Barry Christopher, age 13, of Kingston, Ontario, 'Canada, for his question:
WHAT IS THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS?
Between 1947 and 1970, about 30 British colonies became independent nations: Nearly all of them joined the Commonwealth of Nations. During this same period of time, Newfoundland became a province of Canada, and Ireland and South Africa gave up their Commonwealth membership because of disagreements with other countries in the group. Black African nations make up nearly half of the Commonwealth.
The association of independent countries and their dependencies that have lived under British law and government is called the Commonwealth of Nations. Included in the association is Great Britain and about 35 nations that once were British colonies.
Britain and a few other member nations have about 30 territories that are considered part of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth of Nations and its territories cover about a fourth of the earth's land surface and have about a fourth of the world's population.
Mutual cooperation that stems from their common history is a tradition of the countries in the Commonwealth. At association meetings, members try to identify common goals in economic and foreign affairs.
Independent members are former British colonies that have become self governing but that have retained their Commonwealth ties. Britain and about 10 other Commonwealth nations, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are monarchies that regard the British ruler as head of state. About half, including India, are republics.
Dependencies are Commonwealth areas that do not have complete self governmen t. They are administered by independent Commonwealth members. Most dependencies are developing toward self government.
The Commonwealth of Nations started to take form in the early 1900s. At a 1926 Imperial Conference, participating countries declared themselves self governing nations. The Statute of Westminister, a British law of 1931, legalized the 1926 declaration.
The original Commonwealth members were Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa.
In 1932, the Commonwealth nations established a trade arrangement. Britain imported goods from Commonwealth countries without imposing the usual tariffs. Other member nations negotiated favorable trade agreements with each other.
Commonwealth members support agencies that promote cooperation in activities such as broadcasting, satellite and cable communications, education, health care and scientific research.