| 1625 | Commission of Trade created by Charles I to administer the colonies |
| 1634 | Commission of Trade renamed the "Commission for Foreign Plantations" |
| 1643 | the Commission for Foreign Plantations succeeded by the Parliamentary Commission for Plantations |
| 1660 | privy councillors form the Lords of Trade and Plantations to replace the PCP |
| 1696 | privy councillors function as the Board of Trade and Plantations |
| 1782-1801 | colonial affairs under the direction of the Home Office |
| 1801 | establishment of an embryonic Colonial Office |
| 1825 | the Colonial Office is divided into five departments: General; North America; West Indies; Australia; Africa and the Med |
| 1854 | a Colonial Secretary is officially designated for the first time |
| 1907 | establishment of a Dominions Department (functioned until 1925) |
| 1925 | a new Dominions Office relieves the Colonial Office of responsibility for Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and Southern Rhodesia |
[adapted from Alan Palmer, Dictionary of the British Empire and Commonwealth]