The colonial office and the population question in the British Empire, 1918–62

Abstract

Dr Smart's comment marked a fundamental shift in the position of the British government toward colonial demographic issues, as the Colonial Office increasingly viewed population growth as a threat to its efforts to strengthen the British empire. As early as the mid-1930s, British colonial officials discussed the problems associated with population growth in potentially overcrowded regions of the empire. These discussions led to a population policy that embraced migration, food supplies, medical services, and family planning. The effort to address population issues continued until the early 1960s, when the British government transferred its support to international efforts under United Nations auspices. This article examines the development of population policy in the British empire from 1918 to 1962 and places it within the larger context of the politics of imperial governance and race. Despite the importance of the British presence in Asia and Africa, little has been written about British involvement in population programmes. The one comprehensive account, edited by a demographer and former colonial civil servant, portrays the development of family planning as a heroic effort against ignorance and poverty. This appraisal reflects the sympathy that many population historians feel for family planning, which they see as a solution to a genuine problem, one that benefits the poor, especially women. There exists, however, an alternative history of family planning, one that considers the influence of race, gender, and power upon population policy. While these studies provide us with a new perspective, they