1907_Colonial_Conference
1907 Imperial Conference
Meeting of leaders of the British Empire and its colonies in London
The 1907 Imperial Conference was convened in London on 15 April 1907 and concluded on 14 May 1907. During the sessions a resolution was passed renaming this and future meetings Imperial Conferences. The chairman of the conference was British prime minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
The conference decided to cease referring to self-governing British colonies as colonies and conferred upon them dominion status. Canada and Australia were referred to as dominions in the conference's statements while Newfoundland Colony and the Colony of New Zealand were granted dominion status by royal proclamation on 26 September. Natal and Cape Colony would unite with the two Boer colonies of Orange River Colony and Transvaal Colony, which had been given self-government in 1907, to form the Union of South Africa as a dominion in 1910.
The possibilities of Irish Home Rule and self-governance for India were also discussed. Imperial preference was raised but rejected by the British prime minister due to British support for free trade.[1]
