The Origins and History of the Commonwealth
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The indisputable fact is that almost all the countries were once a part of what was known as the British Empire, which means they were ruled by Britain. Today, Britain is just one of the Commonwealth's members, with no extra privileges or responsibilities.The process of transformation of empire - at its height Britain controlled 25% of the world's land surface - into the modern Commonwealth is a remarkable one.
The origins of the Commonwealth
The beginnings: explorers, traders and settlers
To trace the origins of the Commonwealth it is necessary to go back some five hundred years. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, when Elizabeth I and then James I were English monarchs, English adventurers began exploring the world beyond the limits of Europe. Before then, Europeans had travelled across land into Asia, but what was new were their voyages across the oceans. It was not only the English who were turning their attention to the world beyond the immediate horizon - explorers and adventurers from Portugal, Spain and Holland were doing the same thing.
The long and remarkable voyages of these men took the small sailing ships of the time across the Atlantic, to the far north of Canada, around the southernmost tip of South America, into the Pacific, and around the Cape of Good Hope to reach India and the islands of the East Indies (now Indonesia).
The explorers were followed by other British people who saw exciting opportunities in the new lands and new sea routes.
- John Cabot sailed from Bristol in 1497, and found the area of North America which came to be called 'Newfoundland'. By the 1570s, fishermen from the south-west of England were regularly spending their summers in Newfoundland, returning to England with their salted cod before the winter.
- A group of merchants came together in 1600 and formed the East India Company. The object of this company was to trade with India and the East Indies. The items the traders most valued were initially spices - as precious as gold in Europe at the time and used for food, cosmetics and medicines. Other valuable items of trade were tea, fine china, and beautiful fabrics.
- The first British colony in North America was started in 1607. This was at Jamestown. Both here and then elsewhere in North America and some West Indian islands, tobacco was grown to export to Europe. Smoking had recently become a fashionable occupation there. cont...
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