A snapshot of the origins of the Commonwealth
Beginnings of the Commonwealth
When World War I broke out in 1914, the United Kingdom had declared war on behalf of the Empire without consulting the dominions. After the end of the war, in 1919, the dominions put their signatures to the peace treaty and were accepted as full members of the League of Nations. The Imperial Conference of 1926 defined Great Britain and the dominions as ‘autonomous communities’, so began the shift from British Empire to British Commonwealth.
Equal members
The first formalised stage of departure from empire was the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which established the independence of the Dominions, creating a group of equal members, where previously the United Kingdom had been paramount.
The Head of the Commonwealth
In December 1949, the London Declaration created the institution we know today – a global partnership of equals, bound by a set of guiding principles based on equality and co-operation.
The Declaration established King George VI as Head of the Commonwealth, a title he did not inherit and could not be passed automatically to his heir. Thus it made the monarch head of state in person, importantly not the institution of the crown.
This enabled India to join as a republic, bringing half the Commonwealth’s population with her and enabling other republics to join too. Currently of the 53 countries in the Commonwealth, 32 are republics, so have their own head of state, but acknowledge the queen as Head of the Commonwealth.
When Elizabeth ascended to the throne, there was nothing to say she should succeed George VI as head of the Commonwealth. However, within hours of her accession, the Indian Prime Minister Nehru sent a telegram “welcoming your Majesty as the new Head of the Commonwealth”. Though it was not necessarily so, Nehru’s telegram had the effect of making it so.
No formal constitution
The Commonwealth differs from other international bodies in that it has no formal constitution or bylaws. The members are held together by shared traditions, institutions, and experiences as well as by economic self-interest.
Racial equality
At the Singapore Conference of 1961, members declared that racial equality would be one of the cornerstones of the new Commonwealth. The immediate result of this was the withdrawal of South Africa's re-application, which it was required to lodge before becoming a republic, as its government's apartheid policies clearly contradicted the principle.
Further political values and principles
In 1971, a further 14 points clarified the political freedom of its members, and dictated the core principles (although non-binding) of the Commonwealth: world peace, liberty, human rights, equality, and free trade.
New members
Ghana and Malaya joined in 1957; Nigeria, 1960; and Cyprus, Sierra Leone, and Tanganyika, 1961. South Africa left in 1961 after other members condemned its racial policies. Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda joined in 1962.
Belize and Antigua became independent in 1981. The Maldives became a full member in 1985. The last of the British associated states in the Commonwealth, Saint Kitts and Nevis, gained full independence in 1983.
South Africa re-joined in 1994, whereas countries like Fiji and Pakistan have been suspended for their poor records on democracy and human rights.
The Commonwealth has begun admitting some countries, and contemplating others that have never had any attachment to the British Empire. For example, Mozambique and Cameroon, while Rwanda, Algeria, Yemen and Sudan have enquired, as have Israel and Palestine.
Today the Commonwealth embraces roughly a third of the world’s population, an estimated 2 billion people. Though of course, that’s largely thanks to India, again.
