A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the

common good In philosophy, Common good (economics), economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, common weal, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, o ...

. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth or the common wealth – echoed in the modern synonym "public wealth"), it comes from the old meaning of "

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...

", which is "well-being", and was deemed analogous to the Latin ''

res publica ', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations var ...

''. The term literally meant "common well-being". In the 17th century, the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "

public welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

" or "

commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Catholic-oriented magazin ...

" to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

democratic state Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

". The term evolved to become a title to a number of political entities. Three countries –

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, and

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

– have the official title "Commonwealth", as do four

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s and two

U.S. territories Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions and dependent territories overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations in th ...

. Since the early 20th century, the term has been used to name some fraternal associations of states, most notably the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

, an organisation primarily of former

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. It is also used in the translation for the organisation made up of formerly Soviet states, the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

Historical use

Rome

Translations of

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

writers' works to English have on occasion translated "''

Res publica ', also spelled ''rēs pūblica'' to indicate vowel length, is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the ''republic'', and '' commonwealth'' has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however, translations var ...

''", and variants thereof, to "the commonwealth", a term referring to the Roman state as a whole.

England

The

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

was the official name of the political unit (''de facto'' military rule in the name of parliamentary supremacy) that replaced the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

(after the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

) from 1649 to 1653 and 1659 to 1660, under the rule of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

and his son and successor

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

. From 1653 to 1659, although still legally known as a Commonwealth, the republic, united with the former

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

, operated under different institutions (at times as a ''de facto'' monarchy) and is known by historians as the

Protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

. 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 The Common Wealth Party (CW) was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom with parliamentary representation in the House of Commons from 1942 (the middle of the Second World War) until 1946. Thereafter CW continued to function, e ...

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.

Iceland

The period of Icelandic history from the establishment of the

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

in 930 to the pledge of fealty to the

Norwegian king The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdom ...

in 1262 is usually called the ''Icelandic Nation'' () in Icelandic and the ''

Icelandic Commonwealth The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing () in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. W ...

'' in English. In this period Iceland was colonized by a public consisting largely of recent immigrants from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

who had fled the unification of that country under

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

Philippines

The

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the ...

was the administrative body that governed the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1942 to 1945 when Japan occupied the country. It replaced the

Insular Government The Philippine Insular GovernmentThis form of the name appeared in the titles of US Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Administrative Code of the Phil ...

, a United States territorial government, and was established by the

Tydings–McDuffie Act The Philippine Independence Act, or Tydings–McDuffie Act (), is an Act of Congress that established the process for the Philippines, then a US territory, to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. Under the act, th ...

. 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 The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Poland–Lithuania

''Republic'' is still an alternative translation of the traditional name ''

Rzeczpospolita () is a traditional Polish term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "rzeczpospolita", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage" "thing, matter" and "common" is analogous to the Latin ''rēs pūblica' ...

'' of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek (; 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ens ...

(Vincent Kadlubo, 1160–1223) used for the first time the original Latin term ''

'' in the context of Poland in his "Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland". The name was used officially for the

confederal A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

union formed by

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lithuania (1569–1795). It is also often referred as "Golden Liberty, Nobles' Commonwealth" (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 elected kings, who were bound to certain contracts ''Pacta conventa (Poland), 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, Catalan: ''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 Australia, federation of the six Australian crown colony, crown colonies at the Constitutional Convention (Australia)#1891 convention, 1891 constitutional convention in Sydney. Its adoption was initially controversial, as it was associated by some with the republicanism of

(#England, see above), but it was retained in all subsequent drafts of the constitution. 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 States and territories of Australia, 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 Government of Australia, 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

has used the official style ''Commonwealth of Dominica'' since 1978.

Certain U.S. states and territories

States

Four U.S. state, states of the United States, United States of America officially designate themselves as "commonwealths". All four were part of British America, Great Britain's possessions along the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coast of North America prior to the American Revolution. As such, they share a strong influence of common law, English common law in some of their laws and institutions. The four are: * Kentucky is designated a commonwealth by the Kentucky Constitution as the "Commonwealth of Kentucky". * Massachusetts is a commonwealth, declaring itself as such in its constitution, which states: "[T]he 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" constitutionally and in its official title. * 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 Territories of the United States, organized but Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated U.S. territories are called commonwealths. The two are: * Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, since 1952 * Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, since 1978 In 2016, the Council of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. city council also selected "Douglass Commonwealth" as the potential name of Statehood movement in the District of Columbia, State of Washington, D.C., following the 2016 Washington, D.C. statehood referendum, 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

—formerly the British Commonwealth—is a voluntary association of 56 independent sovereign states, most of which were once part of the

. The Commonwealth's membership includes both republics and monarchies. The Head of the Commonwealth is King Charles III, who also reigns as monarch directly in the 15 member states known as Commonwealth realms since his accession in 2022.

Commonwealth of Independent States

The

(CIS) is a loose military alliance, alliance or confederation consisting of nine of the 15 Post-Soviet states, former Soviet Republics, the exceptions being Turkmenistan (a CIS associate member), Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, and Georgia (country), Georgia. Georgia (country), Georgia left the CIS in August 2008 following 2008 South Ossetia war, the 2008 invasion of the Russian 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 Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet Republics. The CIS has developed as a forum by which the member-states can co-operate in economics, Defence (military), 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 Party (UK), Labour MP Tony Benn sponsored a Commonwealth of Britain Bill several times between 1991 and 2001, intended to abolish the monarchy and establish a Republicanism in the United Kingdom, British republic. It never reached second reading.