| Commonwealth of United British States Timeline: Treaty of Sévres | ||||||
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| Motto: "May the Lord's Commonwealth Reign" |
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| Anthem: Land of Hope and Glory Royal anthem: God Save the King |
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 Location of the Commonwealth (green)
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| Capital | Britannia City | |||||
| Largest city | Karachi | |||||
| Official languages | English | |||||
| Regional languages | Various | |||||
| Demonym | Commonwealth • British | |||||
| Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | Monarch | Charles III | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Nick Clegg | ||||
| - | Speaker of the Commonwealth Congress | Bill Morneau | ||||
| Legislature | Congress | |||||
| Formation | ||||||
| - | Commonwealth Act | 1 January 1927 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2022 estimate | 2.87 billion | ||||
| Currency | Commonwealth dollar ($) (CWD) |
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| Drives on the | Mixed | |||||
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The Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of United British States, is a transcontinental sovereign country spanning all continents excluding Antarctica. It is the largest country in the world, surpassing Russia by a long shot. With a population of almost three billion, the Commonwealth is also the most populated country in the world. The nation's capital is Britannia City, which is also one of the biggest industrial cities within the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth had its origins in the former British Empire, which had existed from the early 16th century until 1927, when - after major negotiations between the British government and all its colonial possessions - the Commonwealth Act was passed, officially creating the modern-day federal transcontinental nation. The Commonwealth emerged as a major superpower in the aftermath of World War II, and sided with the United States against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Commonwealth became the remaining superpower alongside the United States.
The Commonwealth is a federal parliamentary democracy, with the monarchy representing the massive country on a world-scale. Levels of autonomy among each state are high, and the Commonwealth Congress has the most variety of nationalities in any world parliament. The Commonwealth has the second-highest economy in the world behind the United States, and has the most powerful military. The country is a member of the United Nations, the European Union and PATO.
History[]
Early years of the Commonwealth (1927-1939)[]
The London Conference
Prior to 1927, the idea of a federated British Empire was reasonably popular among British politicians in the late 19th century as an alternative to imperial colonisation. The Imperial Federation League was formed as an advocate for this idea, but then it broke up and was replaced with the British Empire League, which fought for upkeeping the unity of the British Empire. Support for an Imperial Federation waned during World War I, although the idea was renewed in the 1920s, which lead to the London Conference, where it was agreed to finally create the union. On 1 January 1927, the Commonwealth Act was passed by the British Parliament, officially creating the modern-day federal union.
With the creation of the Commonwealth, the British Parliament along with all dominion and colonial governments were reorganised and merged into one federal legislature, the Commonwealth Congress. Each dominion and colony was reorganised into states, and the United Kingdom itself was divided into the states of Great Britain and Ireland - the only British-controlled territories that weren't included in the new union were Kuwait, Iraq and British Cyprus - Kuwait because it had voted to remain simply a British protectorate, Iraq because the League of Nations had compromised with the United Kingdom that they would only incorporate Mandated Palestine and Jordon into the Commonwealth and that Iraq would remain simply under British administration, and Cyprus because the Greek Cypriots held a rebellion against the idea of a new commonwealth and in favour of allowing Cyprus to unify with Greece. Negotations between the British and Greek governments first established a condominium in Cyprus to allow a smoother transition, and eventually by 1935, the island was under full Greek sovereignty.
In the late 1920s and early '30s, an economic crisis struck the Commonwealth and the rest of the world, which caused a rise in unemployment in all states of the Commonwealth. These problems lead to a rise of extreme politics within the Commonwealth, most notably Oswald Mosley in the state of Great Britain, who also travelled around the Commonwealth, promoting the ideas of fascism. At first, these ideas were favoured by some people within the country, although after the rise of Adolf Hitler along with his militaristic and authoritarian ideas in Germany, fascism became an enemy of the Commonwealth, who suppressed all attempts by Mosley or other fascists to promote Hitler as a good person. However, with the rise of Nazi Germany, Commonwealth foreign policy became complicated, as Prime Minister Edward Wood, Earl of Halifax took the Commonwealth on a path of appeasement.
World War II (1939-1946)[]
Children in the East End of London, made homeless by the Blitz
Following the German annexation of Czechoslovakia in early 1939, the Commonwealth sought to form an alliance with Poland to ensure that German expansion would be limited. However, with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Earl of Halifax had no choice but to declare war on Germany. Following a disasterous campaign in Norway, Halifax held an emergency meeting which lead to his resignation from the premiership in favour of a coalition government headed by the Labour Party's Clement Attlee and the Conservative Party's Winston Churchill. Mosley attempted to lead a march supporting Hitler but was ultimately arrested and jailed for treason. Following the fall of France in mid-1940, the Commonwealth fought Germany in a major air battle which resulted in the Royal Air Force defeating the Luftwaffe and maintaining Commonwealth air supremecy over the English Channel, saving the British isles from invasion. However, despite the failed German plans to invade Britain, they conduced a major bombing of London, resulting in many deaths.