A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century.
The term evolved to become a title to a number of political entities. Three countries – Australia, the Bahamas, and Dominica – have the official title "Commonwealth", as do four U.S. states and two U.S. territories. Since the early 20th century, the term has been used to name some associations of states, most notably the Commonwealth of Nations, an organisation primarily of former Territory of the British Empire. It is also used in the translation for the organisation made up of formerly Soviet states, the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Historical use
Rome
Translations of
Ancient Rome writers' works to English have on occasion translated "
Res publica", and variants thereof, to "the commonwealth", a term referring to the Roman state as a whole.
England
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 Kingdom of England (after the English Civil War) from 1649 to 1653 and 1659 to 1660, under the rule of
Oliver Cromwell and his son and successor
Richard Cromwell. From 1653 to 1659, although still legally known as a Commonwealth, the republic, united with the former Kingdom of Scotland, operated under different institutions (at times as a
de facto monarchy) and is known by historians as the
The Protectorate. In a British context, it is sometimes referred to as the "Old Commonwealth".
In the later 20th century a socialist political party known as the Common Wealth Party was active.[Ben Hughes, They shall not pass!: the British battalion at Jarama: the Spanish Civil War. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Pub., 2011. (p. 227).] Previously a similarly named party, the Commonwealth Land Party, was in existence.[Peter Barberis, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations]
Iceland
The period of Icelandic history from the establishment of the
Althing in 930 to the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king in 1262 is usually called the
Icelandic Nation () in Icelandic and the
Icelandic Commonwealth in English. In this period Iceland was colonized by a public consisting largely of recent immigrants from Norway who had fled the unification of that country under
King Harald Fairhair.
Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was the administrative body that governed the
Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 to 1945 when Japan occupied the country. It replaced the Insular Government, a United States territorial government, and was established by the Tydings–McDuffie Act. The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence, which was achieved in 1946. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a founding member of the
United Nations.
Poland–Lithuania
Republic is still an alternative translation of the traditional name
Rzeczpospolita 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
Confederation union formed by Poland and Lithuania (1569–1795).
It is also often referred as "Golden Liberty" (1505–1795, i.e., before the union). In the contemporary political doctrine of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, "our state is a Republic (or Commonwealth) under the presidency of the King". The Commonwealth introduced a doctrine of religious tolerance called Warsaw Confederation, had its own parliament Sejm (although elections were restricted to nobility and , who were bound to certain contracts Pacta conventa from the beginning of the reign).
"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.
Catalonia
Between 1914 and 1925,
Catalonia was an autonomous region of Spain. Its government during that time was given the title
mancomunidad (
Catalan language:
mancomunitat), which is translated into English as "commonwealth". The Commonwealth of Catalonia had limited powers and was formed as a federation of the four Catalan provinces. A number of Catalan-language institutions were created during its existence.
Liberia
Between 1838 and 1847,
Liberia was officially known as the "Commonwealth of Liberia". It changed its name to the "Republic of Liberia" when it declared independence (and adopted a new constitution) in 1847.
Current use
Australia
"Commonwealth" was first proposed as a term for a federation of the six Australian
crown colony at the 1891 constitutional convention in
Sydney. Its adoption was initially controversial, as it was associated by some with the republicanism of
Oliver Cromwell (see above), but it was retained in all subsequent drafts of the constitution.
[Helen Irving. Australian Federation – Civics and Citizenship Education. Retrieved 15 July 2015.] The term was finally incorporated into law in the
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which established the federation. Australia operates under a federal system, in which power is divided between the federal (national) government and the state governments (the successors of the six colonies). So, in an Australian context, the term "Commonwealth" (capitalised), which is often abbreviated to Cth, refers to the federal government, and "Commonwealth of Australia" is the official name of the country.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm, has used the official style
Commonwealth of The Bahamas since its independence in 1973.
Dominica
The small
Caribbean republic of
Dominica has used the official style
Commonwealth of Dominica since 1978.
Certain U.S. states and territories
States
Four states of the
United States officially designate themselves as "commonwealths". All four were part of
British America along the Atlantic coast of North America prior to the American Revolution. As such, they share a strong influence of
common law in some of their laws and institutions. The four are:
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Kentucky is designated a commonwealth by the Kentucky Constitution as the "Commonwealth of Kentucky".
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Massachusetts is a commonwealth,
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Pennsylvania uses the "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" constitutionally and in its official title.
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Virginia has been known as the "Commonwealth of Virginia" since before the American Revolutionary War, and is referred to as a commonwealth in its constitution.
Territories
Two organized but unincorporated U.S. territories are called commonwealths. The two are:
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Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, since 1952
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Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, since 1978
In 2016, the Washington, D.C. city council also selected "Douglass Commonwealth" as the potential name of State of Washington, D.C., following the 2016 statehood referendum, at least partially in order to retain the initials "D.C." as the state's abbreviation.
International bodies
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 independent sovereign states, most of which were once part of the
British Empire. The Commonwealth's membership includes both republics and monarchies. The Head of the Commonwealth is
Charles III, who also reigns as monarch in the 15 member states known as Commonwealth realms since his accession in 2022.
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a loose alliance or confederation consisting of nine of the 15 former Soviet Republics, the exceptions being
Turkmenistan (a CIS associate member),
Lithuania,
Latvia,
Estonia,
Ukraine, and Georgia. Georgia left the CIS in August 2008 following the 2008 invasion of the
military into
South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. Its creation signalled the dissolution of the
Soviet Union, its purpose being to "allow a civilised divorce" between the Soviet Republics. The CIS has developed as a forum by which the member-states can co-operate in
economics, defence, and
foreign policy.
[Constantine, Michalopoulos, and Tarr David. "The economics of customs unions in the Commonwealth of Independent States." Post-Soviet Geography and Economics 38, no. 3 (1997): 125-143.]
Proposed use
United Kingdom
Labour MP
Tony Benn sponsored a Commonwealth of Britain Bill several times between 1991 and 2001, intended to abolish the monarchy and establish a British republic. It never reached
second reading.
See also
External links
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Commonwealth of Nations
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Commonwealth of Independent States
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Countries
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United States
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Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
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Commonwealth New
