"present at the quadrennial Commonwealth Games and on every Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March, broadcasts a message to all member countries. In 1949, King George VI was king of each of the countries that then comprised the British Commonwealth (later the Commonwealth of Nations): the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and Ceylon. However, the Indian Cabinet desired the country become a republic, but not depart the Commonwealth as a consequence of no longer having George VI as king, as happened to Ireland. To accommodate this, the London Declaration, devised by Canadian prime minister"
"Zealand, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland and 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"". Today Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are sometimes referred to collectively as the ""White Commonwealth"". Four colonies of Australia had enjoyed responsible government since 1856: New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Queensland had responsible government soon after its founding in 1859 but, because of ongoing financial dependence on Britain, Western Australia became the last Australian colony to attain self-government"
"named it ""Staten Land"" ""in honour of the States General"" (Dutch parliament). He wrote, ""it is possible that this land joins to the Staten Land but it is uncertain"", referring to a landmass of the same name at the southern tip of South America, discovered by Jacob Le Maire in 1616. In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land ""Nova Zeelandia"" after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand. ""Aotearoa"" (pronounced ; often translated as ""land of the long white cloud"") is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown"
"New Zealand meaning ""Land of the Long White Cloud"". Hundertwasser also saw the design as representing humanity in harmony with nature. It is claimed by some New Zealanders that the current flag of New Zealand is a reminder of British colonialism and does not truly represent their culture; however, those who support the current flag say that it represents the history of the country as a part of the British Empire and location in the southern hemisphere. The flag can be seen on the counter of the convenience store in the 1997 film ""subUrbia"". A design based on Hundertwasser's flag"
"Dealings with government agencies may be conducted in Māori, but in practice, this almost always requires interpreters, restricting its everyday use to the limited geographical areas of high Māori fluency, and to more formal occasions, such as during public consultation. Increasingly New Zealand is referred to by the Māori name (""land of the long white cloud""), though originally this referred only to the North Island of New Zealand. An interpreter is on hand at sessions of the New Zealand Parliament for instances when a Member wishes to speak in Māori. A 1994 ruling by the Judicial Committee of the Privy"
"land area of the Commonwealth nations is about , or about 21% of the total world land area. The three largest Commonwealth nations by area are Canada at , Australia at , and India at . In 2016, the Commonwealth members had a combined gross domestic product of over $9 trillion, 78% of which is accounted for by the four largest economies: United Kingdom ($2.629 trillion), India ($2.256 trillion), Canada ($1.529 trillion), and Australia ($1.258 trillion). The status of ""Member in Arrears"" is used to denote those that are in arrears in paying subscription dues. The status was originally known"
"Commonwealth Bay Commonwealth Bay is an open bay about 48 km (30 mi) wide at the entrance between Point Alden and Cape Gray in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1912 by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under Douglas Mawson, who established the main base of the expedition at Cape Denison at the head of the bay. Named by Australasian Antarctic Expedition after the Commonwealth of Australia. The bay is listed in both the ""Guinness Book of World Records"" and the Eighth Edition of the ""National Geographic Atlas"" as the windiest place on Earth with winds regularly exceeding per hour and an"
"Arnold Smith of Canada (1965–75), followed by Sir Shridath Ramphal of Guyana (1975–90), Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria (1990–99), and Don McKinnon of New Zealand (2000–2008). In recognition of their shared heritage and culture, Commonwealth countries are not considered to be ""foreign"" to each other, although the technical extent of this concept varies in different countries. For example, in Australia, for the purpose of considering certain constitutional and legal provisions no distinction is made between Commonwealth and foreign countries: in the High Court case of ""Sue v Hill"", other Commonwealth countries were held to be foreign powers; similarly, in ""Nolan"
"states are Commonwealth realms, with the Head of the Commonwealth as their head of state. Five others are monarchies with their own individual monarchs (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, Tonga) and the rest are republics. Republic of Ireland (from 1949 according to the Commonwealth; 1936 according to Irish government), Zimbabwe (2003), and Maldives (2016) are former members of the Commonwealth. South Africa, Pakistan and The Gambia left and later rejoined the Commonwealth. All dates below are provided by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretariat members list, and population figures are as of 1 January 2018. A. Unless otherwise noted, independence was gained"
"regarded as the most comprehensive guide to the country. Kromer's works and other contemporary maps, such as those of Gerardus Mercator, show the Commonwealth as mostly plains. The Commonwealth's southeastern part, the Kresy, was famous for its steppes. The Carpathian Mountains formed part of the southern border, with the Tatra Mountain chain the highest, and the Baltic Sea formed the Commonwealth's northern border. As with most European countries at the time, the Commonwealth had extensive forest cover, especially in the east. Today, what remains of the Białowieża Forest constitutes the last largely intact primeval forest in Europe. a. Name in"
"Commonwealth Range The Commonwealth Range is a north-south trending range of rugged mountains, long, located within the Queen Maud Mountains on the Dufek Coast of the continent of Antarctica. The range borders the eastern side of Beardmore Glacier from the Ross Ice Shelf to Keltie Glacier. The range was discovered by the British Antarctic Expedition (1907–09) and named by the expedition after the Commonwealth of Australia, which gave much assistance to the expedition. Its highest peak is Flat Top at 4000 meters or 13,123 feet. Other peaks within the range include: Flat Top's next highest neighbor is the massive Mount"
"Commonwealth (U.S. state) Commonwealth is a designation used by four of the 50 states of the United States in their full official state names: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Prior to the formation of the United States of America in 1776, all four were part of Great Britain's possessions along the Atlantic coast of North America. As such, they share a strong influence of English common law in some of their laws and institutions. The term ""commonwealth"" does not describe or provide for any specific"
"""Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland"". The name was used officially for the confederal country formed by Poland and Lithuania 1569–1795. It is also often referred as ""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"" from the beginning of the reign). ""A commonwealth of"
"federation. Australia operates under a federal system, in which power is divided between the federal (national) government and the state governments (the successors of the six colonies). So, in an Australian context, the term ""Commonwealth"" (capitalized) refers to the federal government, and ""Commonwealth of Australia"" is the official name of the country. The Bahamas uses the official style ""Commonwealth of The Bahamas"". The small Caribbean republic of Dominica has used the official style ""Commonwealth of Dominica"" since 1970. Four states of the United States officially designate themselves as ""commonwealths"". All four were part of Great Britain's possessions along the Atlantic"
"Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS; ), also sometimes called the Russian Commonwealth in order to distinguish it from the Commonwealth of Nations, is a regional intergovernmental organization of 10 post-Soviet republics in Eurasia formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It has an area of 20,368,759 km² (8,097,484 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation over economical, political and military aspects and has certain powers possessing coordinating in trade, finance, lawmaking and security. It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. The CIS has its origins in"
"Commonwealth laws would not change. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the ""Alliance of the Three Black Eagles"" (or ""'s Treaty""), because all three states used a black eagle as a state symbol (in contrast to the white eagle, a symbol of Poland). The Commonwealth had been forced to rely on Russia for protection against the rising Kingdom of Prussia, which demanded a slice of the northwest in order to unite its Western and Eastern portions; this would leave the Commonwealth with a Baltic coast only in Latvia and Lithuania. Catherine had to use diplomacy to win Austria"
"Commonwealth (Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Mazovia, Pomerelia, Kujawy, Podlasie), which for the most part had not been affected by major wars for 200 years. Professor Andrzej Rottermund, manager of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, claims that the Swedish army robbed Poland of her most precious goods - thousands of works of art, books and valuables. Most of these items have never been returned to Poland, and are kept both in private Swedish hands and in Stockholm museums, such as the Swedish Army Museum, and Livrustkammaren. Almost all cities, towns, castles and churches in locations where Swedish troops were stationed were"
"Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth of Nations Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth of Nations have had a controversial and stormy diplomatic relationship. Zimbabwe is a former member of the Commonwealth, having withdrawn in 2003, and the issue of Zimbabwe has repeatedly taken centre stage in the Commonwealth, both since Zimbabwe's independence and as part of the British Empire. Zimbabwe was the British colony of Southern Rhodesia, gaining responsible government in 1923. Southern Rhodesia became one of the most prosperous, and heavily settled, of the UK's African colonies, with a system of white minority rule. Southern Rhodesia was integrated into the Federation of"
"of the crisis, and a Commonwealth military force that kept the peace. For its part, Mozambique was recognised as a 'cousin state' of the Commonwealth, and was rewarded for its opposition to the Rhodesian regime with accession to the Commonwealth in 1995: becoming the only member without direct constitutional links to another. In recent times, Zimbabwe has dominated the agendas of most Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGMs). President Robert Mugabe's government is accused of abusing human rights, rigging elections, undermining the Zimbabwean economy. The matters his Government is accused of contravene the basic principles of the Commonwealth, as outlined"
"Commonwealth of Nations for a decade. Ten years later, after constitutional talks and an election, Sitiveni Rabuka, who instigated the two military coups, presented a tabua, a tooth of a sperm whale, to Queen Elizabeth during the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. This gesture from Rabuka, by now the Prime Minister of Fiji, is a traditional sign of profound respect and was given as an apology for having broken his oath of allegiance to her as an officer of the Military of Fiji. The agreed Constitution of 1997 provided for a President as Head of State of"
"voluntary association of over 50 independent sovereign states, most of which are former colonies of the British Empire. A few Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom itself, allow Commonwealth citizens (formerly ""British subjects"") voting or eligibility rights at all levels, either with or without specific restrictions not applying to local citizens: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malawi (all foreign residents, not only Commonwealth citizens), Mauritius, Namibia (all foreign residents, not only Commonwealth citizens), New Zealand (all foreign residents, before 1975 only Commonwealth citizens), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. (CN member)"
"emeritus. Government Tourism and recreation Culture and history Maps and Demographics Virginia Virginia (), officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia is nicknamed the ""Old Dominion"" due to its status as the first English colonial possession established in mainland North America and ""Mother of Presidents"" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for"
"not across it – to simplify administration. In this case, the westernmost point is on Banaba Island, in Kiribati, at 169°32'13""E. The easternmost point is on Niue, a state free association with New Zealand, at 169°52'11""W. Including only territories that are themselves directly members of the Commonwealth, the westernmost point would be on Vatoa, Fiji, at 178°15'W. The highest point in the Commonwealth by elevation above sea level is the summit of K2, which lies at 35°52′57″N 76°30′48″E, on the border between Pakistan and China. At , it is the world’s second-tallest mountain. The most-prominent peak in the Commonwealth is"
"claimed by Argentina, and the British Indian Ocean Territory is claimed by Mauritius and Seychelles. The British Antarctic Territory is subject to overlapping claims by Argentina and Chile, while many countries do not recognise any territorial claims in Antarctica. Most former British colonies and protectorates are among the 52 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, comprising a population of around 2.2 billion people. Sixteen Commonwealth realms voluntarily continue to share the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as their head of state. These sixteen nations are distinct and equal legal entities – the"
"Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in which Queen Elizabeth II is the reigning constitutional monarch and head of state. Each realm is independent from the other realms. As of 2018, there are 16 Commonwealth realms: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom. All 16 Commonwealth realms are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states. Elizabeth II is Head of the Commonwealth. In 1952,"
"the United States, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. A large number of young people are also taking advantage of working holiday visas made available by the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth states. White Africans, including the British diaspora, generally enjoy an outdoor lifestyle and sports. The ""braai"" is a popular way to gather with friends and family. Other popular pastimes include visiting game reserves, hiking, camping and recreational angling. There is a particular appreciation of country life and farming. Farmers themselves generally prefer holiday houses at the coast. In other ways, the culture of"
"the Commonwealth that recognise the Queen as their monarch. When the monarch dies, the successor to the crown does not automatically become Head of the Commonwealth. However, at their meeting in April 2018, Commonwealth leaders agreed that Prince Charles should succeed his mother as head. The position is symbolic, representing the free association of independent members, the majority of which (31) are republics, and five have monarchs of different royal houses (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga). The main decision-making forum of the organisation is the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), where Commonwealth heads of government, including (amongst"
"Commonwealth on independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, was Queen of Malawi, represented by the Governor-General of Malawi, until the country became a Commonwealth republic in 1966, when the then Prime Minister of Malawi, Hastings Banda, declared himself the first President of Malawi. Foreign relations of Malawi Malawi's former President Bakili Muluzi continued the pro-Western foreign policy established by former President Hastings Banda. It maintains excellent diplomatic relations with principal Western countries. Malawi's close relations with South Africa throughout the apartheid era strained its relations with other African nations. Following the collapse"
"the Commonwealth, known as the Deluge, took place within the context of the Second Northern War. In 1655 the Commonwealth's survival had become endangered, when the huge federation, already critically weakened by the offensive of the Russians, who occupied most of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and by Khmelnytsky's Cossacks holding fast to the lands they overran in Ukraine, was subjected to a massive attack by Sweden. The Swedish leaders, emboldened by the Peace of Westphalia gains, including the western Duchy of Pomerania, intended precisely to take advantage of Poland's grave difficulties, hoping to easily take over at least Courland"
"in a bid to discourage the most aggressive tax dodging practices. It also had a so-called gray list which includes those who have committed to change their rules on tax transparency and cooperation. The 17 blacklisted territories are: American Samoa, Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Guam, South Korea, Macau, The Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates. Some activists denounced the listing process as a whitewash and had called for the inclusion in the blacklist of some EU countries accused of facilitating tax avoidance, like Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland and the Netherlands. The Common"
"prospered thanks to its enormous grain, wood and salt exports. In the 16th century, the area of the Commonwealth reached almost 1 million km, with a population of 11 million. Its goods were transported to Western Europe via Baltic Sea ports of Gdańsk, Elbląg, Riga, Memel and Königsberg. The Commonwealth had several major cities, such as Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Lviv, Vilnius, Toruń and Kiev. During the Golden Age the Commonwealth was regarded as one of the most powerful European states. It had a unique system of government, known as the Golden Liberty, in which all nobles (szlachta), regardless of economic"
"Virginia Virginia (), officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia is nicknamed the ""Old Dominion"" due to its status as the first English colonial possession established in mainland North America and ""Mother of Presidents"" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth"
"a state of the Commonwealth of Australia. Over a period of 40 years, from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, traders ""recruited"" native non-European labourers for the sugar cane fields of Queensland, from the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia as well as Niue. The Queensland government tried to regulate the trade: it required every ship engaged in recruiting labourers from the Pacific islands to carry a person approved by the government to ensure that labourers were willingly recruited and not kidnapped. But, such government observers were"