what countries are in the british commonwealth

However, it reverts to direct British rule in 1934 and integrates the federation of Canada in 1949.Ĭolonial Conferences become Imperial Conferences.

Newfoundland, which had achieved self-government in 1855, also becomes a Dominion. It had achieved responsible government in 1852. They had achieved responsible government in 1856.ġ902 : A resolution is passed at the Colonial Conference that conferences will be held on a four-yearly basis.ġ907: New Zealand is granted the status of Dominion. Colonial Conferences are informal and deliberative-only forums for periodic consultation over the non-constitutional issues of defence and trade.ġ901: The Australian colonies become a federation (The Commonwealth of Australia) and are granted the status of Dominion. It was to be understood as a community founded on freedom.ġ887: The first Colonial Conference is held. The term “Commonwealth” was first used by British Liberal politician Lord Rosebery in Adelaide, Australia, in 1884 and the concept was revived in the 1910s by Imperial Federalist Lionel Curtis to denote a state based on self-government. It consisted of a decentralised system of colonies, protectorates and other territories which were brought under the sovereignty of the British Crown and the administration of the British government.īritain’s policy of gradually granting significant degrees of self-government to its colonies of white settlement, which acknowledged an increasingly symbolic British sovereignty and were given a differential treatment from the non-white colonies, led to the development of the concept of a “Commonwealth of Nations”.

The British Empire then comprised nearly one-quarter of the world’s land surface and more than one-quarter of its total population. By the end of the 19th century, Great Britain had extended its power to an unprecedented scale.

What countries are in the british commonwealth