*Barbados remains part of the Commonwealth despite its decision to become a republic. The first confusing thing about calling Puerto Rico a commonwealth is that the Commonwealth is an international organization made up of a group of 54 nations, most of which used to belong to Great Britain when she was a major colonial power. This meant Canada governed itself but only subject to British oversight and the monarch could veto laws and deals. The Commonwealth was a way for Britain to hold onto some of this power, with the British monarchy acting as the head of state for all members.Ĭanada was one of the first countries to start exploring how it could rule itself – mainly so it could independently trade with the US and develop its own defence forces.īritain did not want to risk a revolution and agreed to make Canada a dominion in 1867. Commonwealth states originally had language in their constitutions defining them as commonwealths. The Commonwealth became an official organisation in formed in December 1931, although its origins date back to the late 19th Century, when the British Empire covered around a fifth of the world’s land surface. The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, 4 is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. It was formerly an organisation linking all of the British Empire colonies, but as more nations gained their independence, the role of the Commonwealth changed and morphed into what is now a group of countries with a shared history who work together on trade, the environment, and human rights.
0 kommentar(er)
