paragraph_text: This is a list of countries and territories with a flag that incorporates the Union Jack. Six Commonwealth nations have the Union Jack on their national flag. The first Commonwealth country to drop the Union Jack was Canada in 1965, after adopting a new national flag. The most recent country to drop the Union Jack from its flag was South Africa in 1994, after adopting a new national flag. The only overseas territory without the Union Jack on its current flag is Gibraltar.

paragraph_text: Alta River (, Alta, Iltytsya) is a small river in Ukraine and is a right tributary of the Trubizh River. The ancient town of Pereyaslav (currently Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine) is situated between the Trubizh and Alta rivers.

paragraph_text: The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of Canberra (Melbourne was the seat of government from 1901 to 1927). The FCT was renamed the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in 1938. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911.

paragraph_text: Alta is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. Alta is located on West Virginia Route 16 and West Virginia Route 39 north of Gauley Bridge.

paragraph_text: Biysky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the fifty-nine in Altai Krai, Russia. It is located in the east of the krai and borders with Zonalny, Tselinny, Soltonsky, Krasnogorsky, Sovetsky, and Smolensky Districts, as well as with the territory of the City of Biysk. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the city of Biysk (which is not administratively a part of the district). District's population:

paragraph_text: The Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Commonwealth), also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation.

paragraph_text: Francisco Garcés was the first European in the area. Nevada was annexed as a part of the Spanish Empire in the northwestern territory of New Spain. Administratively, the area of Nevada was part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Nevada became a part of Alta California (Upper California) province in 1804 when the Californias were split. With the Mexican War of Independence won in 1821, the province of Alta California became a territory - not a state - of Mexico, due to the small population. In later years, a desire for increased autonomy led to several attempts by the Alta Californians to gain independence from Mexico. Jedediah Smith entered the Las Vegas Valley in 1827, and Peter Skene Ogden traveled the Humboldt River in 1828. As a result of the Mexican -- American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo, Mexico permanently lost Alta California in 1848. The new areas acquired by the United States continued to be administered as territories. As part of the Mexican Cession (1848) and the subsequent California Gold Rush that used Emigrant Trails through the area, the state's area evolved first as part of the Utah Territory, then the Nevada Territory (March 2, 1861; named for the Sierra Nevada). The capitol is Carson City

paragraph_text: Kåfjord is a village in Alta Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The village is located along the Kåfjorden, about west of the town of Alta along the European route E6 highway. The village of Kvenvik lies about to the east, also along the E6 highway.

paragraph_text: Llonín is one of eight parishes (administrative divisions) in Peñamellera Alta, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.

paragraph_text: Lago La Plata is a lake located between the municipalities of Naranjito, Toa Alta, and Bayamón in Puerto Rico. The lake was created in 1973 and serves as a reservoir for potable water.

paragraph_text: Bogotá (/ ˈboʊɡətɑː /, / ˌbɒɡəˈtɑː /, / ˌboʊ - /; Spanish pronunciation: (boɣoˈta) (listen)), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santafé de Bogotá between 1991 and 2000, is the capital and largest city of Colombia, administered as the Capital District, although often thought of as part of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economic, administrative, industrial, artistic, cultural, and sports center of the country.

paragraph_text: Trescares is one of eight parishes (administrative divisions) in Peñamellera Alta, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. It is located in the Picos de Europa National Park.

paragraph_text: Located in the northeastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico formed a key part of the Spanish Empire from the early years of the exploration, conquest and colonization of the New World. The island was a major military post during many wars between Spain and other European powers for control of the region in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The smallest of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico was a stepping - stone in the passage from Europe to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, and the northern territories of South America. Throughout most of the 19th century until the conclusion of the Spanish -- American War, Puerto Rico and Cuba were the last two Spanish colonies in the New World; they served as Spain's final outposts in a strategy to regain control of the American continents. Realizing that it was in danger of losing its two remaining Caribbean territories, the Spanish Crown revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in Spanish, English and French in order to attract Europeans, with the hope that the independence movements would lose their popularity and strength with the arrival of new settlers. Free land was offered to those who wanted to populate the islands on the condition that they swear their loyalty to the Spanish Crown and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.

paragraph_text: Vilnius County () is the largest of the 10 counties of Lithuania, located in the east of the country around the city Vilnius. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Vilnius County remains as the territorial and statistical unit.

paragraph_text: Khabarovsky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It consists of two unconnected segments separated by the territory of Amursky District, which are located in the southwest of the krai. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the city of Khabarovsk (which is not administratively a part of the district). Population:

paragraph_text: Puerto Rico (Spanish for ``Rich Port ''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit.`` Free Associated State of Puerto Rico'') and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea.

paragraph_text: Kuo Chuan Single Member Constituency was a constituency in Singapore. It used to exist from 1972 to 1988. Kuo Chuan is home to the Toa Payoh west and the upcoming Bishan New Town, which has been developed since 1988. It was merged into Toa Payoh GRC.

paragraph_text: The Alice Springs Correctional Centre, an Australian medium to maximum security prison for males and females, is located outside Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. The centre is managed by Northern Territory Correctional Services, an agency of the Department of Justice of the Government of the Northern Territory. The centre detains sentenced and charged felons under Northern Territory and/or Commonwealth law.

paragraph_text: Britain retains sovereignty over 14 territories outside the British Isles.   In 1983, the British Nationality Act 1981 renamed the existing Crown Colonies as "British Dependent Territories", and in 2002 they were renamed the British Overseas Territories. Three are uninhabited except for transient military or scientific personnel; the remaining eleven are self-governing to varying degrees and are reliant on the UK for foreign relations and defence. The British government has stated its willingness to assist any Overseas Territory that wishes to proceed to independence, where that is an option, and three territories have specifically voted to remain under British sovereignty (Bermuda in 1995, Gibraltar in 2002 and the Falkland Islands in 2013).British sovereignty of several of the overseas territories is disputed by their geographical neighbours: Gibraltar is claimed by Spain, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are 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 United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

paragraph_text: In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of New Guinea were established in an administrative union by the name of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. That administrative union was renamed as Papua New Guinea in 1971. Notwithstanding that it was part of an administrative union, the Territory of Papua at all times retained a distinct legal status and identity; it was a Possession of the Crown whereas the Territory of New Guinea was initially a League of Nations mandate territory and subsequently a United Nations trust territory. This important legal and political distinction remained until the advent of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea in 1975.

Question: What was the place Toa Alta is located before it was a commonwealth?
Answer: a key part of the Spanish Empire