Everything about Commonwealth totally explained
The
English noun
commonwealth dates from the
fifteenth century. The original phrase "common-wealth" or "the common weal" comes from the old meaning of "wealth," which is "well-being". The term literally meant "common well-being". Thus commonwealth originally meant a state or nation-state governed for the common good as opposed to an authoritarian state governed for the benefit of a given class of owners. The word was a
calque on the
Latin phrase
res publica meaning "public affairs" or "the state", from which the English word
republic arises.
Today the term is more general and means a
political community.
The type of community indicated by the term commonwealth varies.
For instance, in different contexts it might indicate:
When capitalized, "Commonwealth" normally refers to the 53 member
Commonwealth of Nations — formerly the "British Commonwealth" — a loose
confederation of nations formerly members of the
British Empire (with one exception:
Mozambique, which was a
Portuguese possession). The Commonwealth's membership includes both republics and monarchies and the (appointed, not hereditary) head of the Commonwealth of Nations is
Queen Elizabeth II. She also reigns as monarch directly in a number of states, known as
Commonwealth Realms, notably the
United Kingdom,
Australia,
Canada,
Jamaica and
New Zealand. The Commonwealth of Nations is sometimes referred to as the New Commonwealth in a British context.
Commonwealth of Independent States
The
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a loose
alliance or confederation consisting of 11 of the 15
former Soviet Republics, with the exception of Turkmenistan, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Its creation signaled the dissolution of the
Soviet Union, its purpose being to "allow a civilized divorce" between the
Soviet Republics. The CIS has developed as a forum by which the member-states can co-operate in
economics,
defense and
foreign policy.
National
Australia
The term also served when six Australian
colonies federated to form the
Commonwealth of Australia in
1901. The
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act created a federal system, in which power is divided between the federal, or national, government and the
States — the evolved status of the colonies. The Constitution stipulated that Australia was a
constitutional monarchy, where the
Head of State is the British (or, since 1973, Australian) monarch, who is represented at the federal level by a Governor-General, and at the state level by six Governors, one for each state. The
Parliament of Australia was derived from the British, Canadian and American systems to form a uniquely Australian system. It is largely based on the British
Westminster System, adopting many of its practices and precedents, but with a similar structure —
House of Representatives, and
Senate — to the U.S. Congress. In an Australian context, the term "Commonwealth" (capitalised) thus refers to the
federal government and "Commonwealth of Australia" is the official name of the country.
Dominica
The small
Caribbean republic of
Dominica has used the official style
Commonwealth of Dominica since
1970
Countries that formerly used the style Commonwealth
Great Britain
The
Commonwealth of England was the official name of the political unit (de facto military rule in the name of parliamentary supremacy) that replaced the kingdoms of
Scotland and
England (after the
English Civil War) under the rule of
Oliver Cromwell and his son and successor
Richard from
1649 to
1660. It formed the first
republic in the
English-speaking world, though this quickly evolved into a de facto monarchy. The Cromwellian Commonwealth is sometimes referred to as the Old Commonwealth in a British context.
Former Labour MP
Tony Benn introduced a
Commonwealth of Britain Bill several times, which would abolish the monarchy and establish a British republic. It has never reached a second reading.
Iceland
The
Icelandic Commonwealth or the
Icelandic Free State (Icelandic: Þjóðveldið) was the state existing in Iceland between the establishment of the
Althing in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the
Norwegian king in
1262. It was initially established by a public consisting largely of recent immigrants from
Norway who had fled the unification of that country under
King Harald Fairhair.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Commonwealth of Poland
Republic is still an alternative translation of the traditional name of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Wincenty Kadłubek (Vincent Kadlubo, 1160–1223) used for the first time the original Latin term
res publica in the context of Poland in his "Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland". The name was used officially for the confederal country formed by
Poland and
Lithuania 1569–1795.
It is also often referred as "
Nobles' Commonwealth" (1505–1795, for example before the union).
In contemporary political doctrine of
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, "our state is a Republic (Commonwealth) under presidency of the King". The commonwealth introduced a doctrine of religious tolerance (see
Warsaw Confederation), had its own parliament
Sejm (although elections were restricted to the gentry or
szlachta) and elected kings, who were bound to certain contracts
Pacta conventa from the beginning of the reign. The foundation stones of the Commonwealth (also called the Golden Freedoms) used to be
free election of the king
Pacta conventa, a binding pledge agreed to by the King on his election
rokosz, the right of rebellion against kings who didn't rule in accordance with their pledge
liberum veto (a later development), the right for a single representative to veto the entire proceedings of the Sejm
confœderatio (confederation), a military organisation of the citizens for the attainment of common political aims.
"A commonwealth of good counsaile" was the title of
the 1607 English translation of the work of Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki "De optimo senatore" that presented to English readers many of the ideas present in the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
United States
U.S. states
states in the United States officially designate themselves "commonwealths":
Kentucky is designated a Commonwealth by the Kentucky Constitution and is known as the "Commonwealth of Kentucky".
Massachusetts is a Commonwealth, declaring itself as such in its constitution, which states that "The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals: it's a social compact, by which the whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the common good."
Pennsylvania uses the term "Commonwealth" loosely. The "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" is its official title.
Virginia has been known as the "Commonwealth of Virginia" since before joining the United States.
U.S. insular areas
"Commonwealth" is also used in the U.S. to describe the political relationship between the United States and the overseas unincorporated territories:
Commonwealth of the Philippines — formed in 1935, and became independent in 1946.
Puerto Rico — formed in 1948.
Northern Mariana IslandsFurther Information
Get more info on 'Commonwealth'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://commonwealth.totallyexplained.com">Commonwealth Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
