Timeline (Acts of Union)

Weak Propositions (1884)
By 1884, the British were beginning to consider certain possibilities for their Empire. They were wondering how to keep it indefinitely, the founding of the Imperial Federation League in 1884 is seen as the opening movement towards some considering on imperial form.

Established in multiple White settler colonies, and a few other minor colonies, the IFL remained insignificant but did have vocal supporters in Canada, Britain, Australia, and even a new minor presence in South Africa.

The Imperial Federation was to be handled as such. The Imperial Parliament (Westminster, stripped of its local responsibilities) would handle foreign affairs, the army, the navy, and those colonies (including India) which had a population the bulk of which was "alien". The centre would also have a final court of appeal. Local Parliaments would exercise control over Home Affairs, the police and education.

Supporters of Imperial Federation presented the argument that the two choices for Britain were Imperial unification or Imperial disintegration. In their view the future importance of Britain depended on it federating

Colonial Conferences (1887-1904)
The Colonial conferences were multiple meetings of many colonies, particularly White settler colonies to faciliate greater cooperation as well as co-ordination of multiple issues of imperial defense and force deployments and other communications issues.

The First Conference in 1887 conducted during Queen Victorias Jubilee (a significant occasion), deliberated on multiple issues of Defence, Imperial co-ordination, as well as the laying of new communication lines to better connect and support the Empire. The Title "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Colonies, and all Dependencies thereof, and Empress of India"

The Second Conference brought together in 1894 by Canadian demand, led to the propositions of a telegraph cable linking Australia and New Zealand with the rest of the Empire in a more prominent fashion. All self-governing British colonies were invited to send delegates with the exception of Newfoundland Colony. Western Australia and Natal Colony did not send representatives due to domestic priorities. The colony of Fiji was also invited due to its geographical location on the proposed route of the cable but declined. Delegates were sent to the conference by Canada, New Zealand, the Australian self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria and the South African colony of Cape Colony. Unlike other colonial conference, the colonial delegates were cabinet ministers or legislators or government representatives rather than Prime Ministers.

Resolutions were proposed to the conference and it was agreed that decisions would be made on the basis of "one colony, one vote" but the resolutions were not binding on the British government or the Colonial Office. In addition to discussing telecommunications issues, the conference also approved a resolution favouring preferential trade within the Empire, however, this resolution was opposed by Australia's largest colonies, New South Wales and Queensland, who were suspicious the Canadian initiative seemed designed to undermine Australia's protective tariffs. Regardless of some of the glaring issues, the topic of further centralizing and unifying the Empires colonies with the Motherland seemed a pressing issue, as multiple discussions but no concrete commitments towards this initiative were actually made.

The Third Conference occuring in 1897 led to Chamberlain proposing the creation of a permanent Imperial Council made up of delegates from the colonies to act as an Empire-wide parliament with the power to bind the colonies on imperial matters but this was rejected by the colonies due to fears of loss of autonomy. Chamberlain also propose that colonies increase their contributions to the Royal Navy but only some colonies agreed to increase their contributions and no permanent arrangement was agreed to. Chamberlain also proposed a customs union between the colonies and Britain while Canada proposed preferential trade but no decision was made by the delegates.

The 1902 Conference proposed much of the same to the colonies who once against rejected it seeing no need to truly give up any autonomy and suffer coming back under the non self governing Imperial umbrella. This led to a major problem of Britain recognizing its slipping grip on its colonies, and the Imperial Federation Leagues failure to gain significant traction behind the scenes to organize such a movement.

The Christmas Ambush
On Christmas night, following much celebration by British Sailors and the lack of thought of an attack by the US, seeing the Venezuelan issue as minor enough to warrant just saber rattling, the US fleet under George Dewey began an infamous ambush that became a severe issue for the British Navy.

The US fleet surprising the Royal Navy absolutely gutted the British battlegroup, which lost just under half its number to a numerically inferior force, as well as a fleet considered inferior to the Royal Navy in every way possible. The British public opinion of the United States sank immediately, with calls for revenge, and war permeating the less diciplined members of the Parliament.

Eventually with some heavy condemnation by the British Government, further war was avoided, but the strike at the Psyche of the British Empire had been dealt. The United States was not a backwards, isolated enemy it could hope to isolate and destroy. It was a Powerful nation that not only beat the Spanish heavily, but had risen the ranks to the point of challenging the Royal Navy. In the months following Christmas Ambush, also known as the Battle of the Carribbean Sea, the British officially called the 1904 Colonial Conference to discuss the true future of the Empire and the new rising threat of the United States.