The Origins and History of the Commonwealth
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At the beginning of the 20th century, the Empire was made up of three kinds of colony. There were the lands to which British people had emigrated - Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. There was India - in a category of its own. And there were the others - the colonies in Africa, Asia, South Pacific, the Caribbean. These included strings of islands, sometimes quite remote from anywhere else, such as St Helena and Ascension in the South Atlantic.
The British had taken control of these small places as useful stopping places for their ships. British people only made up 12% of the peoples of the Empire. But all peoples had the English monarch as their head of state, used the English language for official purposes and for education, and adopted the English legal system.
The Dominions
The lands where British people had settled in large numbers wanted to run their own affairs. From 1897 until 1945 the leaders of these countries met regularly at Imperial Conferences. After discussion about the status of these countries the word 'dominion' began to be used. In 1926 the terms of Dominion status were agreed in the Balfour Report. These countries and Britain were described as: ' ...autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations'.
In 1931 the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster which allowed the Dominions to become independent nations.
The colonies
The colonies were not thought of as being able to run their own affairs. Small groups of British officials administered enormous areas, imposing British justice, keeping law and order and charging taxes. Railways were built from the coasts into the interior: in Kenya the railway meant white settlers could travel to the good farming lands in the highlands; often the railways were used to bring crops to the coast for export. The building of schools and hospitals was often left to the missionaries.
India
Although large numbers of Indian troops fought for Britain in both world wars, there was great unrest in that country. By 1906 there were two powerful political parties in India: the Indian National Congress, which came to represent the Hindu people of India (who made up about 80% of the population); and the All-India Muslim League which represented the Muslims (who made up about 20%).
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