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For other uses, see Commonwealth (disambiguation).
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic".
More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of sovereign nations, especially the Commonwealth of Nations, which succeeded the British Empire.

Contents

Etymology

The English noun commonwealth in the sense meaning "public welfare; general good or advantage" dates from the fifteenth century.[1] The original phrase "the common-wealth" or "the common weal" (echoed in the modern synonym "public weal") comes from the old meaning of "wealth," which is "well-being." The term literally meant "common well-being." In the seventeenth century the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "public welfare" or "commonweal," to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state."[2] Commonwealth can translate the Latin term res publica, a broad concept which is also sometimes translated as "public affairs" or "the state" in certain contexts. Res publica is the term from which the English word republic arises.

Historic usage

United Kingdom

.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 devolved into a de facto monarchy.^ His disappointment had quickly deepened into anger though, when it appeared that Murdoch was willing to do just that.
  • Lancer: Echoes of the Heart 15 September 2009 4:39 UTC peterbrown.tv [Source type: Original source]

 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 between 1991 and 2001, intended to 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

Main article: Rzeczpospolita
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, i.e. 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 did not 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.

International

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations — formerly the "British Commonwealth" — is a voluntary association of 54 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies with three exceptions, Mozambique (which was a Portuguese possession), Rwanda (which was a Belgian mandate) and Cameroon[3] (which was partly a German territory and partly French and British colony) plus the United Kingdom itself. The Commonwealth's membership includes both republics and monarchies. The 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, Barbados, 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 10 of the 15 former Soviet Republics, the exceptions being Turkmenistan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Georgia. Georgia left the CIS in August 2008 after a clash with Russia over South Osetia. 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 1942, 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.

The Bahamas

The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm, uses the official style Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

United States

U.S. states

Main article: Commonwealth (U.S. state)
Four states in the United States officially designate themselves as "commonwealths":
  • Massachusetts is a Commonwealth,[5] declaring itself as such in its constitution, which states that "The body politic is formed by a voluntary association of individuals: it is 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 "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" as its official title.[6]
  • Virginia has been known as the "Commonwealth of Virginia"[7] since before joining the United States.[1]

U.S. insular areas

Main article: Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)
"Commonwealth" is also used in the U.S. to describe the political relationship between the United States and the overseas unincorporated territories:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Commonwealth", Oxford English Dictionary (dictionary.oed.com), 1989, 2nd ed., http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50045157?query_type=word&queryword=commonwealth&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=Hr0v-iyV0EE-153&hilite=50045157, retrieved 13 March 2010 
  2. ^ " Better things were done, and better managed ... under a Commonwealth than under a King." Pepys, Diary (1667) "Commonwealth", Oxford English Dictionary (dictionary.oed.com), 1989, 2nd ed., http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50045157?query_type=word&queryword=commonwealth&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=Hr0v-iyV0EE-153&hilite=50045157, retrieved 13 March 2010 
  3. ^ http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookInternal/145151/history/
  4. ^ http://kentucky.gov: copyright 2009
  5. ^ http://www.mass.gov: copyright 2009
  6. ^ http://www.pa.gov: copyright 2009
  7. ^ http://www.virginia.gov: copyright 2009
  8. ^ http://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml: copyright 2009

External links


1911 encyclopedia

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From LoveToKnow 1911

COMMONWEALTH, a term generally synonymous with commonweal, i.e. public welfare, but more particularly signifying a form of government in which the general public have a direct voice. "The Commonwealth" is used in a special sense to denote the period in English history between the execution of Charles I. in 1649 and the Restoration in 1660. Commonwealth is also the official designation in America of the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. The Commonwealth of Australia is the title of the federation of Australian colonies carried out in 1900.


Wiktionary

Up to date as of January 15, 2010

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

See also commonwealth

English

Proper noun

Singular
Commonwealth or the Commonwealth
Plural
-
Commonwealth or the Commonwealth
  1. The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire.
    Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995, although it had not been a part of the British Empire.
    As a Commonwealth citizen, you are eligible to vote in United Kingdom elections.
  2. (Australian) Australia, the Commonwealth of Australia, often referring to its federal government.
    Mr. Martin was found guilty of defrauding the Commonwealth by making false welfare claims.
  3. (in Kentucky) Kentucky, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, often referring to its government.
  4. (in Massachusetts) Massachusetts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, often referring to its government.
  5. (in Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, often referring to its government.
  6. (in Virginia) Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, often referring to its government.

Translations

Commonwealth of Nations — see Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Australia — see Commonwealth of Australia

Simple English

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If a page link brought you here, you might want to go back and fix it so that it goes directly to the correct page.

A commonwealth is a group of people or of groups with a common aim to improve themselves, help each other and share knowledge and resources.

The word can refer to several organisations:

It is also part of the official name of some countries

or part of the official name of some US states and territories

  • The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. One reason for becoming a commonwealth was to show it wanted to improve itself, share ideas of democracy

In history the Commonwealth of England was the name of England between 1649 and 1660, when England had no king

Retrieved from "http://yak.rapint.com/wiki/Commonwealth"

Citable sentences

Up to date as of December 08, 2010

Here are sentences from other pages on Boston, which are similar to those in the above article.








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