Editing Commonwealth (section)

==Historical use==
===Rome===
{{Main|Res publica|Roman Republic}}
Translations of [[Ancient Rome|Ancient Roman]] writers' works to English have on occasion translated "''[[Res publica]]''", and variants thereof, to "the commonwealth", a term referring to the Roman state as a whole.

===England===
{{Main|Commonwealth of England}}
The [[Commonwealth of England]] was the official name of the political unit (''de facto'' military rule in the name of parliamentary supremacy) that replaced the [[Kingdom of England]] (after the [[English Civil War]]) from 1649 to 1653 and 1659 to 1660, under the rule of [[Oliver Cromwell]] and his son and successor [[Richard Cromwell|Richard]]. From 1653 to 1659, although still legally known as a Commonwealth, the republic, united with the former [[Kingdom of Scotland]], operated under different institutions (at times as a ''de facto'' monarchy) and is known by historians as the [[The Protectorate|Protectorate]]. In a British context, it is sometimes referred to as the "Old Commonwealth".{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

In the later 20th century a socialist political party known as the [[Common Wealth Party]] was active.<ref name="bh">Ben Hughes, ''They shall not pass!: the British battalion at Jarama: the Spanish Civil War''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Pub., 2011. {{ISBN|9781849085496}} (p. 227).</ref> Previously a similarly named party, the [[Commonwealth Land Party (UK)|Commonwealth Land Party]], was in existence.<ref>Peter Barberis, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations</ref>

===Iceland===
{{Main|Icelandic Commonwealth}}
The period of Icelandic history from the establishment of the [[Althing]] in 930 to the pledge of fealty to the [[King of Norway|Norwegian king]] in 1262 is usually called the ''Icelandic Nation'' ({{langx|is|Þjóðveldið}}) in Icelandic and the ''[[Icelandic Commonwealth]]'' in English. In this period Iceland was colonized by a public consisting largely of recent immigrants from [[Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)|Norway]] who had fled the unification of that country under [[King]] [[Harald Fairhair]].

===Philippines===
{{main|History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|l1 = Commonwealth of the Philippines}}
The [[Commonwealth of the Philippines]] was the administrative body that governed the [[Philippines]] from 1935 to 1946, aside from a [[Government in exile of the Commonwealth of the Philippines|period of exile]] in the [[Second World War]] from 1942 to 1945 when [[Japanese occupation of the Philippines|Japan occupied the country]]. It replaced the [[Insular Government]], a [[territory of the United States|United States territorial]] government, and was established by the [[Tydings–McDuffie Act]]. The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence, which was achieved in 1946. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a founding member of the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/unms/founders.shtml| title = United Nations website listing founding members}}</ref>

===Poland–Lithuania===
{{Main|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth}}
''Republic'' is still an alternative translation of the traditional name ''[[Rzeczpospolita]]'' of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. [[Wincenty Kadłubek]] (Vincent Kadlubo, 1160–1223) used for the first time the original Latin term ''[[res publica]]'' in the context of Poland in his "Chronicles of the Kings and Princes of Poland". The name was used officially for the [[Confederation|confederal]] union formed by [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]] and [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] (1569–1795).

It is also often referred as "[[Golden Liberty|Nobles' Commonwealth]]" (1505–1795, i.e., before the union). In the contemporary political doctrine of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, "our state is a Republic (or Commonwealth) under the presidency of the King". The Commonwealth introduced a doctrine of [[religious tolerance]] called [[Warsaw Confederation]], had its own parliament ''[[Sejm]]'' (although elections were restricted to [[nobility]] and [[elected king]]s, who were bound to certain contracts ''[[Pacta conventa (Poland)|Pacta conventa]]'' from the beginning of the reign).

"A commonwealth of good counsaile" was the title of the 1607 English translation of the work of [[Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki]] "De optimo senatore" that presented to English readers many of the ideas present in the political system of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

===Catalonia===
{{Main|Commonwealth of Catalonia}}
Between 1914 and 1925, [[Catalonia]] was an autonomous region of Spain. Its government during that time was given the title ''[[mancomunidad]]'' ([[Catalan language|Catalan]]: ''mancomunitat''), which is translated into English as "commonwealth". The [[Commonwealth of Catalonia]] had limited powers and was formed as a federation of the four Catalan provinces. A number of Catalan-language institutions were created during its existence.

===Liberia===
{{See also|History of Liberia#Colonization (1821–1847)|label 1=Commonwealth of Liberia}}
Between 1838 and 1847, [[Liberia]] was officially known as the "Commonwealth of Liberia". It changed its name to the "Republic of Liberia" when it declared independence (and adopted a new constitution) in 1847.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/liberia_1_commonwealth.htm| title = The Commonwealth of Liberia}}</ref>