Dominions were semi-independent polities under the British Crown,
constituting the British Empire, beginning with Canadian Confederation
in 1867.[1][2] They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State, and then from
the late 1940s also India, Pakistan, and
Ceylon
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The
Balfour Declaration of 1926
Balfour Declaration of 1926 recognised the Dominions as "autonomous
Communities within the British Empire", and the 1931 Statute of
Westminster confirmed their full legislative independence.
Earlier usage of dominion to refer to a particular territory dates to
the 16th century and was used to describe
Wales
Wales from 1535 to 1801 and
New England between 1686 and 1689.
Contents
1 Definition
1.1 "His/Her Majesty's dominions"
2 Historical development
2.1 Overseas dominions
2.2 Responsible government: precursor to
Dominion
Dominion status
2.3 Canadian
Confederation
Confederation and evolution of the term Dominion
2.4 Colonial Conference of 1907
2.5
First World War
First World War and Treaty of Versailles
2.6 Irish Free State
2.7
Balfour Declaration of 1926
Balfour Declaration of 1926 and Statute of Westminster
3 Dominions
3.1 List of Dominions
3.2 Australia
3.3 Canada
3.4 Ceylon
3.5 India,
Pakistan
Pakistan and Bangladesh
3.6
Irish Free State
Irish Free State / Ireland
3.7 Newfoundland
3.8 New Zealand
3.9 South Africa
3.10 Southern Rhodesia
4 Foreign relations
5 From Dominions to Commonwealth realms
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
Definition[edit]
Map of the British
Empire
Empire under
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria at the end of the
nineteenth century. "Dominions" refers to all territories belonging to
the Crown.
At the outset, a distinction must be made between a British "dominion"
and British "Dominions". The use of a capital "D" when referring to
the 'British Dominions' was required by the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom government
in order to avoid confusion with the wider term "His Majesty's
dominions" which referred to the British
Empire
Empire as a whole.[3]
All territories forming part of the British
Empire
Empire were British
dominions but only some were British Dominions. At the time of the
adoption of the Statute of Westminster, there were six British
Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland,
and the Irish Free State. At the same time there were many other
jurisdictions that were British dominions, for example Cyprus. The
Order in Council annexing the island of
Cyprus
Cyprus in 1914 declared that,
from 5 November, the island "shall be annexed to and form part of His
Majesty's dominions".[4][5]
Use of dominion to refer to a particular territory dates back to the
16th century and was sometimes used to describe
Wales
Wales from 1535 to
around 1800: for instance, the Laws in
Wales
Wales Act 1535 applies to "the
Dominion, Principality and Country of Wales".[6] Dominion, as an
official title, was conferred on the
Colony of Virginia
.svg/250px-Red_Ensign_of_Great_Britain_(1707-1800).svg.png)
Colony of Virginia about 1660 and
on the
Dominion of New England
Dominion of New England in 1686. These dominions never had full
self-governing status. The creation of the short-lived
Dominion
Dominion of New
England was designed—contrary to the purpose of later dominions—to
increase royal control and to reduce the colony's self-government.
Under the
British North America
British North America Act 1867, what is now eastern Canada
received the status of "Dominion" upon the
Confederation
Confederation of several
British possessions in North America. However, it was at the Colonial
Conference of 1907 when the self-governing colonies of
Canada
Canada and the
Commonwealth of
Australia
Australia were referred to collectively as Dominions
for the first time.[7] Two other self-governing colonies—New Zealand
and Newfoundland—were granted the status of
Dominion
Dominion in the same
year. These were followed by the
Union of South Africa
.svg/250px-Red_Ensign_of_South_Africa_(1910–1912).svg.png)
Union of South Africa in 1910 and the
Irish Free State
Irish Free State in 1922. At the time of the founding of the League of
Nations in 1924, the League Covenant made provision for the admission
of any "fully self-governing state, Dominion, or Colony",[8] the
implication being that "
Dominion
Dominion status was something between that of
a colony and a state".[9]
Dominion
Dominion status was formally defined in the Balfour Declaration of
1926, which recognised these countries as "autonomous Communities
within the British Empire", thus acknowledging them as political
equals of the United Kingdom. The Statute of Westminster 1931
converted this status into legal reality, making them essentially
independent members of what was then called the British Commonwealth.
Following the Second World War, the decline of British colonialism led
to Dominions generally being referred to as Commonwealth realms and
the use of the word dominion gradually diminished. Nonetheless, though
disused, it remains Canada's legal title[10] and the phrase Her
Majesty's Dominions is still used occasionally in legal documents in
the United Kingdom.[11]
"His/Her Majesty's dominions"[edit]
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The phrase His/Her Majesty's dominions is a legal and constitutional
phrase that refers to all the realms and territories of the Sovereign,
whether independent or not. Thus, for example, the British Ireland
Act, 1949, recognised that the
Republic
Republic of Ireland had "ceased to be
part of His Majesty's dominions". When dependent territories that had
never been annexed (that is, were not colonies of the Crown, but were
League of Nations
League of Nations mandates, protectorates or United Nations Trust
Territories) were granted independence, the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom act
granting independence always declared that such and such a territory
"shall form part of Her Majesty's dominions", and so become part of
the territory in which the Queen exercises sovereignty, not merely
suzerainty. The later sense of "Dominion" was capitalised to
distinguish it from the more general sense of "dominion".[3]
Historical development[edit]
Overseas dominions[edit]
The word dominions originally referred to the possessions of the
Kingdom of England. Oliver Cromwell's full title in the 1650s was
"Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland,
and the dominions thereto belonging". In 1660, King Charles II gave
the
Colony of Virginia
Colony of Virginia the title of dominion in gratitude for
Virginia's loyalty to the Crown during the English Civil War.[citation
needed] The Commonwealth of Virginia, a State of the United States,
still has "the Old Dominion" as one of its nicknames.
Dominion
Dominion also
occurred in the name of the short-lived
Dominion
Dominion of New England
(1686–1689). In all of these cases, the word dominion implied no
more than being subject to the English Crown.[citation needed]
Responsible government: precursor to
Dominion
Dominion status[edit]
Main articles:
Responsible government
Responsible government and Self-governing colony
The foundation of "Dominion" status followed the achievement of
internal self-rule in British Colonies, in the specific form of full
responsible government (as distinct from "representative government").
Colonial responsible government began to emerge during the mid-19th
century. The legislatures of Colonies with responsible government were
able to make laws in all matters other than foreign affairs, defence
and international trade, these being powers which remained with the
Parliament of the United Kingdom. Bermuda, notably, was never defined
as a Dominion, despite meeting this criteria, but as a self-governing
colony that remains part of the British Realm.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia soon followed by the Province of
Canada
Canada (which included
modern southern
Ontario
Ontario and southern Quebec) were the first Colonies
to achieve responsible government, in 1848. Prince Edward Island
followed in 1851, and
New Brunswick
New Brunswick and Newfoundland in 1855. All
except for Newfoundland and
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island agreed to form a new
federation named
Canada
Canada from 1867. This was instituted by the British
Parliament in the
British North America
British North America Act 1867. (See also: Canadian
Confederation). Section 3 of the Act referred to the new entity as a
"Dominion", the first such entity to be created. From 1870 the
Dominion
Dominion included two vast neighbouring British territories that did
not have any form of self-government:
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land and the
North-Western Territory, parts of which later became the Provinces of
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the separate territories, the
Northwest Territories,
Yukon
Yukon and Nunavut. In 1871, the
Crown Colony of
British Columbia
British Columbia became a Canadian province, Prince Edward Island
joined in 1873 and Newfoundland in 1949.
The conditions under which the four separate Australian colonies—New
South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia—and New
Zealand could gain full responsible government were set out by the
British government in the Australian Constitutions Act 1850.[12] The
Act also separated the
Colony of Victoria
Colony of Victoria (in 1851) from New South
Wales. During 1856, responsible government was achieved by New South
Wales,[13] Victoria,[14] South Australia,[15] and Tasmania,[16] and
New Zealand. The remainder of New South
Wales
Wales was divided in three in
1859, a change that established most of the present borders of NSW;
the Colony of Queensland, with its own responsible
self-government,[17] and the
Northern Territory
Northern Territory (which was not granted
self-government prior to federation of the Australian Colonies).[18]
Western
Australia
Australia did not receive self-government until 1891, mainly
because of its continuing financial dependence on the UK
Government.[19] After protracted negotiations (that initially included
New Zealand), six Australian colonies with responsible government (and
their dependent territories) agreed to federate, along Canadian lines,
becoming the Commonwealth of Australia, in 1901.
In South Africa, the
Cape Colony
.svg/250px-Flag_of_the_Cape_Colony_(1876–1910).svg.png)
Cape Colony became the first British
self-governing Colony, in 1872. (Until 1893, the
Cape Colony
Cape Colony also
controlled the separate Colony of Natal.) Following the Second Boer
War (1899–1902), the British
Empire
Empire assumed direct control of the
Boer
Boer Republics, but transferred limited self-government to Transvaal
in 1906, and the
Orange River Colony
Orange River Colony in 1907.
The
New Zealand
New Zealand Observer (1907) shows prime minister
Joseph Ward
Joseph Ward as a
pretentious dwarf beneath a massive "Dominion" top hat. The caption
reads: The Surprise Packet:
Canada: "Rather large for him, is it not?"
Australia: "Oh his head is swelling rapidly. The hat will soon fit."
The Commonwealth of
Australia
Australia was recognised as a
Dominion
Dominion in 1901,
and the
Dominion
Dominion of
New Zealand
New Zealand and the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland were
officially given
Dominion
Dominion status in 1907, followed by the Union of
South Africa
South Africa in 1910.
Canadian
Confederation
Confederation and evolution of the term Dominion[edit]
In connection with proposals for the future government of British
North America, use of the term "Dominion" was suggested by Samuel
Leonard Tilley at the
London Conference of 1866 discussing the
confederation of the Province of
Canada
Canada (subsequently becoming the
Province of
Ontario
Ontario and the Province of Quebec),
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick into "One
Dominion
Dominion under the Name of Canada", the first
federation internal to the British Empire.[20] Tilley's suggestion was
taken from the 72nd Psalm, verse eight, "He shall have dominion also
from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth", which
is echoed in the national motto, "A Mari Usque Ad Mare".[21] The new
government of
Canada
Canada under the
British North America
British North America Act of 1867 began
to use the phrase "
Dominion
Dominion of Canada" to designate the new, larger
nation. However, neither the
Confederation
Confederation nor the adoption of the
title of "Dominion" granted extra autonomy or new powers to this new
federal level of government.[22][23] Senator
Eugene Forsey wrote that
the powers acquired since the 1840s that established the system of
responsible government in
Canada
Canada would simply be transferred to the
new
Dominion
Dominion government:
By the time of
Confederation
Confederation in 1867, this system had been operating
in most of what is now central and eastern
Canada
Canada for almost 20 years.
The Fathers of
Confederation
Confederation simply continued the system they knew,
the system that was already working, and working well.[23]
The constitutional scholar Andrew Heard has established that
Confederation
Confederation did not legally change Canada's colonial status to
anything approaching its later status of a Dominion.
At its inception in 1867, Canada's colonial status was marked by
political and legal subjugation to British Imperial supremacy in all
aspects of government—legislative, judicial, and executive. The
Imperial Parliament at Westminster could legislate on any matter to do
with
Canada
Canada and could override any local legislation, the final court
of appeal for Canadian litigation lay with the Judicial Committee of
the Privy Council in London, the
Governor General
Governor General had a substantive
role as a representative of the British government, and ultimate
executive power was vested in the British Monarch—who was advised
only by British ministers in its exercise. Canada's independence came
about as each of these sub-ordinations was eventually removed.[22]
Heard went on to document the sizeable body of legislation passed by
the British Parliament in the latter part of the 19th century that
upheld and expanded its Imperial supremacy to constrain that of its
colonies, including the new
Dominion
Dominion government in Canada.
When the
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada was created in 1867, it was granted powers
of self-government to deal with all internal matters, but Britain
still retained overall legislative supremacy. This Imperial supremacy
could be exercised through several statutory measures. In the first
place, the
British North America
British North America Act of 1867 provided in Section 55
that the
Governor General
Governor General may reserve any legislation passed by the
two Houses of Parliament for "the signification of Her Majesty's
pleasure", which is determined according to Section 57 by the British
Monarch
.svg/200px-Heraldic_Royal_Crown_(Common).svg.png)
Monarch in Council. Secondly, Section 56 provides that the Governor
General must forward to "one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of
State" in London a copy of any Federal legislation that has been
assented to. Then, within two years after the receipt of this copy,
the (British)
Monarch
Monarch in Council could disallow an Act. Thirdly, at
least four pieces of Imperial legislation constrained the Canadian
legislatures. The Colonial Laws Validity Act of 1865 provided that no
colonial law could validly conflict with, amend, or repeal Imperial
legislation that either explicitly, or by necessary implication,
applied directly to that colony. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, as
well as the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act of 1890 required
reservation of
Dominion
Dominion legislation on those topics for approval by
the British Government. Also, the Colonial Stock Act of 1900 provided
for the disallowance of any
Dominion
Dominion legislation the British
government felt would harm British stockholders of
Dominion
Dominion trustee
securities. Most importantly, however, the British Parliament could
exercise the legal right of supremacy that it possessed over common
law to pass any legislation on any matter affecting the colonies.[22]
For decades, none of the Dominions were allowed to have its own
embassies or consulates in foreign countries. All matters concerning
international travel, commerce, etc., had to be transacted through
British embassies and consulates. For example, all transactions
concerning visas and lost or stolen passports by citizens of the
Dominions were carried out at British diplomatic offices. It was not
until the late 1930s and early 1940s that the
Dominion
Dominion governments
were allowed to establish their own embassies, and the first two of
these that were established by the
Dominion
Dominion governments in
Ottawa
Ottawa and
in
Canberra
Canberra were both established in Washington, D.C., in the United
States.
As Heard later explained, the British government seldom invoked its
powers over Canadian legislation. British legislative powers over
Canadian domestic policy were largely theoretical and their exercise
was increasingly unacceptable in the 1870s and 1880s. The rise to the
status of a
Dominion
Dominion and then full independence for
Canada
Canada and other
possessions of the British
Empire
Empire did not occur by the granting of
titles or similar recognition by the British Parliament but by
initiatives taken by the new governments of certain former British
dependencies to assert their independence and to establish
constitutional precedents.
What is remarkable about this whole process is that it was achieved
with a minimum of legislative amendments. Much of Canada's
independence arose from the development of new political arrangements,
many of which have been absorbed into judicial decisions interpreting
the constitution—with or without explicit recognition. Canada's
passage from being an integral part of the British
Empire
Empire to being an
independent member of the Commonwealth richly illustrates the way in
which fundamental constitutional rules have evolved through the
interaction of constitutional convention, international law, and
municipal statute and case law.[22]
What was significant about the creation of the Canadian and Australian
federations was not that they were instantly granted wide new powers
by the Imperial centre at the time of their creation; but that they,
because of their greater size and prestige, were better able to
exercise their existing powers and lobby for new ones than the various
colonies they incorporated could have done separately. They provided a
new model which politicians in New Zealand, Newfoundland, South
Africa, Ireland, India, Malaysia could point to for their own
relationship with Britain. Ultimately, "[Canada's] example of a
peaceful accession to independence with a Westminster system of
government came to be followed by 50 countries with a combined
population of more than 2-billion people."[24]
Colonial Conference of 1907[edit]
Issues of colonial self-government spilled into foreign affairs with
the
Boer
Boer War (1899–1902). The self-governing colonies contributed
significantly to British efforts to stem the insurrection, but ensured
that they set the conditions for participation in these wars. Colonial
governments repeatedly acted to ensure that they determined the extent
of their peoples' participation in imperial wars in the military
build-up to the First World War.
The assertiveness of the self-governing colonies was recognised in the
Colonial Conference of 1907, which implicitly introduced the idea of
the
Dominion
Dominion as a self-governing colony by referring to
Canada
Canada and
Australia
Australia as Dominions. It also retired the name "Colonial Conference"
and mandated that meetings take place regularly to consult Dominions
in running the foreign affairs of the empire.
The Colony of New Zealand, which chose not to take part in Australian
federation, became the
Dominion
Dominion of
New Zealand
New Zealand on 26 September 1907;
Newfoundland became a
Dominion
Dominion on the same day. The Union of South
Africa was referred to as a
Dominion
Dominion upon its creation in 1910.
First World War
First World War and Treaty of Versailles[edit]
The Parliamentary Recruiting Committee produced this First World War
poster. Designed by Arthur Wardle, the poster urges men from the
Dominions of the British
Empire
Empire to enlist in the war effort.
The initiatives and contributions of British colonies to the British
war effort in the
First World War
First World War were recognised by Britain with the
creation of the Imperial War Cabinet in 1917, which gave them a say in
the running of the war.
Dominion
Dominion status as self-governing states, as
opposed to symbolic titles granted various British colonies, waited
until 1919, when the self-governing Dominions signed the Treaty of
Versailles independently of the British government and became
individual members of the League of Nations. This ended the purely
colonial status of the Dominions.
The
First World War
First World War ended the purely colonial period in the history of
the Dominions. Their military contribution to the Allied war effort
gave them claim to equal recognition with other small states and a
voice in the formation of policy. This claim was recognised within the
Empire
Empire by the creation of the Imperial War Cabinet in 1917, and within
the community of nations by
Dominion
Dominion signatures to the Treaty of
Versailles and by separate
Dominion
Dominion representation in the League of
Nations. In this way the "self-governing Dominions", as they were
called, emerged as junior members of the international community.
Their status defied exact analysis by both international and
constitutional lawyers, but it was clear that they were no longer
regarded simply as colonies of Britain.[25]
Irish Free State[edit]
The Irish Free State, set up in 1922 after the Anglo-Irish War, was
the first
Dominion
Dominion to appoint a non-British, non-aristocratic
Governor-General when
Timothy Michael Healy
Timothy Michael Healy took the position in 1922.
Dominion
Dominion status was never popular in the
Irish Free State
Irish Free State where people
saw it as a face-saving measure for a British government unable to
countenance a republic in what had previously been the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland. Successive Irish governments undermined
the constitutional links with Britain until they were severed
completely in 1949. In 1937 Ireland adopted, almost simultaneously,
both a new constitution that included powers for a president of
Ireland and a law confirming a role for the king in external
relations.
Balfour Declaration of 1926
Balfour Declaration of 1926 and Statute of Westminster[edit]
The Balfour Declaration of 1926, and the subsequent Statute of
Westminster, 1931, restricted Britain's ability to pass or affect laws
outside of its own jurisdiction. Significantly, Britain initiated the
change to complete sovereignty for the Dominions. The First World War
left Britain saddled with enormous debts, and the Great Depression had
further reduced Britain's ability to pay for defence of its empire. In
spite of popular opinions of empires, the larger Dominions were
reluctant to leave the protection of the then-superpower. For example,
many Canadians felt that being part of the British
Empire
Empire was the only
thing that had prevented them from being absorbed into the United
States.
Until 1931, Newfoundland was referred to as a colony of the United
Kingdom, as for example, in the 1927 reference to the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council to delineate the Quebec-Labrador
boundary. Full autonomy was granted by the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom parliament
with the Statute of Westminster in December 1931. However, the
government of Newfoundland "requested the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom not to have
sections 2 to 6[—]confirming
Dominion
Dominion status[—]apply automatically
to it[,] until the Newfoundland
Legislature
Legislature first approved the
Statute, approval which the
Legislature
Legislature subsequently never gave". In
any event, Newfoundland's letters patent of 1934 suspended
self-government and instituted a "Commission of Government", which
continued until Newfoundland became a province of
Canada
Canada in 1949. It
is the view of some constitutional lawyers[citation needed]
that—although Newfoundland chose not to exercise all of the
functions of a
Dominion
Dominion like Canada—its status as a
Dominion
Dominion was
"suspended" in 1934, rather than "revoked" or "abolished".
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland and
South Africa
South Africa (prior to becoming a republic and leaving the
Commonwealth in 1961), with their large populations of European
descent, were sometimes collectively referred to as the "White
Dominions".[26] Today Canada, Australia,
New Zealand
New Zealand and the United
Kingdom are sometimes referred to collectively as the "White
Commonwealth".[27]
Dominions[edit]
List of Dominions[edit]
Country[‡ 1]
From
To[‡ 2]
Status
Canada
1867
1953
Continues as a
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm and member of the Commonwealth of
Nations. 'Dominion' was conferred as the country's title in the 1867
constitution and retained with the constitution's patriation in 1982,
but has fallen into disuse.[20][28][29][30]
Australia
1901
1953
Continues as a
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm and member of the Commonwealth of
Nations.
New Zealand
1907
1953
Continues as a
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm and member of the Commonwealth of
Nations.
Newfoundland
1907
1949
After governance had reverted to direct control from London in 1934,
became a province of
Canada
Canada under the
British North America
British North America Act 1949
(now the Newfoundland Act) passed in the UK parliament, 31 March
1949,[31] prior to the
London Declaration of 28 April 1949.
South Africa
1910
1953
Continued as a
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm until it became a republic in 1961
under the
Republic
Republic of
South Africa
South Africa Constitution Act 1961, passed by
the Parliament of South Africa, long title "To constitute the Republic
of
South Africa
South Africa and to provide for matters incidental thereto",
assented to 24 April 1961 to come into operation on 31 May 1961.[32]
Irish Free State
Irish Free State (1922–37)
Éire
Éire (1937–49) [‡ 3]
1922
1949
The link with the monarchy ceased with the passage of the
Republic
Republic of
Ireland Act 1948, which came into force on 18 April 1949 and declared
that the state was a republic.
India
1947
1950
The Union of India (with the addition of
Sikkim
Sikkim from 1978) became a
federal republic after its constitution came into effect on 26 January
1950.
Pakistan
1947
1953
Continued as a
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm until 1956 when it became a republic
under the name "The Islamic
Republic
Republic of Pakistan": Constitution of
1956.[33]
Ceylon
1948
1953
Continued as a
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm until 1972 when it became a republic
under the name of Sri Lanka.
^ The flags shown are the national flags of each country at the time
it was a Dominion.
^ The term dominion generally fell into disuse from 1953, after which
these countries were referred to as realms; however, see section on
Canada, Name of Canada. Three Dominions continue as Commonwealth
realms.
^ The
Irish Free State
Irish Free State was renamed
Éire
Éire in Irish or Ireland in
English in 1937. In 1937–1949, the
Dominion
Dominion was referred to as
"Eire" by the British government. See also Names of the Irish state.
Australia[edit]
Four colonies of
Australia
Australia had enjoyed responsible government since
1856: New South Wales, Victoria,
Tasmania
Tasmania and South Australia.[34]
Queensland had responsible government soon after its founding in
1859[35] but, because of ongoing financial dependence on Britain,
Western
Australia
Australia became the last Australian colony to attain
self-government in 1890.[36] During the 1890s, the colonies voted to
unite and in 1901 they were federated under the British Crown as the
Commonwealth of
Australia
Australia by the Commonwealth of Australia
Constitution Act. The Constitution of
Australia
Australia had been drafted in
Australia
Australia and approved by popular consent. Thus
Australia
Australia is one of
the few countries established by a popular vote.[37] Under the Balfour
Declaration of 1926, the federal government was regarded as coequal
with (and not subordinate to) the British and other Dominion
governments, and this was given formal legal recognition in 1942 (when
the Statute of Westminster was retroactively adopted to the
commencement of the
Second World War
Second World War 1939). In 1930, the Australian
prime minister, James Scullin, reinforced the right of the overseas
Dominions to appoint native-born governors-general, when he advised
King George V to appoint Sir
Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs as his representative in
Australia, against the wishes of the opposition and officials in
London. The governments of the States (called colonies before 1901)
remained under the Commonwealth but retained links to the UK until the
passage of the
Australia
Australia Act 1986.
Canada[edit]
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada Postage Stamp, 1898
See also: Name of
Canada
Canada § Adoption of Dominion
The term
Dominion
Dominion is employed in the Constitution Act, 1867
(originally the
British North America
British North America Act, 1867), and describes the
resulting political union. Specifically, the preamble of the act
states: "Whereas the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally united into One
Dominion
Dominion under the Crown of the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the
United Kingdom..." Furthermore, Sections 3 and 4 indicate that the
provinces "shall form and be One
Dominion
Dominion under the Name of Canada;
and on and after that Day those Three Provinces shall form and be One
Dominion
Dominion under that Name accordingly".
Usage of the phrase
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada was employed as the country's
name after 1867, predating the general use of the term
Dominion
Dominion as
applied to the other autonomous regions of the British
Empire
Empire after
1907. The phrase
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada does not appear in the 1867 act
nor in the Constitution Act, 1982, but does appear in the Constitution
Act, 1871, other contemporaneous texts, and subsequent bills.
References to the
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada in later acts, such as the
Statute of Westminster, do not clarify the point because all nouns
were formally capitalised in British legislative style. Indeed, in the
original text of the Constitution Act, 1867, "One" and "Name" were
also capitalised.
Frank Scott theorised that Canada's status as a
Dominion
Dominion ended when
Canadian parliament
Canadian parliament declared war on Germany on 9 September 1939,
separately and distinctly from the United Kingdom's declaration of war
six days earlier.[38] From the 1950s, the federal government began to
phase out the use of Dominion, which had been used largely as a
synonym of "federal" or "national" such as "
Dominion
Dominion building" for a
post office, "Dominion-provincial relations", and so on. The last
major change was renaming the national holiday from
Dominion Day
Dominion Day to
Canada
Canada Day in 1982. Official bilingualism laws also contributed to the
disuse of Dominion, as it has no acceptable equivalent in French.
While the term may be found in older official documents, and the
Dominion
Dominion Carillonneur still tolls at Parliament Hill, it is now hardly
used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces or
(historically)
Canada
Canada before and after 1867. Nonetheless, the federal
government continues to produce publications and educational materials
that specify the currency of these official titles.[30][39][40]
Defenders of the title Dominion—including monarchists who see signs
of creeping republicanism in Canada—take comfort in the fact that
the
Constitution Act, 1982 does not mention and therefore does not
remove the title, and that a constitutional amendment is required to
change it.[28]
The word
Dominion
Dominion has been used with other agencies, laws, and roles:
Dominion
Dominion Carillonneur: official responsible for playing the carillons
at the
Peace Tower
Peace Tower since 1916
Dominion Day
Dominion Day (1867–1982): holiday marking Canada's national day; now
called
Canada
Canada Day
Dominion Observatory
Dominion Observatory (1905–1970): weather observatory in Ottawa; now
used as Office of Energy Efficiency, Energy Branch, Natural Resources
Canada
Dominion Lands Act
Dominion Lands Act (1872): federal lands act; repealed in 1918
Dominion Bureau of Statistics (1918–1971): superseded by Statistics
Canada
Dominion Police (1867–1920): merged to form the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP)
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (1918–present); now part of the
National Research Council Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (1960–present); now part of
the National Research Council Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada Rifle Association founded in 1868 and incorporated
by an Act of Parliament in 1890
Notable Canadian corporations and organizations (not affiliated with
government) that have used
Dominion
Dominion as a part of their name have
included:
The
Dominion
Dominion Bank, opened 1871
The Toronto-
Dominion
Dominion Bank, its successor since a 1955 merger with the
Bank of Toronto; as of 2016 one of the country's major banks
The
Dominion
Dominion of
Canada
Canada General Insurance Company, founded in 1887;
bought out by Travelers in 2013
The
Dominion
Dominion Atlantic Railway, in Nova Scotia, formed by the 1894
merger of two railways; controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway
after 1911, shut down in 1994
Dominion
Dominion Stores, a supermarket chain founded in 1927; following a
series of acquisitions the last
Dominion
Dominion stores were renamed as Metro
stores in 2008
The
Dominion
Dominion Institute, created in 1997 to promote awareness of
Canadian history and national identity
The Historica-
Dominion
Dominion Institute, its successor following a 2009
merger with the Historica Foundation; renamed Historica
Canada
Canada in 2013
Ceylon[edit]
Ceylon, which, as a Crown colony, was originally promised "fully
responsible status within the British Commonwealth of Nations", was
formally granted independence as a
Dominion
Dominion in 1948. In 1972 it
adopted a republican constitution to become the Free, Sovereign and
Independent
Republic
Republic of Sri Lanka. By a new constitution in 1978, it
became the Democratic Socialist
Republic
Republic of Sri Lanka.
India,
Pakistan
Pakistan and Bangladesh[edit]
India officially acquired responsible government in 1909, though the
first Parliament did not meet until 1919.[41] In the 1930s the idea of
making British India (as it was then called) into a
Dominion
Dominion – the
first one with a non-European population – was seriously discussed,
but ran into serious snags – notably British distrust of Indian
political leaders, and the increasing tensions between Hindus and
Muslims later on[original research?].
Pakistan
Pakistan (including
Muslim-majority
East Bengal
East Bengal forming East Pakistan) seceded from India
at the point of Indian Independence with the passage of the Indian
Independence Act 1947 and ensuing partition, resulting in two
dominions.[42] For India, dominion status was transitory until its new
republican constitution was drafted and promulgated in 1950.[41]
Pakistan
Pakistan remained a dominion until 1956 when it became an Islamic
Republic
Republic under its 1956 constitution.[43] East
Pakistan
Pakistan gained
independence from Pakistan, as Bangladesh, in 1971.
Irish Free State
Irish Free State / Ireland[edit]
The
Irish Free State
Irish Free State (Ireland from 1937) was a British Dominion
between 1922 and 1949. As established by the Irish Free State
Constitution Act of the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom Parliament on 6 December 1922
the new state—which had
Dominion
Dominion status in the likeness of that
enjoyed by
Canada
Canada within the British Commonwealth of
Nations—comprised the whole of Ireland. However, provision was made
in the Act for the
Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland to opt out of
inclusion in the Irish Free State, which—as had been widely expected
at the time—it duly did one day after the creation of the new state,
on 7 December 1922.[44]
Following a plebiscite of the people of the Free State held on 1 July
1937, a new constitution came into force on 29 December of that year,
establishing a successor state with the name of "Ireland" which ceased
to participate in Commonwealth conferences and events. Nevertheless,
the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom and other member states of the Commonwealth
continued to regard Ireland as a
Dominion
Dominion owing to the unusual role
accorded to the
British Monarch
.svg/400px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(Both_Realms).svg.png)
British Monarch under the Irish External Relations Act
of 1936. Ultimately, however, Ireland's
Oireachtas
Oireachtas passed the Republic
of Ireland Act 1948, which came into force on 18 April 1949 and
unequivocally ended Ireland's links with the
British Monarch
British Monarch and the
Commonwealth.
Newfoundland[edit]
The colony of Newfoundland enjoyed responsible government from 1855 to
1934.[45] It was among the colonies declared Dominions in 1907.
Following the recommendations of a Royal Commission, parliamentary
government was suspended in 1934 due to severe financial difficulties
resulting from the depression and a series of riots against the
Dominion
Dominion government in 1932.[46] In 1949, it joined
Canada
Canada and the
legislature was restored.[47]
New Zealand[edit]
The
New Zealand
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 gave
New Zealand
New Zealand its own
Parliament (General Assembly) and home rule in 1852.[48] In 1907 New
Zealand was proclaimed the
Dominion
Dominion of New Zealand.[49] New Zealand,
Canada, and Newfoundland used the word
Dominion
Dominion in the official title
of the nation, whereas
Australia
Australia used Commonwealth of
Australia
Australia and
South Africa
South Africa Union of South Africa.
New Zealand
New Zealand adopted the Statute of
Westminster in 1947[49] and in the same year legislation passed in
London gave
New Zealand
New Zealand full powers to amend its own constitution. In
1986, the
New Zealand
New Zealand parliament passed the Constitution Act 1986,
which repealed the Constitution Act of 1852 and the last
constitutional links with the United Kingdom, formally ending its
Dominion
Dominion status.[50]
South Africa[edit]
The
Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 from the four
self-governing colonies of the Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal, and
the
Orange Free State
Orange Free State (the last two were former
Boer
Boer republics).[51]
The
South Africa Act 1909
.svg/280px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(1837-1952).svg.png)
South Africa Act 1909 provided for a Parliament consisting of a
Senate and a House of Assembly. The provinces had their own
legislatures. In 1961, the
Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa adopted a new
constitution, became a republic, left the Commonwealth (and re-joined
following end of Apartheid rule in the 1990s), and became the
present-day
Republic
Republic of South Africa.[52]
Southern Rhodesia[edit]
Southern Rhodesia
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Rhodesia_(1964).svg.png)
Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe since 1980), coloured red on a map of
Africa
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980) was a special case in the
British Empire. Although it was never a Dominion, it was treated as a
Dominion
Dominion in many respects.
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was formed in 1923 out of
territories of the British
South Africa
South Africa Company and established as a
self-governing colony with substantial autonomy on the model of the
Dominions. The imperial authorities in London retained direct powers
over foreign affairs, constitutional alterations, native
administration and bills regarding mining revenues, railways and the
governor's salary.[53]
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was not one of the territories that were mentioned
in the 1931 Statute of Westminster although relations with Southern
Rhodesia
Rhodesia were administered in London through the
Dominion
Dominion Office, not
the Colonial Office. When the Dominions were first treated as foreign
countries by London for the purposes of diplomatic immunity in 1952,
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was included in the list of territories concerned.
This semi-
Dominion
Dominion status continued in
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia between 1953
and 1963, when it joined
Northern Rhodesia
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Northern_Rhodesia_(1939-1953).svg.png)
Northern Rhodesia and
Nyasaland
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Nyasaland_(1919-1964).svg.png)
Nyasaland in the
Central African Federation, with the latter two territories continuing
to be British protectorates. When
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was given
independence in 1964 it adopted the new name of Zambia, prompting
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia to shorten its name to Rhodesia, but Britain did not
recognise this latter change.[53]
Rhodesia
Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence from Britain in 1965 as a
result of the British government's insistence on majority rule as a
condition for independence. London regarded this declaration as
illegal, and applied sanctions and expelled
Rhodesia
Rhodesia from the sterling
area.[54]
Rhodesia
Rhodesia continued with its Dominion-style constitution
until 1970, and continued to issue British passports to its citizens.
The Rhodesian government continued to profess its loyalty to the
Sovereign, despite being in a state of rebellion against Her Majesty's
Government in London, until 1970, when it adopted a republican
constitution following a referendum the previous year.[55] This
endured until the state's reconstitution as Zimbabwe
Rhodesia
Rhodesia in 1979
under the terms of the Internal Settlement; this lasted until the
Lancaster House Agreement
Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979, which put it under interim
British rule while fresh elections were held. The country achieved
independence deemed legal by the international community in April
1980, when Britain granted independence under the name Zimbabwe.[56]
Foreign relations[edit]
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Initially, the Foreign Office of the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom conducted the
foreign relations of the Dominions. A Dominions section was created
within the
Colonial Office
Colonial Office for this purpose in 1907.
Canada
Canada set up its
own Department of External Affairs in June 1909, but diplomatic
relations with other governments continued to operate through the
governors-general,
Dominion
Dominion High Commissioners in London (first
appointed by
Canada
Canada in 1880;
Australia
Australia followed only in 1910), and
British legations abroad. Britain deemed her declaration of war
against Germany in August 1914 to extend to all territories of the
Empire
Empire without the need for consultation, occasioning some displeasure
in Canadian official circles and contributing to a brief anti-British
insurrection by Afrikaner militants in
South Africa
South Africa later that year. A
Canadian War Mission in Washington, D.C., dealt with supply matters
from February 1918 to March 1921.
Although the Dominions had had no formal voice in declaring war, each
became a separate signatory of the June 1919 peace Treaty of
Versailles, which had been negotiated by a British-led united Empire
delegation. In September 1922,
Dominion
Dominion reluctance to support British
military action against Turkey influenced Britain's decision to seek a
compromise settlement. Diplomatic autonomy soon followed, with the
U.S.-Canadian
Halibut Treaty (March 1923) marking the first time an
international agreement had been entirely negotiated and concluded
independently by a Dominion. The Dominions Section of the Colonial
Office was upgraded in June 1926 to a separate Dominions Office;
however, initially, this office was held by the same person that held
the office of Secretary of State for the Colonies.
The principle of
Dominion
Dominion equality with Britain and independence in
foreign relations was formally recognised by the Balfour Declaration,
adopted at the
Imperial Conference
Imperial Conference of November 1926. Canada's first
permanent diplomatic mission to a foreign country opened in
Washington, D.C., in 1927. In 1928,
Canada
Canada obtained the appointment of
a British high commissioner in Ottawa, separating the administrative
and diplomatic functions of the governor-general and ending the
latter's anomalous role as the representative of the British
government in relations between the two countries. The Dominions
Office was given a separate secretary of state in June 1930, though
this was entirely for domestic political reasons given the need to
relieve the burden on one ill minister whilst moving another away from
unemployment policy. The Balfour Declaration was enshrined in the
Statute of Westminster 1931
Statute of Westminster 1931 when it was adopted by the British
Parliament and subsequently ratified by the
Dominion
Dominion legislatures.
Britain's declaration of hostilities against Nazi Germany on 3
September 1939 tested the issue. Most took the view that the
declaration did not commit the Dominions. Ireland chose to remain
neutral. At the other extreme, the conservative Australian government
of the day, led by Robert Menzies, took the view that, since Australia
had not adopted the Statute of Westminster, it was legally bound by
the UK declaration of war—which had also been the view at the
outbreak of the First World War—though this was contentious within
Australia. Between these two extremes,
New Zealand
New Zealand declared that as
Britain was or would be at war, so it was too. This was, however, a
matter of political choice rather than legal necessity.
Canada
Canada issued
its own declaration of war after a recall of Parliament, as did South
Africa after a delay of several days (
South Africa
South Africa on 6 September,
Canada
Canada on 10 September). Ireland, which had negotiated the removal of
British forces from its territory the year before, remained neutral.
There were soon signs of growing independence from the other
Dominions:
Australia
Australia opened a diplomatic mission in the US in 1940, as
did
New Zealand
New Zealand in 1941, and Canada's mission in Washington gained
embassy status in 1943.
From Dominions to Commonwealth realms[edit]
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section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material
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The prime ministers of Britain and the four major Dominions at the
1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. Left to right: William
Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada);
Jan Smuts
Jan Smuts (South Africa); Winston
Churchill (UK); Peter Fraser (New Zealand);
John Curtin
John Curtin (Australia).
Initially, the Dominions conducted their own trade policy, some
limited foreign relations and had autonomous armed forces, although
the British government claimed and exercised the exclusive power to
declare wars. However, after the passage of the Statute of Westminster
the language of dependency on the Crown of the
United Kingdom
United Kingdom ceased,
where the Crown itself was no longer referred to as the Crown of any
place in particular but simply as "the Crown". Arthur Berriedale
Keith, in Speeches and Documents on the British Dominions 1918–1931,
stated that "the Dominions are sovereign international States in the
sense that the King in respect of each of His Dominions (Newfoundland
excepted) is such a State in the eyes of international law". After
then, those countries that were previously referred to as "Dominions"
became Commonwealth realms where the sovereign reigns no longer as the
British monarch, but as monarch of each nation in its own right, and
are considered equal to the UK and one another.
The Second World War, which fatally undermined Britain's already
weakened commercial and financial leadership, further loosened the
political ties between Britain and the Dominions. Australian Prime
Minister John Curtin's unprecedented action (February 1942) in
successfully countermanding an order from British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill that Australian troops be diverted to defend
British-held Burma (the 7th Division was then en route from the Middle
East to
Australia
Australia to defend against an expected Japanese invasion)
demonstrated that
Dominion
Dominion governments might no longer subordinate
their own national interests to British strategic perspectives. To
ensure that
Australia
Australia had full legal power to act independently,
particularly in relation to foreign affairs, defence industry and
military operations, and to validate its past independent action in
these areas,
Australia
Australia formally adopted the Statute of Westminster in
October 1942[57] and backdated the adoption to the start of the war in
September 1939.
The Dominions Office merged with the
India Office
India Office as the Commonwealth
Relations Office upon the independence of India and
Pakistan
Pakistan in August
1947. The last country officially made a
Dominion
Dominion was
Ceylon
Ceylon in 1948.
The term "Dominion" fell out of general use thereafter. Ireland ceased
to be a member of the Commonwealth on 18 April 1949, upon the coming
into force of the
Republic
Republic of Ireland Act 1948. This formally
signalled the end of the former dependencies' common constitutional
connection to the British Crown. India also adopted a republican
constitution in January 1950. Unlike many dependencies that became
republics, Ireland never re-joined the Commonwealth, which agreed to
accept the British monarch as head of that association of independent
states.
The independence of the separate realms was emphasised after the
accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, when she was proclaimed not
just as Queen of the United Kingdom, but also Queen of Canada, Queen
of Australia, Queen of New Zealand, and of all her other "realms and
territories" etc. This also reflected the change from
Dominion
Dominion to
realm; in the proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II's new titles in 1953,
the phrase "of her other Realms and Territories" replaced "Dominion"
with another mediaeval French word with the same connotation, "realm"
(from royaume). Thus, recently, when referring to one of those sixteen
countries within the
Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations that share the same
monarch, the phrase
Commonwealth realm
Commonwealth realm has come into common usage
instead of
Dominion
Dominion to differentiate the Commonwealth nations that
continue to share the monarch as head of state (Australia, Canada, New
Zealand, Jamaica, etc.) from those that do not (India, Pakistan, South
Africa, etc.). The term "Dominion" is still found in the Canadian
constitution where it appears numerous times, but it is largely a
vestige of the past, as the Canadian government does not actively use
it (see
Canada
Canada section). The term "realm" does not appear in the
Canadian constitution.
The generic language of
Dominion
Dominion did not cease in relation to the
Sovereign. It was, and is, used to describe territories in which the
monarch exercises sovereignty. It also describes a model of governance
in newly independent British colonies, featuring a Westminster
parliamentary government and the British monarch as head of state:
After World War II, Britain attempted to repeat the
Dominion
Dominion model in
decolonizing the Caribbean. ... Though several colonies, such as
Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, maintained their formal allegiance to
the British monarch, they soon revised their status to become
republics. Britain also attempted to establish a
Dominion
Dominion model in
decolonizing Africa, but it, too, was unsuccessful. ... Ghana, the
first former colony declared a
Dominion
Dominion in 1957, soon demanded
recognition as a republic. Other African nations followed a similar
pattern throughout the 1960s: Nigeria, Tanganyika, Uganda, Kenya, and
Malawi. In fact, only Gambia, Sierra Leone, and
Mauritius
Mauritius retained
their
Dominion
Dominion status for more than three years.[58]
Many distinctive characteristics that once pertained only to Dominions
are now shared by other states in the Commonwealth, whether republics,
independent realms, associated states or territories. The practice of
appointing a High Commissioner instead of a diplomatic representative
such as an ambassador for communication between the government of a
Dominion
Dominion and the British government in London continues in respect of
Commonwealth realms and republics as sovereign states.
See also[edit]
British Empire
Changes in British sovereignty
Colonisation
Crown colony
High Commissioner (Commonwealth)
Name of Canada
Self-governing colony
United Kingdom
Notes[edit]
^ Merriam Webster's Dictionary (based on Collegiate vol., 11th ed.)
2006. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
^ Hillmer, Norman (2001). "Commonwealth". Toronto: Canadian
Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. ...the
Dominions (a term applied to
Canada
Canada in 1867 and used from 1907 to 1948
to describe the empire's other self-governing members)
^ a b Mohr, Thomas (2013). "The Statute of Westminster, 1931: An Irish
Perspective" (PDF). Law and History Review. 31 (04): 749–791: fn.25.
doi:10.1017/S073824801300045X. ISSN 0738-2480. Retrieved 6
October 2016.
^
Cyprus
Cyprus (Annexation) Order in Council, 1914, dated 5 November 1914.
^ Order quoted in The American Journal of International Law,
"
Annexation
Annexation of
Cyprus
Cyprus by Great Britain"[1]
^ "Parliamentary questions, Hansard, 5 November 1934".
hansard.millbanksystems.com. 5 November 1934. Retrieved 11 June
2010.
^ Roberts, J. M., The Penguin History of the World (London: Penguin
Books, 1995, ISBN 0-14-015495-7), p. 777
^
League of Nations
League of Nations (1924). "The Covenant of the League of Nations".
Article 1: The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. Retrieved 20 April
2009.
^ James Crawford, The Creation of States in International Law (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1979, ISBN 978-0-19-922842-3), p. 243
^ "Dominion" Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.. Youth
Encyclopedia of
Canada
Canada (based on Canadian Encyclopedia). Historica
Foundation of Canada, 2008. Accessed 20 June 2008. "The word
"Dominion" is the official status of Canada. ... The term is little
used today."
^ National Health Service Act 2006 (c. 41), sch. 22
^ Link to the Australian Constitutions Act 1850 on the website of the
National Archives of Australia: www.foundingdocs.gov.au
^ Link to the New South
Wales
Wales Constitution Act 1855, on the Web site
of the National Archives of Australia: www.foundingdocs.gov.au
^ Link to the Victoria Constitution Act 1855, on the Web site of the
National Archives of Australia: www.foundingdocs.gov.au
^ Link to the Constitution Act 1855 (SA), on the Web site of the
National Archives of Australia: www.foundingdocs.gov.au
^ Link to the Constitution Act 185 (Tasmania), on the Web site of the
National Archives of Australia: www.foundingdocs.gov.au
^ Link to the
Order in Council of 6 June 1859, which established the
Colony of Queensland, on the Web site of the National Archives of
Australia.[2]
^ The "
Northern Territory
Northern Territory of New South Wales" was physically separated
from the main part of NSW. In 1863, the bulk of it was transferred to
South Australia, except for a small area that became part of
Queensland. See: Letters Patent annexing the
Northern Territory
Northern Territory to
South Australia, 1863 Archived 1 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.. In
1911, the Commonwealth of
Australia
Australia agreed to assume responsibility
for administration of the Northern Territory, which was regarded by
the government of South
Australia
Australia as a financial
burden.www.foundingdocs.gov.au Archived 31 August 2006 at the Wayback
Machine.. The NT did not receive responsible government until 1978.
^ Link to the Constitution Act 1890, which established self-government
in Western Australia: www.foundingdocs.gov.au[permanent dead link]
^ a b Alan Rayburn (2001). Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place
Names. University of Toronto Press. pp. 17–21.
ISBN 978-0-8020-8293-0.
^ "The London Conference December 1866 – March 1867".
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 22 November
2006. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
^ a b c d Andrew Heard (1990). "Canadian Independence". Retrieved 5
February 2008.
^ a b Forsey, Eugene (1990). "How Canadians Govern Themselves".
Retrieved 14 October 2007.
^ Buckley, F. H. (2014). The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown
Government in America. Encounter Books.
^
F. R. Scott
F. R. Scott (January 1944). "The End of
Dominion
Dominion Status". The
American Journal of International Law. American Society of
International Law. 38 (1): 34–49. doi:10.2307/2192530.
JSTOR 2192530.
^ Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and
Reconstruction; John Merriman and Jay Winter; 2006; see the British
Empire
Empire entry which lists the "White Dominions" above except
Newfoundland
^
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/march-of-the-white-commonwealth-is-uk-entry-for-working-holidays-easier-if-youre-the-right-colour-5431486.html
^ a b J. E. Hodgetts. 2004. "Dominion". Oxford Companion to Canadian
History, Gerald Hallowell, ed. (ISBN 0-19-541559-0), at
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195415599.001.0001/acref-9780195415599-e-471
- p. 183: "Ironically, defenders of the title dominion who see signs
of creeping republicanism in such changes can take comfort in the
knowledge that the Constitution Act, 1982, retains the title and
requires a constitutional amendment to alter it."
^ Forsey, Eugene A., in Marsh, James H., ed. 1988. "
Dominion
Dominion Archived
4 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine." The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Hurtig Publishers: Toronto.
^ a b "National Flag of
Canada
Canada Day: How Did You Do?". Department of
Canadian Heritage. Retrieved 7 February 2008. The issue of our
country's legal title was one of the few points on which our
constitution is not entirely homemade. The Fathers of Confederation
wanted to call the country "the Kingdom of Canada". However the
British government was afraid of offending the Americans so it
insisted on the Fathers finding another title. The term "Dominion" was
drawn from Psalm 72. In the realms of political terminology, the term
dominion can be directly attributed to the Fathers of Confederation
and it is one of the very few, distinctively Canadian contributions in
this area. It remains our country's official title.
^ [3]
^ s:
Republic
Republic of
South Africa
South Africa Constitution Act, 1961
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 June 2013.
Retrieved 2013-07-12.
^ B. Hunter (ed), The Stateman's Year Book 1996-1997, Macmillan Press
Ltd, pp. 130-156
^
Order in Council of the UK Privy Council, 6 June 1859, establishing
responsible government in Queensland. See Australian Government's
"Documenting a Democracy" website at this webpage:
www.foundingdocs.gov.au Archived 22 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Constitution Act 1890 (UK), which came into effect as the
Constitution of Western
Australia
Australia when proclaimed in WA on 21 October
1890, and establishing responsible government in WA from that date;
Australian Government's "Documenting a Democracy" website:
www.foundingdocs.gov.au Archived 22 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
^ D. Smith, Head of State, MaCleay Press 2005, p. 18
^ Scott, Frank R. (January 1944). "The End of
Dominion
Dominion Status". The
American Journal of International Law. American Society of
International Law. 38 (1): 34–49. doi:10.2307/2192530.
^ "The Prince of
Wales
Wales 2001 Royal Visit: April 25 - April 30; Test
Your Royal Skills". Department of Canadian Heritage. 2001. Retrieved 7
February 2008. As dictated by the
British North America
British North America Act, 1867, the
title is
Dominion
Dominion of Canada. The term is a uniquely Canadian one,
implying independence and not colonial status, and was developed as a
tribute to the Monarchical principle at the time of
Confederation.
^ "How Canadians Govern Themselves" (PDF). PDF. Retrieved 6 February
2008. Forsey, Eugene (2005). How Canadians Govern Themselves
(6th ed.). Ottawa: Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada.
ISBN 0-662-39689-8. The two small points on which our
constitution is not entirely homemade are, first, the legal title of
our country, "Dominion," and, second, the provisions for breaking a
deadlock between the Senate and the House of Commons.
^ a b The Statesman's Year Book, p. 635
^ Indian Independence Act 1947, "An Act to make provision for the
setting up in India of two independent Dominions, to substitute other
provisions for certain provisions of the Government of India Act 1935,
which apply outside those Dominions, and to provide for other matters
consequential on or connected with the setting up of those Dominions"
passed by the U.K. parliament 18 July 1947.[4]
^ The Statesman's Year Book, p. 1002
^ On 7 December 1922 (the day after the establishment of the Irish
Free State) the Parliament resolved to make the following address to
the King so as to opt out of the Irish Free State: "MOST GRACIOUS
SOVEREIGN, We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the
Senators and Commons of Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled,
having learnt of the passing of the
Irish Free State
Irish Free State Constitution Act,
1922, being the Act of Parliament for the ratification of the Articles
of Agreement for a Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland, do, by
this humble Address, pray your Majesty that the powers of the
Parliament and Government of the
Irish Free State
Irish Free State shall no longer
extend to Northern Ireland". Source: Northern Ireland Parliamentary
Report, 7 December 1922 and Anglo-Irish Treaty, sections 11, 12.
^ The Statesman's Year Book, p. 302
^ The Statesman's Year Book, p. 303
^ The Statesman's Year Book
^ "History, Constitutional - The Legislative Authority of the New
Zealand Parliament - 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand".
www.teara.govt.nz. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
^ a b "
Dominion
Dominion status". NZHistory. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
^ Prof. Dr. Axel Tschentscher, LL. M. "ICL -
New Zealand
New Zealand -
Constitution Act 1986". servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
^ The Stateman's Year Book p. 1156
^ Wikisource:
South Africa
South Africa Act 1909
^ a b Rowland, J. Reid. "Constitutional History of Rhodesia: An
outline": 245–251. Appendix to Berlyn, Phillippa (April 1978).
The Quiet Man: A Biography of the Hon. Ian Douglas Smith. Salisbury:
M. O. Collins. pp. 240–256. OCLC 4282978.
^ Wood, J. R. T. (April 2008). A matter of weeks rather than months:
The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith: Sanctions, Aborted
Settlements and War 1965–1969. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford
Publishing. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-42514-807-2.
^ Harris, P. B. (September 1969). "The Rhodesian Referendum: June
20th, 1969" (pdf). Parliamentary Affairs. Oxford University Press. 23:
72–80. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
^ Gowlland-Debbas, Vera (1990). Collective Responses to Illegal Acts
in International Law: United Nations action in the question of
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia (First ed.). Leiden and New York: Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers. p. 73. ISBN 0-7923-0811-5.
^ Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (Act no. 56 of 1942). The
long title for the Act was "To remove Doubts as to the Validity of
certain Commonwealth Legislation, to obviate Delays occurring in its
Passage, and to effect certain related purposes, by adopting certain
Sections of the Statute of Westminster, 1931, as from the Commencement
of the War between His Majesty the King and Germany." Link:
www.foundingdocs.gov.au Archived 16 July 2005 at the Wayback Machine..
^ Brandon Jernigan, "British Empire" in M. Juang & Noelle
Morrissette, eds., Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and
History (ABC-CLIO, 2008) p. 204.
References[edit]
Buckley, F. H., The Once and Future King: The Rise of Crown Government
in America, Encounter Books, 2014.
Choudry, Sujit. 2001 (?). "Constitution Acts" (based on looseleaf by
Hogg, Peter W.). Constitutional Keywords. University of Alberta,
Centre for Constitutional Studies: Edmonton.
Holland, R. F., Britain and the Commonwealth Alliance 1918-1939,
MacMillan, 1981.
Forsey, Eugene A. 2005. How Canadians Govern Themselves, 6th ed.
(ISBN 0-662-39689-8) Canada: Ottawa.
Hallowell, Gerald, ed. 2004. The Oxford Companion to Canadian History.
Oxford University Press: Toronto; p. 183-4
(ISBN 0-19-541559-0).
Marsh, James H., ed. 1988. "Dominion" et al. The Canadian
Encyclopedia. Hurtig Publishers: Toronto.
Martin, Robert. 1993 (?). 1993
Eugene Forsey Memorial Lecture: A
Lament for British North America. The Machray Review. Prayer Book
Society of Canada. A summative piece about nomenclature and pertinent
history with abundant references.
Rayburn, Alan. 2001. Naming Canada: stories about Canadian place
names, 2nd ed. (ISBN 0-8020-8293-9) University of Toronto Press:
Toronto.
v
t
e
British Empire
Legend
Current territory
Former territory
* Now a Commonwealth realm
Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations
Historical flags of the British Empire
Europe
1542–1800 Ireland (integrated into UK)
1708–1757, 1763–1782 and 1798–1802 Minorca
Since 1713 Gibraltar
1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate)
1813–1964 Malta (Colony)
1807–1890 Heligoland
1809–1864 Ionian Islands
1878–1960 Cyprus
1921–1937 Irish Free State
North America
17th century and before
18th century
19th and 20th century
1579 New Albion
1583–1907 Newfoundland
1605–1979 *Saint Lucia
1607–1776 Virginia
Since 1619 Bermuda
1620–1691 Plymouth
1623–1883 Saint Kitts
1624–1966 *Barbados
1625–1650 Saint Croix
1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1628–1883 Nevis
1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay
1632–1776 Maryland
since 1632 Montserrat
1632–1860 Antigua
1635–1644 Saybrook
1636–1776 Connecticut
1636–1776 Rhode Island
1637–1662 New Haven
1643–1860 Bay Islands
Since 1650 Anguilla
1655–1850 Mosquito Coast
1655–1962 *Jamaica
1663–1712 Carolina
1664–1776 New York
1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey
Since 1666 Virgin Islands
Since 1670 Cayman Islands
1670–1973 *Bahamas
1670–1870 Rupert's Land
1671–1816 Leeward Islands
1674–1702 East Jersey
1674–1702 West Jersey
1680–1776 New Hampshire
1681–1776 Pennsylvania
1686–1689 New England
1691–1776 Massachusetts Bay
1701–1776 Delaware
1712–1776 North Carolina
1712–1776 South Carolina
1713–1867 Nova Scotia
1733–1776 Georgia
1754–1820 Cape Breton Island
1762–1974 *Grenada
1763–1978 Dominica
1763–1873 Prince Edward Island
1763–1791 Quebec
1763–1783 East Florida
1763–1783 West Florida
1784–1867 New Brunswick
1791–1841 Lower Canada
1791–1841 Upper Canada
Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands
1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country1
1833–1960 Windward Islands
1833–1960 Leeward Islands
1841–1867 Canada
1849–1866 Vancouver Island
1853–1863 Queen Charlotte Islands
1858–1866 British Columbia
1859–1870 North-Western Territory
1860–1981 *British
Antigua
Antigua and Barbuda
1862–1863 Stickeen
1866–1871 British Columbia
1867–1931 *
Dominion
Dominion of Canada2
1871–1964 Honduras
1882–1983 *
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts and Nevis
1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago
1907–1949 Newfoundland3
1958–1962 West Indies Federation
1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931,
Canada
Canada and other British dominions obtained
self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of
Canada.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion
until it joined
Canada
Canada in 1949.
South America
1631–1641 Providence Island
1651–1667 Willoughbyland
1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands4
1831–1966 Guiana
Since 1833 Falkland Islands5
Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands5
4. Now a department of Colombia.
5. Occupied by Argentina during the
Falklands War
_1982.jpg/602px-Falklands,_Campaign,_(Distances_to_bases)_1982.jpg)
Falklands War of April–June
1982.
Africa
17th and 18th centuries
19th century
20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena14
1792–1961 Sierra Leone
1795–1803 Cape Colony
Since 1815 Ascension Island14
Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha14
1806–1910 Cape of Good Hope
1807–1808 Madeira
1810–1968 Mauritius
1816–1965 The Gambia
1856–1910 Natal
1862–1906 Lagos
1868–1966 Basutoland
1874–1957 Gold Coast
1882–1922 Egypt
1884–1900 Niger Coast
1884–1966 Bechuanaland
1884–1960 Somaliland
1887–1897 Zululand
1890–1962 Uganda
1890–1963 Zanzibar
1891–1964 Nyasaland
1891–1907 Central Africa
1893–1968 Swaziland
1895–1920 East Africa
1899–1956 Sudan
1900–1914 Northern Nigeria
1900–1914 Southern Nigeria
1900–1910 Orange River
1900–1910 Transvaal
1903–1976 Seychelles
1910–1931 South Africa
1914–1960 Nigeria
1915–1931 South-West Africa
1919–1961 Cameroons6
1920–1963 Kenya
1922–1961 Tanganyika6
1923–1965 and 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia7
1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia
6.
League of Nations
League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared
independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised
state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised
independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until
it withdrew in 2003.
Asia
17th and 18th century
19th century
20th century
1685–1824 Bencoolen
1702–1705 Pulo Condore
1757–1947 Bengal
1762–1764 Manila and Cavite
1781–1784 and 1795–1819 Padang
1786–1946 Penang
1795–1948 Ceylon
1796–1965 Maldives
1811–1816 Java
1812–1824 Banka and Billiton
1819–1826 Malaya
1824–1948 Burma
1826–1946 Straits Settlements
1839–1967 Aden
1839–1842 Afghanistan
1841–1997 Hong Kong
1841–1946 Sarawak
1848–1946 Labuan
1858–1947 India
1874–1963 Borneo
1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate)
1882–1963 North Borneo
1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States
1888–1984 Brunei
1891–1971 Muscat and Oman
1892–1971 Trucial States
1895–1946 Federated Malay States
1898–1930 Weihai
1878–1960 Cyprus
1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate)
1918–1961 Kuwait
1920–1932 Mesopotamia8
1921–1946 Transjordan8
1923–1948 Palestine8
1945–1946 South Vietnam
1946–1963 North Borneo
1946–1963 Sarawak
1946–1963 Singapore
1946–1948 Malayan Union
1948–1957
Federation
Federation of Malaya
Since 1960
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus)
Since 1965
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius
and the Seychelles)
8
League of Nations
League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and
replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty
Oceania
18th and 19th centuries
20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales
1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania
1807–1863 Auckland Islands9
1824–1980 New Hebrides
1824–1901 Queensland
1829–1901 Swan River/Western Australia
1836–1901 South Australia
since 1838 Pitcairn Islands
1841–1907 New Zealand
1851–1901 Victoria
1874–1970 Fiji10
1877–1976 Western Pacific Territories
1884–1949 Papua
1888–1901 Rarotonga/Cook Islands9
1889–1948 Union Islands9
1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands11
1893–1978 Solomon Islands12
1900–1970 Tonga
1900–1974 Niue9
1901–1942 *Australia
1907–1947 *New Zealand
1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru
1919–1949 New Guinea
1949–1975 Papua and New Guinea13
9. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
10. Suspended member.
11. Now
Kiribati
Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
12. Now the *Solomon Islands.
13. Now *Papua New Guinea.
Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena14
Since 1815 Ascension Island14
Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha14
Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory15
1841–1933
Australian Antarctic Territory
Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the
Commonwealth of Australia)
1841–1947
Ross Dependency
Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da
Cunha;
Ascension Island
Ascension Island (1922–) and
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were
previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British
Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands).
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