Commonwealth of Nations

Formerly British Commonwealth An association comprising the United Kingdom, its dependencies, and many former British colonies that are now sovereign states, including Canada, Australia, India, and many West Indian and African countries. It was formally established by the Statute of Westminster in 1931.

Com′monwealth of Na′tions

n. a voluntary association of independent nations and their dependencies linked by historical ties as parts of the former British Empire and cooperating on matters of mutual concern. Formerly, British Commonwealth of Nations .

Thesaurus

Noun

Commonwealth of Nations - an association of nations consisting of the United Kingdom and several former British colonies that are now sovereign states but still pay allegiance to the British CrownBritish Commonwealthcommonwealth - a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one anotherCanada - a nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada; "the border between the United States and Canada is the longest unguarded border in the world"Australia, Commonwealth of Australia - a nation occupying the whole of the Australian continent; Aboriginal tribes are thought to have migrated from southeastern Asia 20,000 years ago; first Europeans were British convicts sent there as a penal colonyIndependent State of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea - a parliamentary democracy on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea; in 1975 it became an independent state within the Commonwealth of NationsEire, Ireland, Irish Republic, Republic of Ireland - a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1921Bharat, India, Republic of India - a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947New Zealand - an independent country within the British Commonwealth; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1907; known for sheep and spectacular sceneryRepublic of South Africa, South Africa - a republic at the southernmost part of Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1910; first European settlers were Dutch (known as Boers)

Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations,

voluntary association of Great Britain and its dependencies, certain former British dependencies that are now sovereign states and their dependencies, and the associated states (states with full internal government but whose external relations are governed by Britain); Mozambique and Rwanda are the only members never to have been under British authority even in part. At its foundation under the Statute of Westminster (see Westminster, Statutes ofWestminster, Statutes of,
in medieval English history, legislative promulgations made by Edward I in Parliament at Westminster. Westminster I (1275) practically constitutes a code of law; it covers a wide range, incorporating much unwritten law into the written code, and is a
..... Click the link for more information. ) in 1931, the Commonwealth was composed of Great Britain, Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland), Newfoundland (since 1949 part of Canada), New Zealand, and South Africa. Other sovereign members (in order of entry, with date) are or have been: India (1947), Pakistan (1947), Sri Lanka (as Ceylon, 1948), Ghana (1957), Malaysia (as Federation of Malaya, 1957), Nigeria (1960), Cyprus (1961), Sierra Leone (1961), Tanzania (as Tanganyika, 1961), Jamaica (1962), Trinidad and Tobago (1962), Uganda (1962), Kenya (1963), Malawi (1964), Malta (1964), Zambia (1964), The Gambia (1965), Singapore (1965), Guyana (1966), Botswana (1966), Lesotho (1966), Barbados (1966), Mauritius (1968), Eswatini (as Swaziland, 1968), Nauru (1968), Tonga (1970), Samoa (1970), Fiji (1970), Bangladesh (1972), Bahamas (1973), Grenada (1974), Papua New Guinea (1975), Seychelles (1976), Solomon Islands (1978), Tuvalu (1978), Dominica (1978), Saint Lucia (1979), Kiribati (1979), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979), Zimbabwe (1980), Vanuatu (1980), Belize (1981), Antigua and Barbuda (1981), Maldives (1982), Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983), Brunei (1984), Namibia (1990), Cameroon (1995), Mozambique (1995), and Rwanda (2009). Ireland, South Africa, Pakistan, Fiji, Zimbabwe, The Gambia, and Maldives all withdrew at some point, but South Africa, Pakistan, Fiji, and The Gambia have rejoined. In addition, Nigeria's membership was suspended (1995–99) because of the country's human-rights abuses; Sierra Leone was suspended (1997–98) when it was under military rule; Pakistan was suspended (1999–2004) following a military coup and (2007–8) following the imposition of emergency rule; Zimbabwe was suspended for a year following the widely criticized presidential election of 2002, and when the suspension was extended in 2003, Zimbabwe withdrew; and Fiji has been suspended several times following coups, most recently from 2009 (partially suspended from 2006) to 2014.

The purpose of the Commonwealth is consultation and cooperation. The sovereign members retain full authority in all domestic and foreign affairs, although Britain generally enjoys a traditional position of leadership in certain matters of mutual interest. There are economic ties in the fields of trade, investment, and development programs for new nations. A set of trade agreements (begun at the Ottawa Conference in 1932) between Britain and the other members gave preferential tariff treatment to many raw materials and manufactured goods that the Commonwealth nations sell in Britain, but the system of preferential tariffs was abandoned after Britain's entry into the European Community (now the European UnionEuropean Union
(EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community (EC), an economic and political confederation of European nations, and other organizations (with the same member nations)
..... Click the link for more information. ) in 1973. Periodically there are meetings of Commonwealth heads of government, but no collective decision made at these meetings is considered binding. In 1965 a Commonwealth secretariat was established, with headquarters in London.

See also British EmpireBritish Empire,
overseas territories linked to Great Britain in a variety of constitutional relationships, established over a period of three centuries. The establishment of the empire resulted primarily from commercial and political motives and emigration movements (see
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See J. D. B. Miller, The Commonwealth in the World (3d ed. 1965); N. Mansergh, The Commonwealth Experience (1969); W. R. Louis, The British Empire in the Middle East (1986); The Commonwealth Office Yearbook (annual, from 1987); R. J. Moore, Making the New Commonwealth (1987).

Commonwealth of Nations

(formerly the British Commonwealth of Nations), an association made up of Great Britain and its former colonies that have gained independence.

Legally established by the Statute of Westminster (1931), the Commonwealth of Nations originally consisted of Great Britain and its dominions—Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Newfoundland, and Ireland. All members were equal in legal status and united by “a common allegiance to the crown.” The Commonwealth was founded because the British bourgeoisie wanted to counterpose a “free association of sovereign nations” to the British Empire, which included colonies, protectorates, and vassal states.

The Commonwealth of Nations was originally a personal union—that is, the head of state of every dominion was the British sovereign, represented by his appointed governor-general. After World War II (1939–45) the Commonwealth changed considerably, losing its monarchical character in 1949, when India proclaimed itself a republic but expressed its intention of remaining in the Commonwealth. Later, several countries left the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth now includes not only the former British dominions, each of which recognizes the British monarch as head of state, but also countries with different forms of government and their own heads of state (for instance, Ghana, Kenya, and Sri Lanka). The semblance of common interests among Commonwealth members is maintained through periodic, purely consultative conferences of prime ministers and finance ministers and through several standing committees. Commonwealth members maintain diplomatic relations with each other through government-appointed high commissioners with ambassadorial rank, but diplomatic relations with other states are conducted in the usual manner.

The Commonwealth does not act as a unit in international affairs. The ties between its members are mainly symbolic. The unconditional right of each member to leave the association unilaterally has been exercised by Burma (1948), the Republic of Ireland (1949), and the Union of South Africa (1961). Great Britain’s special status in the Commonwealth is not defined by legal norms but derives from its economic, financial, and political relations with the other Commonwealth nations.

REFERENCES

Velikobritaniia. Moscow, 1972.
Speranskii, A. “Sodruzhestvo na sovremennom etape: dal’neishee usilenie tsentrobezhnykh tendentsii (k itogam Ottavskoi konferentsii 1973 g.).” In Mezhdunarodnyi ezhegodnik: Polilika iekonomika. Moscow, 1974.

Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

Com′monwealth of Na′tions

Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations,

Bibliography

Commonwealth of Nations

REFERENCES

Commonwealth of Nations

Synonyms for Commonwealth of Nations

noun an association of nations consisting of the United Kingdom and several former British colonies that are now sovereign states but still pay allegiance to the British Crown

Synonyms

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