What does the term Commonwealth mean in term of the English?

Question

During the reign of King James I of England, its stated two commonwealth people along side him, Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell. What is a commonwealth, who is in charge. Take a look at the link, which has the timeline I'm looking at. Notice the commonwealth is in Blue.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/rkslperez04/monarchytimeline.jpg

Answer 1

thank you 'absolutelycats' couldn't have put it better myself .. and I was halfway through answering

Answer 2

Go to http://www.royal.gov/uk

Click on Monarchy Today and then find the link about The Commonwealth;the introduction looks like this:

The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 53 independent countries.

From Antigua to Zambia, the Commonwealth is a remarkable international organisation, spanning every geographical region, religion and culture. It exists to foster international co-operation and trade links between people all over the world.

Some countries within the Commonwealth have The Queen as their Sovereign, whilst remaining independent in the conduct of their own affairs. They are known as Commonwealth realms.

The Queen and the Royal Family retain close links with the Commonwealth realms, and with other members of the worldwide Commonwealth organisation.

Read more about the Commonwealth organisation, and The Queen's realms, in this section of the web site.

The overview reads:

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent countries, almost all of which were formerly under British rule.

The origins of the Commonwealth come from Britain's former Empire. Many of the members of the Commonwealth were territories which had historically come under British rule at various times by settlement, conquest or cession. The administration of such colonies evolved in different ways, to reflect the different circumstances of each territory.

After achieving independence, India was the first of a number of countries which decided that, although they wished to become republics, they still wanted to remain within the Commonwealth.

To reconcile these aims, the 1949 London Declaration recognised the British Sovereign as a symbol of association between independent member nations and as Head of the Commonwealth. George VI was the first to hold this title.

There are 53 countries in the Commonwealth.

1.8 billion people in the world are a member of a Commonwealth country. That's over 30% of the world's population.

Over 50% of the Commonwealth are aged under 25.

Today, member countries remain entirely responsible for their own government and policies, but choose to consult and co-operate in certain areas such as strengthening democracy, promoting human rights and working for the social and economic development of poorer countries.

A lot of the strength of the Commonwealth is derived from its non-governmental and informal links, such as teacher-training schemes, youth ministries, distance education, science and environmental projects, shared sports and arts festivals. This means that it is as much a commonwealth of peoples as of governments.

Since the beginning, membership of the Commonwealth has been open to any independent state which was once ruled or administered by Britain or other Commonwealth countries, and which recognises The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth. The exception is Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, which joined the Commonwealth in 1995.

Almost all countries, when they became independent of the United Kingdom, have chosen to join the Commonwealth but, since the link is entirely voluntary, any member can withdraw at any time. The Republic of Ireland did so in 1949, as did South Africa in 1961 (rejoining in 1994), and Zimbabwe in 2003.

After nearly 60 years of its existence, the Commonwealth is a remarkable organisation which remains a major force for change in the world today.

You can then read about The Queen's involvement by going through each section.

Answer 3

The English noun commonwealth dates originally 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 word 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:

a political unit founded in law by agreement of the people for the common good;

a federated union of constituent states;

a community of sovereign states;

a republic;

a democratic constitutional monarchy;