916-1961.gif|23px|border]] [[Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate|Sierra Leone]]
| 1808
| 1961
|Became independent as Sierra Leone in 1961.
|-
| {{flagicon|Singapore|colonial-1952}} [[Colony of Singapore|Singapore]]
| 1946
| 1963
| Became an [[Singapore in Malaysia|autonomous state]] within [[Malaysia]] in 1963 and [[Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965|fully independent]] in 1965.<ref name="Malaysia Act 1963"/> 
|-
| {{flagicon|South Australia}} [[South Australia]]
| 1834
| 1901
|Became part of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] in 1901.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Province of South Carolina|South Carolina]]
| 1729
| 1776
|Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate (1900–1914).svg}} [[Southern Nigeria Protectorate|Southern Nigeria]]
| 1906
| 1914
| Part of the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Merged with [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate]] as the [[Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria]] in 1914.
|-
| {{flagicon|Southern Rhodesia}} [[Southern Rhodesia]]
| 1923
| 1965/1980
| [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|Unilateral Declaration of Independence]] in 1965 as [[Rhodesia]]; formally reverted to colonial status in 1979 as [[Southern Rhodesia]]; independence granted in 1980 as [[Zimbabwe]]
|-
|{{flagicon|Straits Settlements}} [[Straits Settlements]]
| 1867
| 1946
| Imperial Japan military occupied 1941–1945. Separated into the Crown colonies of [[Crown Colony of Penang|Penang]], [[Crown Colony of Malacca|Malacca]] and [[Colony of Singapore|Singapore]].<ref name=ColonyOfSingapore>{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/cf47ce98-0e14-4c1f-a6f7-cb55c99b4df6|title=The Straits Settlements is dissolved|access-date=29 August 2015|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225061242/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/cf47ce98-0e14-4c1f-a6f7-cb55c99b4df6|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| {{flagicon|Tasmania}} [[Colony of Tasmania|Tasmania]]
| 1825
| 1901
| Named [[Van Diemen's Land]] until 1856. Became part of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] in 1901.
|-
| {{flag|Transvaal Colony}}
| 1877
| 1910
|Became part of the [[Union of South Africa]] in 1910.
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Tobago]]
| 1877
| 1889
| Became part of [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Trinidad]]
| 1802
| 1889
| Became part of [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
|-
| {{flag|Trinidad and Tobago|1958}} 
| 1889
| 1962
| Became independent in 1962
|-
| {{flag|Turks and Caicos Islands}} 
| 1962
| 1982
| Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Tuvalu (1976–1978).svg}} [[Tuvalu]] 
| 1976
| 1978
|Became independent in 1978. Formerly part of the [[Gilbert and Ellice Islands]] Protectorate
|-
| {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Upper Canada]]
| 1791
| 1841
| Became part of [[Province of Canada]] in 1841.
|-
|[[File:Flag of Vancouver Island.svg|23px|border]] [[Colony of Vancouver Island|Vancouver Island]]
|1848
|1866
|Merged with the [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–66)|Colony of British Columbia]] in 1866 which joined Canada.
|-
| {{flagicon|Victoria}} [[Colony of Victoria|Victoria]]
|1851
|1901
|Became part of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] in 1901.
|-
| {{flag icon|British Virgin Islands}} [[British Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]]
|1713
|1982
|Became [[British Dependent Territory]] in 1983.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]]
|1624
|1776
|Became part of the United States of America in 1776.
|-
| {{flagicon|Western Australia}} [[Western Australia]]
| 1829
| 1901
|[[Swan River Colony]] from 1829 to 1832. Became part of the [[Commonwealth of Australia]] in 1901.
|-
| {{flag icon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[West Florida]]
| 1763
| 1783
|Ceded to Spain. Later became part of the United States.
|}

==See also==
*[[British Empire]]
*[[British overseas territories]]
*[[British protectorate]]
*[[Colonial Office]]
*[[Crown dependency]]
*[[Direct rule over Northern Ireland]]
*[[Legislative council]]
*[[Proprietary colony]]
*[[Self-governing colony]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book | first = AS | last = Ehrlich | title = Human Organization, 33.2 | year = 1974 | ref = Human Organization, 33.2 | url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/58efce58aa2a274fc1d17ffb43869362/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821032 | via = ProQuest | access-date = 13 May 2019 | archive-date = 1 October 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221001111413/https://www.proquest.com/openview/58efce58aa2a274fc1d17ffb43869362/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821032 | url-status = live }}
*{{cite book | first = Josef | last = Ehrlich | title = Economic protectionism, Vol.6 | year = 1916 | publisher = Clarendon press | ref = Economic protectionism, Vol.6 | url = https://www.proquest.com/openview/58efce58aa2a274fc1d17ffb43869362/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821032 | access-date = 13 May 2019 | archive-date = 1 October 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221001111413/https://www.proquest.com/openview/58efce58aa2a274fc1d17ffb43869362/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1821032 | url-status = live }}
*{{cite book | first = Edward | last = Jenks | title = The Government of the British Empire | url = https://archive.org/details/governmentbriti04jenkgoog | year = 1918 | publisher = Little, Brown, and Company | ref = refJenks }}
*{{cite book | first = Edward | last = Jenks | title = The Government of the British Empire | url = https://archive.org/details/governmentbriti04jenkgoog | year = 1918 | publisher = Little, Brown, and Company | ref = refJenks }}
*{{cite book | first = James | last = Olson | title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=0-313-29366-X|ref=refHDBE}}
*{{cite book | first = Andrew | last = Porter | title = The Nineteenth Century, The Oxford History of the British Empire Volume III |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998 | isbn=0-19-924678-5 | ref=refOHBEv3}}
*{{cite book |last1=Wrong |first1=Hume |title=Government of the West Indies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hIx3hR0-HkIC&pg=PP1 |access-date=2010-03-30 |year=1923 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=England |isbn=1-113-74149-X |page=71 |chapter=The Old Representative System: The Change To Crown Colony Government |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hIx3hR0-HkIC&pg=PA71 |quote=The phrase 'Crown Colony Government' is used with various meanings. In the broadest, and perhaps most correct, sense it is applied to all the colonies in which the Crown retains the real control of the executive (i.e. to all the West Indian colonies). By both official and common usage, however, it is often narrowed as to exclude colonies with elected Assemblies, though without a responsible executive. |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408171932/https://books.google.com/books?id=hIx3hR0-HkIC&pg=PP1 |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}
{{Kingdom of England}}
{{NBPremiers}}
{{Governors of Gibraltar}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crown colony}}
[[Category:Governance of the British Empire]]
[[Category:1981 disestablishments in the British Empire]]
[[Category:History of colonialism]]