Imperial Federation

The Imperial Federation was a series of proposals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to create a federal union to replace the existing British Empire, presenting it as an alternative to colonial imperialism.^[1][2] No such proposal was ever adopted, but various schemes were popular in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other colonial territories. The project was championed by Unionists such as Joseph Chamberlain as an alternative to William Gladstone's proposals for home rule in Ireland.

Many proposals were put forward, but none commanded majority support. The Imperial Federation League, the main advocacy group, split into two factions in 1893, with one group promoting imperial defence and the other encouraging imperial trade. Various proposals were put forward, with most of them calling for a single state with an imperial parliament headquartered in London. Such proposals were never put into effect, and decolonisation would eventually happen to a vast majority of Britain's colonies beginning from the mid 20th century.

The new parliament was envisioned to cooperatively deal with internal trade, foreign relations, defence, and other issues that affected the entire federation. The new parliament would have representatives from India that would rule the latter directly, while the dominions such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and South Africa as well as crown colonies such as Cyprus, Gibraltar, Malta, and Singapore would have internal self-government, although still accountable to this new parliament in London, similar to devolution that was granted to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales during the late 20th century. In the Imperial Federation, Ireland would also have self-government, which was expected to reduce demand for independence in Ireland.^[3]