Commonwealth Day

The term Commonwealth of Nations, first used in 1884After the British Empire lost 13 American colonies, leaving behind Canada, India, some possessions in the West Indies and a number of scattered and remote settlements, two political lines emerged in the mother country. The first was aimed at expanding British influence in India and the Far East. The second line, along with the expansion of this influence (in the interests of British industry and in order to save public spending), allowed the development of self-government in the colonies to prevent a repeat of the War of Independence of the North American colonies.

Britain regarded each colony as a relatively independent entity, with the local government having the power to pursue an independent policy. This attitude encouraged the development of parliamentary forms of government in the colonies and the establishment of the rule of law, facilitated by the spread of English and its use in the administrative sphere and in the educational system.

The First World War was a turning point in the development of the Commonwealth. Britain declared war on behalf of the entire empire without consulting the colonies; however, the dominions were still represented in the imperial war cabinets and conferences.

The resolution of the Imperial Conference of 1917 recognized that the Dominions had a say in the foreign policy of the Empire and that further cooperation would be based on "constant consultation and joint action." Proceeding from this, the general course of foreign policy was pursued both during the war and at the conclusion of peace.

The new focus on the relative independence of the Dominions in foreign policy was symbolically expressed in the act of signing the Treaty of Versailles by the Dominions and India.

The nature of the association changed with the status of its members. The term "Commonwealth of Nations", first used in 1884, has been widely used since 1917, denoting the association of Great Britain, Canada, the Union of South Africa, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland (which lost its dominion status in 1933 as a result of the economic crisis, and in 1949 became Canada's tenth province).