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The former British self-governing territories which emerged (gradually and often hesitantly) on to the international scene as sovereign states in the 1920s and 1930s: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and South Africa. Latterly during this period Ireland contested its dominion status. India, although a member of the League of Nations, was not a dominion until its independence in 1947 and so did not participate in these constitutional developments. Newfoundland was not a member of the League, and lost its dominion status in 1934 as a result of financial difficulties (being in a kind of constitutional limbo until it joined Canada in 1949). By the end of the Second World War the connotation of dominus, or over-lordship, was clearly out of date in regard to the dominions; and quite apart from its linguistic aspect, the use of the term was often an irritant in the states which were so described (New Zealand excepted). Thus in 1949 they and Britain agreed that the term ‘dominion’ would no longer receive official sanction or usage. Moreover, India\'s imminent assumption of republican status made the continued use of the term particularly inappropriate. |
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