Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914), British statesman, known as a champion of imperialism in foreign affairs and of social reform in domestic matters.

Born in London, on July 8, 1836, Chamberlain entered the family business at the age of 16. Two years later he moved to Birmingham, where he prospered as a manufacturer and retired, a wealthy man, at the age of 38. His political career began in 1873, when he was elected lord mayor of Birmingham. As such, he presided over slum clearance and the takeover by the city of its gas and water services.

Chamberlain entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1876. Four years later he became president of the Board of Trade in the second Cabinet of William Ewart Gladstone, where his awakening interest in imperial policy led him to advocate partial home rule for Ireland. His plan, however, was acceptable neither to Gladstone nor the Irish and resulted in his resignation in 1885: he left Gladstone's next Cabinet the following year over the same issue. When he returned to office again, he was secretary of state for the colonies in the Conservative Cabinet of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury.

Although Chamberlain retained his zeal for domestic reform, sponsoring such laws as the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1897, he soon made his mark in office as a champion of Britain's imperial interests. His handling of South African affairs just before the South African War (Boer War) (1899-1902) was bitterly attacked by some, while ardently admired by others. Most controversial was the question of his complicity in the Jameson Raid of 1895 and other aggressive acts leading to the war. He was, however, acquitted by Parliament of all charges. After the war he set a precedent by personally visiting the South African colonies as secretary of state. His subsequent colonial policies were designed to tighten the economic bonds of the British Empire, but his programme of so-called imperial preference, which proposed an end to the free trade tradition, was unpopular. He suffered a paralytic stroke in 1906 and remained an invalid until his death, on July 2, 1914.