Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire.

Origins

Although performing a vastly different function, the Commonwealth is the successor of the British Empire. In 1884, whilst visiting Adelaide, South Australia, Lord Rosebery described the changing British Empire, as its former colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations". The formal organisation of the Commonwealth has its origins in the Imperial Conferences of the late 1920s (conferences of British and colonial Prime Ministers had occurred periodically since 1887), where the independence of the self-governing colonies and especially of Dominions was recognized, particularly in the Balfour Declaration at the Imperial Conference in 1926, when the United Kingdom and its dominions agreed they were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". This relationship was eventually formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931.

Related Topics:
British Empire - 1884 - Adelaide - South Australia - Lord Rosebery - Imperial Conferences - 1920s - Prime Ministers - 1887 - Self-governing colonies - Dominions - Balfour Declaration - Statute of Westminster - 1931

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After World War II, the Empire was gradually dismantled, partly owing to the rise of independence movements in the then-subject territories (such as that started in India under the influence of the pacifist Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mohandas Gandhi), and partly owing to the British Government's strained circumstances resulting from the cost of the war. The word "British" was dropped in 1946 from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect the changing position. Burma (1948) and Aden (1967) are the only former colonies not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Among the former protectorates and mandates, Egypt (1953), Israel (1948), Iraq (1932), Bahrain (1971), Jordan (1946), Kuwait (1961) and Oman (1971) never became members of the Commonwealth. The Republic of Ireland was a member but left the Commonwealth upon becoming a republic in 1949. However, the Ireland Act 1949 was passed by the Parliament of Westminster and gave citizens of the Republic of Ireland a status similar to that of other citizens of the Commonwealth in UK law.

Related Topics:
World War II - India - Mohammad Ali Jinnah - Mohandas Gandhi - Burma - 1948 - Aden - 1967 - Protectorate - Mandates - Egypt - Israel - Iraq - Bahrain - Jordan - Kuwait - Oman - Republic of Ireland - Republic - 1949 - Ireland Act 1949 - Parliament of Westminster - UK law

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The issue of republican status within the Commonwealth was only resolved in 1950 when it was agreed according to a formula proposed by Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent that India could remain a Commonwealth member despite adopting her present republican constitution. This decision, set out in the London Declaration, provided for members to accept the British monarch as Head of the Commonwealth regardless of their domestic constitutional arrangements, and is now considered by many to be the start of the modern Commonwealth.

Related Topics:
Republic - 1950 - Canadian Prime Minister - Louis St. Laurent - Head of the Commonwealth

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As the Commonwealth grew, the United Kingdom and the former "white Dominions" became informally known as the White Commonwealth (or the "Old Commonwealth"), particularly when they differed with poorer, predominantly non-white Commonwealth members over various issues at Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings. Accusations that the "White Commonwealth" has different interests from African Commonwealth nations in particular, as well as charges of racism and colonialism, were frequent during debates concerning Rhodesia in the 1970s, the imposition of sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa in the 1980s and, more recently, over the issue of whether to press for democratic reforms in Nigeria and then Zimbabwe.

Related Topics:
White Commonwealth - Commonwealth Heads of Government - Racism - Colonialism - Rhodesia - 1970 - Sanction - Apartheid - 1980 - Nigeria - Zimbabwe

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