The finance required for development broadly came from four sources. The UK government and later international organizations provided aid in the form of loans and grants. The private sector invested large sums in businesses based in the colonies. Colonial governments financed projects using their own resources, and funds were obtained through the Crown Agents. Money via the Agents came from the public issue of loans in the London market, the sale of stock in the same market, inter-colonial loans and advances from the Joint Colonial Fund (JCF) and the Joint Miscellaneous Fund (JMF), investment Funds managed by the CAs. This chapter concentrates on the public flotation of colonial stock, an activity that has never previously been investigated. The various other means of obtaining development funds are discussed in the following chapter.

From 1914 to 1968, 84 public loans were floated with a total value of £267.5m and an average size of £3.2m (Figure 1.1). Issues peaked in the aftermath of the two world wars, when colonies undertook development projects and maintenance that had been postponed during the war years, and in the early 1950s, when the realization that independence would reduce the appeal of their loans prompted many colonies to take advantage of their colonial status and issue stock. By contrast, few issues were floated during the inter-war slump, during which the fall in commodity prices halted the construction of public works, nor from the mid-1950s, when the approach of independence and the concurrent increase in risk reduced investor demand for colonial securities.