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*Tracing Your Roots > Caribbean > Migration
* General Correspondence 
 
These records were created and collected in the Foreign Office and comprise drafts of letters sent out from the Foreign Office and original letters and reports received from British subjects and officials abroad.

The records are arranged by departments that had responsibility for different matters, for example:

  • Diplomatic department with responsibility for Britain's political influence in foreign countries and international matters such as health, energy, refugees and aid
  • Consular department, which touches upon more local and personal matters such as welfare, administration of estates of deceased British subjects, wills, distressed British subjects and the activities of individuals including births, marriages and deaths
  • Treaty department, which touches upon effects of treaties on British subjects such as passport regulations, naturalisation, deportation and extradition
  • Commercial department, which looked at matters affecting trade and Britain's businesses overseas
Information relating to West Indian migrants will usually be found in the records of the consular and treaty departments.

Until 1906 the records of the Foreign Office are arranged by country, then by date and then by Foreign Office department.

From 1906 there are separate series for each department; for example, FO 371 for diplomatic department files, FO 369 for consular department files and FO 372 for treaty department files.

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Creators: Guy Grannum

 
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