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| | Commonwealth, the (British) - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about Commonwealth, the (British) |
 | | The Commonwealth of Nations, formerly the British Commonwealth, but now referred to simply as the Commonwealth, is a successor organization that evolved by stages from the old British Empire. |
 | | The first countries of the old British Empire to gain independence were Canada (1867), Australia (1901), New Zealand (1907), and South Africa (1910), but their status was uncertain until defined by the Statute of Westminster (1931) which established the equal relationship between the four dominions and Britain. |
 | | Commonwealth ties, once important politically, militarily, and economically, are now mainly cultural and economic, although the latter have weakened considerably with the transformation of Empire into Commonwealth. |
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