The Commonwealth diaspora is the group of people whose ancestry traces back to countries in 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 ...

, a group mainly consisting of

former British colonies Below are lists of the countries and territories that were formerly ruled or administered by the United Kingdom or part of the British Empire (including military occupations that did not retain the pre-war central government), with their independ ...

History

Colonial era

The British Empire enabled a substantial amount of commercial migration; for example, 1.5 million Indian merchants are estimated to have gone abroad in the 19th century. Preferential access to trade with other British colonies, as well as new commercial opportunities unlocked within India by

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

and markets established by the British, influenced this migration flow. Indian migrants played a significant role in the expansion of the British Empire, though at times involuntarily, as in the case of many

indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...

or exiled criminals.

Contemporary era

In the aftermath of

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

and the rapid breakup 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 ...

, Britain invited Commonwealth citizens to immigrate to Britain as part of the post-war rebuilding of the nation. Many of these immigrants faced significant racism. Restrictions on Commonwealth migration to Britain later emerged with the

Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 ( 10 & 11 Eliz. 2. c. 21) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act entailed stringent restrictions on the entry of Commonwealth citizens into the United Kingdom. Only those with work permits ...

. Intra-Commonwealth migration began to slow down in general, as recently liberated countries began to develop a greater sense of national identity and desire to limit foreign influences in general.

Recent decades

The Commonwealth diaspora in Britain in particular has been identified as a potential asset, allowing Britain to make economic and other connections to other Commonwealth countries, which has been a particularly relevant topic of discussion as Britain charts its post-

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

future and decides which groupings of countries to focus on working with (such as with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

). Immigration between Commonwealth countries, which makes up half of all Commonwealth migration, has played a significant role in linking Commonwealth countries together economically and culturally. The British royalty have previously hosted events commemorating this diaspora.

Culture

Language

The

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

has played a role in facilitating migration within the Commonwealth.

Sport

Various groups in the Commonwealth diaspora, such as Caribbean diasporas, have been noted for being bound together by the sport of

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, as well as introducing cricket to a number of countries, such as Canada and the United States.