Administering the Empire, 1801-1968 : a guide to the records of the Colonial Office in the National Archives of the UK /Mandy Banton.

"The handbook on colonial records at The National Archives prepared by Mandy Banton serves at least three important and useful purposes. First and foremost it is a new and extensively revised guide that takes fully into account records that have become accessible in recent decades, together with corrected and expanded lists of earlier eras. It covers the Colonial Office's relations with other government departments, including the Admiralty, the Cabinet Office, the Foreign Office, the Prime Minister's Office, the Treasury and the War Office.[...]A second function of the guide is historical perspective and comprehensive coverage of complicated and extensive lists of documents. Those using the handbook will be able to trace records on the evolution of the War and Colonial Office of the early 19th century and the creation of the geographical departments. [...] The third useful aspect of the handbook is its range and depth of historical detail. It is a historical work in its own right. It comments usefully on the 'informal' as well as the formal British empire and reveals the extent to which the Colonial Office was involved in the affairs of China, Argentina and Egypt, even listing, in Foreign Office records, the papers of Lord Cromer. It defines as well as guides. [...]"--Adapted from the Foreword.