Editing British Empire (section)

=== Changing status of the white colonies ===

{{Main|Dominions|Canadian Confederation|Federation of Australia|Irish Home Rule movement|Independence of New Zealand||}}
[[File:British Empire flag RMG L0088.tiff|thumb|A [[British Empire flag]] combining the arms of the dominions to represent their growing significance]]
The path to independence for the white colonies of the British Empire began with the 1839 [[Report on the Affairs of British North America|Durham Report]], which proposed unification and self-government for Upper and Lower Canada, as a solution to political unrest which had erupted in [[Rebellions of 1837|armed rebellions]] in 1837.{{Sfn|Smith|1998|pp=28–29}} This began with the passing of the [[Act of Union 1840|Act of Union]] in 1840, which created the [[Province of Canada]]. [[Responsible government]] was first granted to Nova Scotia in 1848, and was soon extended to the other British North American colonies. With the passage of the [[British North America Act, 1867]] by the [[British Parliament]], the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formed into Canada, a confederation enjoying full self-government with the exception of [[international relations]].{{Sfn|Porter|1998|p=187}} Australia and New Zealand achieved similar levels of self-government after 1900, with the Australian colonies [[federation of Australia|federating in 1901]].{{Sfn|Smith|1998|p=30}} The term "dominion status" was officially introduced at the [[1907 Imperial Conference]].{{Sfn|Rhodes|Wanna|Weller|2009|pp=5–15}} As the dominions gained greater autonomy, they would come to be recognized as distinct realms of the empire with unique customs and symbols of their own. Imperial identity, through imagery such as patriotic artworks and banners, began developing into a form that attempted to be more inclusive by showcasing the empire as a family of newly birthed nations with common roots.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Ralph |date=8 August 2017 |title=A Flag for the Empire |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ICV27-B8-Kelly.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813214957/https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ICV27-B8-Kelly.pdf |archive-date=13 August 2023 |access-date=13 August 2023 |website=The Flag Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ford |first=Lisa |title=The King's Peace: Law and Order in the British Empire |date=2021 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-6742-4907-3 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England}}</ref>

The last decades of the 19th century saw concerted [[political campaign]]s for Irish [[home rule]]. Ireland had been united with Britain into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the [[Act of Union 1800]] after the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]], and had suffered a severe [[Great Famine (Ireland)|famine]] between 1845 and 1852. Home rule was supported by the British [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]], [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]], who hoped that Ireland might follow in Canada's footsteps as a Dominion within the empire, but his 1886 [[Government of Ireland Bill 1886|Home Rule bill]] was defeated in Parliament. Although the bill, if passed, would have granted Ireland less autonomy within the UK than the Canadian provinces had within their own federation,{{Sfn|Lloyd|1996|p=213}} many MPs feared that a partially independent Ireland might pose a security threat to Great Britain or mark the beginning of the break-up of the empire.{{Sfn|James|2001|p=315}} A [[Irish Government Bill 1893|second Home Rule bill]] was defeated for similar reasons.{{Sfn|James|2001|p=315}} A [[Home Rule Act 1914|third bill]] was passed by Parliament in 1914, but not implemented because of the outbreak of the [[First World War]] leading to the 1916 [[Easter Rising]].{{Sfn|Smith|1998|p=92}}