Constructing Ionian identities: the Ionian Islands in British official ...

emains an important contribution to the administrative history of the Empire. 51 It
has been particularly useful in relation to ideas about the development of responsible
government. Similarly William Morrell’s British Colonial Policy in the Age of Peel
and Russell remains an essential work on the motives and characteristics of British
policy in the early and mid Victorian era. 52 This was helpful in understanding the
transformation of British colonial policy in the twenty years after the Reform Act
(1832) and the role of the colonial ministries of Lord John Russell and Earl Grey in
advancing the processes of responsible government. 53 Several works were very
helpful in providing insight on workings of the Colonial Office. Ralph Pugh’s “The
Colonial Office 1801-1925” highlighted the changing characteristics of the office. 54
Douglas Young’s, The Colonial Office in the Early Nineteenth Century, covering the
period 1801-1830, described the structure, functions and development of the office
and should be read as supplementary to Manning and Pugh. 55 These works provided
accounts of the Colonial Office as at the heart of British colonial institutions. They
also offered brief backgrounds to colonial officials and their general beliefs and
attitudes towards the colonies. These attitudes were reflected in the correspondence
51 Manning H. T., British Colonial Government after the American Revolution, 1782-1820, (Yale,
1966).
52 Morrell W. P., British Colonial Policy in the Age of Peel and Russell, (London, 1930).
53 Referencing yet critiquing Morrell’s work - despite it being written “in the decade of dictators” and
excused “for his partisanship” when extolling for example the praises of specific colonial governors
and officials. Francis M., Governors and Settlers: Images of Authority in the British Colonies, 1820-
60, (Hong Kong, 1992), p. 242.
54 Pugh R. B., “The Colonial Office 1801-1925” in The Cambridge History of the British Empire, III:
the Empire Commonwealth, 1870-1919, (Cambridge, 1959), and published in Historical Studies:
Australia and New Zealand.
55 Young D., The Colonial Office in the Early Nineteenth Century, (London, 1961).
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