The Commonwealth of Nations dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonization of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and was formalized by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931. Though the current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, the Statute of Westminster in 1931 is most often used as dividing point between the British Empire and The Commonwealth.
