Commonwealth

The term may be understood in three different senses:

1. As a general term, it refers to what is for the common good.

2. In the context of English history, it refers to the political state of the nation during the 17th Cent between the execution of King Charles I (1649) and the restoration of Charles II (1660) to the throne.

3. In modern history it refers to the friendly, but otherwise purposeless, coalition of nations that once formed part of the British Empire.