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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Commonwealth
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(of Nations)
The loose association of independent countries which has emerged from the *British empire. The earliest recorded use of the phrase made the link long before it was a reality: in a speech in 1884 the earl of Rosebery declared that 'the British empire is a commonwealth of nations'. All the members except one (*Mozambique) were at one time colonies or dependencies of Britain.
The idea of the modern Commonwealth, that of consultation and cooperation between equals, was proposed in the Balfour Report of 1926 and formalized in the Statute of Westminster (1931). The main political forum is the Commonwealth Conference, a meeting of the prime ministers of all the member states which is held every two years. Trade advantages which had previously been given to fellow members had to end when Britain joined the *EC in 1973.
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It was taken for granted that all members would retain the British monarch as head of state, until *India in 1949 decided to become a republic but wished to remain in the Commonwealth. The solution adopted was that members should acknowledge the monarch as head of the Commonwealth. *Ireland (1949) and *South Africa (1961) have withdrawn; *Pakistan withdrew in 1972 and rejoined in 1989. The greatest tribute to the Commonwealth was paid by Nelson *Mandela when he brought the new democracy of South Africa rapidly back into the fold in 1994.
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