what countries are in the british commonwealth

They also sought free trade with their southern neighbor.Īnxious not to stoke another revolution like the one it had lost nearly a century earlier, Britain agreed to its colonists’ terms in July 1867. The territories-Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada- feared possible aggression from the United States and wanted to establish their own defense forces. In 1864 representatives from the three British colonies in modern-day Canada began to negotiate merging into one self-governing confederation. Queen Victoria, whose reign was critical to consolidating the empire, became Empress of India in 1877.īut even as the empire expanded, some of its colonies grew frustrated with imperial oversight. Its holdings spanned from Hong Kong to the Caribbean to a wide swath of southern and East Africa. The Commonwealth of Nations was born out of the slow disintegration of the British Empire, which covered a fifth of the world’s surface at its peak in the late 19th century. “It is a final step to complete the circle of independence to become a truly sovereign nation.” “This is not an act of hostility, or any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy,” Gaston Browne, prime minister of the Caribbean nation, told ITV News. One Commonwealth realm, however, also announced its intention to hold a referendum on whether to remove the British monarch as its head of state. ( Here’s what happens now that Queen Elizabeth II has passed.) In the days after the queen’s death, the leaders of those nations-including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand- issued proclamations declaring their loyalty to Elizabeth’s heir, Charles III, as their official head of state. The death of Queen Elizabeth II set into motion a historic transition of power-not just in Great Britain but in 54 countries across the world that maintain ties to the royal family as members of the Commonwealth of Nations, an international organization composed mainly of former British colonies.Ĭhange was felt most keenly among the 14 members known as Commonwealth realms, which still recognize the British monarch as their head of state.

What countries are in the british commonwealth