Commonwealth of Britain

The Commonwealth of Britain, commonly known as Commonwealth, CB, COB or Britain, is a country in northwest Europe. It comprises of 40 states. The Commonwealth of Britain includes the island of Great Britain, and the north east corner of the island of Ireland, known as the state of Ulster. The country shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the Commonwealth is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel, the North Sea, the Celtic Sea and the Irish sea. The Commonwealth has a population of 90 million people (2023 estimate), and the country possesses 37 overseas territories that have a total population of 16 million.

## Commonwealth of Britain

Flag of Britain (Union Jack)

Map of Britain in Europe

### Minority Languages

Scots, Ulster Scots
Welsh
Cornish
Scottish Gaelic
Irish

### Ethnic Groups (2021)

89% White
 6% Asian
2% Black
3% Other

### Religion (2021)

69% Christian
15% No religion
5% Jewish
 1% Muslim
2% Hindu
 4% Other religion
 4% undeclared

### Government

Federal presidential constitutional republic

### Formation

1649 Declaration of Republic
 1717 Treaty of Edinburgh
1799 Treaty of Dublin
 1923 Irish Treaty

### Area

93,628 (sq mi)
 242,495 (km2)
(1.51% Water)

### Population density (2021)

960.3/sq mi
 370.8/sq km

### Internet TLD

.cb

The Commonwealth was founded in 1649 following the English Civil War, and the removal of King Charles as the monarch, becoming a republic. The country gradually admitted states throughout its history. The Republic of Scotland joined the Commonwealth in 1717 under the 1717 Treaty of Edinburgh, Ulster, Ireland and Dublin states in 1799 until the latter 2 left the union in 1923, leaving the borders of the present day country. The 37 overseas territories the country has are the remnants of the British Empire, which controlled a quarter of the world in terms of area and population at its 1923 peak, making it the largest empire in history. The dominance of the Commonwealth can be seen through its Commonwealth of Nations, an international organisation of 26 countries, 13 of which are under the same president. The dominance is also observed globally through language, culture, legal and political systems of many former colonies.

The Commonwealth of Britain is a federal presidential constitutional republic. Its capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial centre. Other major cities include Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and Liverpool. Each state has their own government to decide domestic laws, other decisions are made by the federal government. The Commonwealth became the world's first industrialised country and was the foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period of unchallenged global hegemony known as "Pax Britannica". In the 21st century, the Commonwealth remains a great power and has significant economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence. The Commonwealth has the world's third-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP). It is a recognised nuclear state and is ranked third globally in military expenditure. It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.

The Commonwealth of Britain is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the Group of Ten, the G20, Five Eyes, the United Nations (UN), NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Commonwealth is also considered a part of the "Big Four", or G4, an unofficial group of four European nations. It is also a member state of the European Economic Community (EEC) from since its accession in 1973.

## History

### Prior to Republic

Settlement by anatomically modern humans of what was to become the Commonwealth of Britain occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged, in the main, to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland.

The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain, was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing the Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales, Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic-speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in the 5th century)united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century.

In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England, they seized large parts of Wales, conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with, each of the local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and made unsuccessful attempts to annex Scotland. Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England.

The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years' War, while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England, and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Ulster, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.

The English Reformation ushered in political, constitutional, social and cultural change in the 16th century. Moreover, it defined a national identity for England and slowly, but profoundly, changed people's religious beliefs and established the Church of England.

In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions.

### English Civil War (1642-1649)

See "English Civil War"

Led by Oliver Cromwell, the Roundheads defeated the royalists in the English Civil War, which lead to King Charles getting beheaded and the declaration of a Republic on 19 May 1649.

### Commonwealth of England (1649-1717)

The Commonwealth of England was initially was governed by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector in the House of Commons, but the new ratified constitution led to the creation of a congress. The states of Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Essex were admitted before the first 1650 Presidential Election, so the state legislatures for those states elected Henry Howard to the office of President of the Commonwealth, unopposed. Cromwell later became President after winning the 1654 Presidential Election for the Whigs, and under his presidency Ireland was re-conquered by the Commonwealth after it had left during the civil war. Measures were taken to secure the Commonwealth as a Republic, and ensure nearby Republics of Scotland and the Dutch Republic would stay as Republics.

As members of the former royal family ran for the presidency, the federal republic became accepted by the majority of people, despite still being very divided under Cromwell.

One of the major crisis during the Commonwealth of England period was the Great Fire of London in 1666, which spread and burnt down parts of the capital city.

### Commonwealth of Britain after Treaty of Edinburgh (1717-1799)

Under President Robert Harley, the Commonwealth of England and the Republic of Scotland signed the Treaty of Edinburgh, which united the two countries, creating the Commonwealth of Britain. This has been expected for some time; the Republic of Scotland was struggling with colonisation, dragging it far behind other European competitors. Furthermore, it had being a Republic in common with England, so uniting with England made its position as a Republic stronger.

#### North America colonisation and Seven Years' War

In these years, the Commonwealth of Britain was focusing its efforts on colonising North America, against its French and Spanish competitors.

### Treaty of Dublin and Pax Britannica (1799-1914)

Commonwealth after Treaty of Dublin and during Pax Britannica

### World Wars and Treaty of Ireland (1914-1944)

Commonwealth of Britain during world wars and Irish Independence Wars

## Geography

The total area of the Commonwealth of Britain is approximately 94,530 square miles (244,820 square kilometers). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.
In 1993 10 per cent of the Commonwealth was forested, 46 per cent used for pastures and 25 per cent cultivated for agriculture. The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London was chosen as the defining point of the Prime Meridian in Georgetown, in 1884, although due to more accurate modern measurement the meridian actually lies 300 feet to the east of the observatory.
The Commonwealth lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N, and longitudes 9° W and 2° E. Ulster shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland. The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long. It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel, which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.
The Commonwealth contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests, English Lowlands beech forests, North Atlantic moist mixed forests, and Caledon conifer forests. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.65/10, ranking it 161th globally out of 172 countries.

### Climate

Most of the Commonwealth of Britain has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 32 °F (0 °C) or rising above 86 °F (30 °C). Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Ulster and most of Scotland, experience a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc). Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate (Dfc) and the mountains experience a tundra climate (ET).
The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions, the eastern parts are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters; especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills.
The average total annual sunshine in the Commonwealth is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible. The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the Commonwealth has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine.
. There has been a significant increase in renewable power over the last few decades in the Commonwealth, and Commonwealth emissions have fallen faster than most western nations.

### Topography

England accounts for just over half (53 per cent) of the total area of the Commonwealth, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 square kilometers). Most of the country consists of lowland terrain, with more upland and some mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line; including the Lake District, the Pennines, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber. England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike (3,209 ft (879 meters)) in the Lake District.
Scotland accounts for just under one-third (32 per cent) of the total area of the Commonwealth, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 sq km). This includes nearly 800 islands, predominantly west and north of the mainland; notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous country in the Commonwealth and its topography is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault – a geological rock fracture – which traverses Scotland from Arran in the west to Stonehaven in the east. The fault separates two distinctively different regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the Lowlands to the south and east. The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including Ben Nevis which at 4,413 feet (1,345m) is the highest point in the British Isles. The Highlands contains the states of Highlands to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east. Lowland areas – especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt – are flatter and home to most of the population including Glasgow and Edinburgh although upland and mountainous terrain lies within the Southern Uplands.
Wales accounts for less than one-tenth (9 per cent) of the total area of the Commonwealth, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 sq km). Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales. The main population and industrial areas are in South Wales, consisting of the coastal cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and the South Wales Valleys, making up the state of Valleys. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) which, at 3,560 feet (1,085 metres), is the highest peak in Wales. Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 km) of coastline. Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in the north-west.
Ulster, separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and North Channel, has an area of 14,160 square miles (5,470 sq km) and is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh which, at 150 square miles (388 sq km), is the largest lake in the British Isles by area. The highest peak in Ulster is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains at 2,795 ft (852m).

## Government and Politics

Government and Politics of the Commonwealth