A ominion, often Dominion, is a term that particularly referred to an autonomous polity under sovereign authority within the British Empire and British Commonwealth from the late 19th century. These states included (at varying times) Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State. After 1948, the term was used to note independent nations that retained the British monarch as head of state. These nations included India, Pakistan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Kenya.