Historians, a legacy of suspicion and the ‘migrated archives’

Abstract

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office charged the author of this article with the review and transfer of a large archive of colonial-era records, stored for many years at a government site at Hanslope Park near Milton Keynes, into the public domain by way of the National Archives at Kew. The discovery of this archive has raised considerable controversy in the press and bears on current court cases underway by alleged victims of violence meted out by colonial governments in places such as Kenya. This short essay examines the history of the unveiling and ongoing transfer of the treasure trove of colonial-era archival material.

Keywords:

• Hanslope Park
• Mau Mau
• National Archives, Kew
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Notes

1. The best account of the history of the migrated archive, on which I have relied heavily, is an excellent investigation by Sir Anthony Cary for the FCO: ‘The Migrated Archives’. I have drawn conclusions that Sir Anthony may not share.

2. The timetable for transfer is available at http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/colonial-administration/.

3. I am very grateful for the comments of Dr Hampshire, who has reviewed all the documents transferred in the first tranche, made at briefings at the FCO (13 April 2012) and TNA (16 April 2012).

4. Anderson, ‘Mau Mau in the High Court’.

5. Elkins, ‘The Colonial Papers’.

6. Drayton, ‘Britain's Secret Archive’.