Commonwealth and British Empire is the same thing territorially. Initially it was the British Empire that was later on formed to become the Commonwealth that is a voluntary association formed not by the government bodies but by the mutual agreements among the autonomous states. In other words, Commonwealth basically over took the British Empire. The purpose for this drastic change was to make the linkages more strong among the nations and for the maximum development of harmony among them.
A few centuries passed away, in the United Kingdom, British Empire was formed. There were the properties, lands, colonies hold by them. In the human history, it is one of the most prolonged territorial ownership held by some power. They were the most powerful body of that time, ruling over almost one fourth of the total population of the world. It had the properties in southern American lands, Asian colonies, Middle Eastern Areas, African boundaries, North American areas, Caribbean sides, and Oceania. It was such a huge area under this power that almost every sort of facility and field could be found in there. The major events that happened in the history of British Empire that were responsible for the welcoming up of another power were the, age of discovery, World War I and World War II and also the war of independence and lastly the movements for the decolonization.
Commonwealth was formed when the great power of the British Empire got down to its end in the form of decolonization of the lands their nations owned. The main reason was the prolonged ownership in the same hands. It made the states realize and stands for their own right. They required independence and this leads to the formation of the Commonwealth when a lot many nations under British Empire got joined with the Commonwealth. These nations are fifty four in number; this is a complete mutually agreeable association that is made to promote more positivity around the globe. There are rich and poor, all sorts of economies in the association that are joined together with the faith that in any times of trouble there partner nations will stand for them. Those times could be related to the financial aspects, law and order, institutions, or any such sector. The London Declaration is an important event in the history of Commonwealth.
The major difference between the two is the difference among the ideologies; the British Empire was very much inclined towards the dictatorship authorities because of this, the member states refused the dependency and stood for their freedom. On the other hand, the Commonwealth has the focus towards the complete harmony and the establishment of democracy. Every one, every single member of the association is the owner and has complete freedom to live independently. In the Commonwealth the global NGO’s have joined them for the support. Basically the non governmental bodies hold the activities and regulations of Commonwealth, while for the British Empire the British in England were the main leading party. The activities and the agreements that Commonwealth is providing to its member is way off better than the British Empire policies this is the reason to why more and more countries are attracted towards this bonding. Another difference is that the members nations have some rights on other partner nations as well, while in British Empire all such rights were restricted to the leading power. There was a single constitution for the British Rule, but in Commonwealth there is elimination of such a law and parliamentary system was observed here also.