Chad Jensen, age 13, of Butte, Mont., for his question:
WHAT IS THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS?
An association of independent countries and their dependencies that at some time in the past lived under British law and government have joined together in an organization called the Commonwealth of Nations. Included in the group is Great Britain and about 30 nations, many of which were British colonies until they became independent and then joined the Commonwealth between 1947 and 1970.
Britain and a few other member nations have about 30 territories that are also considered to be part of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth of Nations and its territories cover about a fourth of the earth's land surface. They also have about a fourth of the world's total population.
Mutual cooperation that stems from their common history is a tradition of the countries in the Commonwealth. At association meetings, members try to identify common goals in economic and foreign affairs.
Independent members are former British colonies that have become self governing but that have retained their Commonwealth ties. Britain and about 10 other Commonwealth nations, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are monarchies that regard the British ruler as head of state. About half, including India, are republics.
During the period in the 1950s and 1960s when many colonies became independent, Newfoundland became a province of Canada, and Ireland and South Africa gave up their Commonwealth membership because of disagreements with other countries in the group. Black African nations make up nearly half of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth of Nations actually started to take form in the early 1900s. At a 1926 Imperial Conference, participating countries declared themselves self governing nations. The Statute of Westminister, a British law of 1931, legalized the 1926 declaration.
The original Commonwealth members were Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Newfoundland and South Africa.
In 1932 the Commonwealth nations established a new trade arrangement that turned out to be most satisfactory for all of the members. Britain imported goods from Commonwealth countries without imposing the usual tariffs on the incoming merchandise.
About this same time, other member nations negotiated favorable trade agreements with each other.
Commonwealth members also now support agencies that promote cooperation in activities such as broadcasting, satellite and cable communications, education, health care and science research.