what are the british commonwealth countries

The Dominions and other territories of the British Empire gradually became fully independent of the United Kingdom. They all owed allegiance to the British king or queen, but the United Kingdom did not rule over them. This community was called the British Commonwealth of Nations or just the Commonwealth.

The 1926 Imperial Conference was attended by the leaders of Australia, Canada, India, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa.Īt the 1926 conference Britain and the Dominions agreed that they were all equal members of a community within the British Empire. Leaders of the Dominions attended conferences with Britain from 1887. Semi-independent countries were called Dominions. Over time different countries of the British Empire gained different levels of freedom from Britain. Its roots go back to the British Empire, when countries around the world were ruled by Britain. India, which was by title an empire in its own right, was left out, though it joined the Commonwealth after it was granted independence in 1947.The Commonwealth is one of the world’s oldest political associations of states. The declaration was formalized in the Statute of Westminster in 1931, officially recognizing the sovereign rights of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland. The Balfour Declaration, as the agreement was called, was the launching pad for the British Commonwealth of Nations. There, they agreed that all nations 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.' In the fall of 1926, prime ministers of Britain and its dominions, including Australia, Canada, India, and South Africa, gathered for a conference in London.

The Commonwealth was born out of the British Empire, heralding a new era of gradual independence for its former colonies - while still swearing loyalty to the crown. Queen Elizabeth II in Honiara, Solomon Islands, in 1982 as part of a Commonwealth Tour of South Pacific nations. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

What are the british commonwealth countries