The British Empire and The Commonwealth of Nations

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The British Empireand The Commonwealth of
Nations
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The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire

• The building of the Empire began with a sea
  voyage to North America in 1497.
• The arms of the Empire stretched far and wide.
• Because it was so widespread, it would always be
  daylight in some part.

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The Union Jack
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Flag Quiz
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Flag Quiz...answers

• The Union Jack
• The New Zealand Flag
• The Australian Flag
• The Fiji Flag

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The British Empire

• was the largest empire in history.
• was for a substantial time the foremost global
  power.
• was a product of the European age of discovery,
  which began with the maritime explorations of the
  15th century, that started the era of the
  European colonial empires.
• During the five decades following World War II,
  most of the territories of the Empire became
  independent.
• Many went on to join the Commonwealth of Nations,
  a free association of independent states.

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The Commonwealth of Nations engages in work to
promote international understanding and world
peace. The citizens of the Commonwealth are
drawn from the broadest range of faiths, races,
cultures and traditions.
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Flag of the Commonwealth of Nations
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World map The Commonwealth of Nations 2006
Current member states are coloured blue
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The Commonwealth

• is a group of fifty-three of the world's
  countries.
• countries used to be part of the British Empire.
• has a combined population of 1.9 billion people.
• has about a quarter of the worlds total
  population.
• has over twice as many people as the whole of the
  Americas (North and South) put together.
• Of the 1.9 billion people, 1.4 billion live in
  the Indian Subcontinent.
• 93 live in Asia or Africa.

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Flags of the members of the Commonwealth in Horse
Guards Road next to the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office in London.
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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Declarations and Statements

• The Commonwealth does not have a written
  constitution.
• It does have a series of agreements.
• Declarations or Statements have been issued at
  various Commonwealth Heads of Government
  Meetings.
• The first, fundamental statement was issued at
  the 1971 summit in Singapore.
• The Declaration of Commonwealth Principles
  stresses the need to foster
• international peace and security
• democracy
• liberty of the individual and equal rights for
  all
• the importance of eradicating poverty, ignorance
  and disease
• it opposes all forms of racial discrimination.

• Foreign Office Grand Staircase

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Queen Elizabeth is Head of the Commonwealth

• The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth, is a symbol
  of the free association of independent states.
• Republics could be members - they could accept
  the monarch as Head of the Commonwealth without
  her being their own Head of State.
• When Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952 she
  became Head of the Commonwealth.
• Today the Queen is Head of State in 16 of the 53
  Commonwealth member countries
• When the Queen dies or if she abdicates, her heir
  will not automatically become Head of the
  Commonwealth.
• The Queen has laid considerable stress on her
  role as Head of the Commonwealth, and made a
  great contribution to the association.

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Her Majestys Government Coat of Arms
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The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• Her Majestys Principal Secretary of State for
  Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, is a member of
  the British Government.
• He/she is responsible for relations with foreign
  countries.
• He/she heads the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
  
• Current Foreign Secretary
• David Miliband

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Current Members

• Africa
• Botswana (1966)
• Cameroon (1995)
• Gambia (1965)
• Ghana (1957)
• Kenya (1963)
• Lesotho (1966)
• Malawi (1964)
• Mauritius (1968)
• Mozambique (1995)
• Namibia (1990)
• Nigeria (1960 suspended in 1995 readmitted in
  1999)
• Seychelles (1976)
• Sierra Leone (1961)
• South Africa (1931 left in 1961 rejoined in
  1994)
• Swaziland (1968)
• Tanzania (1961)
• Uganda (1962)
• Zambia (1964)

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Current Members

• Asia
• Bangladesh (1972)
• Brunei (1984)
• India (1947)
• Malaysia (1957 as Malaya Malaysia since 1963)
• Maldives (1982)
• Pakistan (1947 left in 1972 rejoined 1989
  suspended in 1999 readmitted in 2004)
• Singapore (1965)
• Sri Lanka (1948)

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Current Members

• Oceania
• Australia (1931 ratified in 1942)
• Kiribati (1979)
• Nauru (1968)
• New Zealand (1931 ratified in 1947)
• Papua New Guinea (1975)
• Samoa (1970)
• Solomon Islands (1978)
• Tonga (1970)
• Tuvalu (1978)
• Vanuatu (1980)

• Europe
• Cyprus (1961)
• Malta (1964)
• United Kingdom (1931)

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Current Members

• North America
• Antigua and Barbuda (1981)
• Bahamas (1973)
• Barbados (1966)
• Belize (1981)
• Canada (1931)
• Dominica (1978)
• Grenada (1974)
• Jamaica (1962)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983)
• Saint Lucia (1979)
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979)
• Trinidad and Tobago (1962)

• South America
• Guyana (1966)