Other national independence movements
Scottish Independence Guide: Other national independence movements
Wales has had a similar experience under British rule to Scotland, ie marginalised and overlooked. Plaid Cymru have also enjoyed similar electoral success to the SNP and Wales voted for a devolved parliament at the same time as Scotland.
While much of Ireland became an independent republic in 1921, the North East corner is still under British control. A devolved parliament has been set up under the Anglo Irish Agreement but this was swiftly collapsed by the UK Government and the unionists for various spurious reasons. Sinn Fein have recently published a Green paper on Irish unity which has gained some support from other Irish nationalists.
The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin in Manx) or Mann (Mannin in Manx), is an island located in the Irish Sea at the geographical centre of Britain and Ireland. Although it is not part of the United Kingdom, it is a Crown dependency.
While small, the 'Duchy of Cornwall' has a long history and it's considerable wealth is currently siphoned of by Prince Charles the misnamed 'Prince of Wales' and his wife who bears the insulting title of 'Duchess of Cornwall' and 'Duchess of Rothesay' in case she needs to visit the 'Jocks' (English slang for Scots).
Brittany (this link will take you to Wikipedia)
Brittany is a former independent kingdom and duchy, then province of France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the old province and independent duchy.
Catalonia (this link will take you to Wikipedia)
Catalonia has a devolved parliament within the Spanish territories and is extremely wealthy. It is strongly pushing for full independence.
The Basque country has one of the most exciting and progressive political movements in Europe however it is currently undergoing significant political repression by the Spanish Government who irrationally accuse all members of the Basque independence movement of links with the paramilitary organisation, ETA.
Tyrol (this link will take you to Wikipedia)
The Tyrol is a historical region in Western Central Europe, which includes the Austrian state of Tyrol (consisting of North Tyrol and East Tyrol) and the Italian regions known as the South Tyrol and Trentino.
Montenegro (now independent!)
Through a number of centuries Montenegro was an independent country ruled by a succession of dynasties and rulers, before it united with the Kingdom of Serbia in 1918. Over the following decades, Montenegro was a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and since 2003, the present State Union.
Other Countries who have gained their independence:
23 January 1719 Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein
21 December 1768 Nepal unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah
4 July 1776 United States of America declared independence from Great Britain
1 January 1801 United Kingdom union of Great Britain and Ireland
1 January 1804 Haiti from France
4 February 1804 Serbia from Ottoman Empire
12 July 1806 Liechtenstein from the Holy Roman Empire
25 May 1810 Argentina from Spain
20 July 1810 Colombia from Spain
18 September 1810 Chile from Spain
14 May 1811 Paraguay from Spain
5 July 1811 Venezuela from Spain
17 May 1814 Norway Declared independence from Denmark and established a constitutional monarchy. Forced into a personal union with Sweden on 4 November.
1817 Serbia became an autonomous state in Ottoman Empire
25 March 1821 Greece from the Ottoman Empire
28 July 1821 Peru from Spain
15 September 1821 Costa Rica from Spain
15 September 1821 El Salvador from Spain
15 September 1821 Guatemala from Spain
15 September 1821 Honduras from Spain
15 September 1821 Nicaragua from Spain
27 September 1821 Mexico from Spain
28 November 1821 Panama from Spain
24 May 1822 Ecuador from Spain
7 September 1822 Brazil from Portugal
6 August 1825 Bolivia from Spain
25 August 1825 Uruguay from Brazil
4 October 1830 Belgium independence from the Netherlands
28 October 1835 New Zealand Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand by the United Tribes of New Zealand
2 March 1836 Republic of Texas declared independence from Mexico
1839 Luxembourg from the Netherlands
27 February 1844 Dominican Republic from Haiti
26 July 1847 Liberia founded by American black slaves
17 March 1861 Italy Kingdom of Italy unified under King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
1 July 1867 Canada Became a Dominion within the British Empire
18 January 1871 German Empire German Empire unification
9 May 1877 Romania from the Ottoman Empire
3 March 1878 Bulgaria Autonomy from the Ottoman Empire
13 July 1878 Serbia Independence from the Ottoman Empire
13 July 1878 Montenegro Independence from the Ottoman Empire
26 March 1881 Kingdom of Romania
11 February 1897 Korean Empire from Chinese protectorate
12 June 1898 Philippines from Spain
10 December 1898 Cuba from Spain
1 January 1901 Australia granted Dominion status as federation of UK colonies
20 May 1902 Cuba from U.S. administration
3 November 1903 Panama from Colombia
June 7, 1905 Norway Declared dissolution of the personal union with Sweden
September 26, 1907 New Zealand granted Dominion status by the UK
September 26, 1907 Newfoundland granted Dominion status by the UK
September 22, 1908 Bulgaria gained independence from Ottoman Empire
May 31, 1910 South Africa granted Dominion status by the UK
January 1 (February 12, O.S.), 1912 Republic of China from Qing Dynasty
November 28, 1912 Albania from Ottoman Empire
December 6, 1917 Finland from Russia
February 16, 1918 Lithuania from Russia
February 24, 1918 Estonia from Russia
March 25, 1918 Belarus from Russia
May 28, 1918 Azerbaijan from Russia
May 28, 1918 Armenia from the Ottoman Empire
October 28, 1918 Czechoslovakia from the Austria-Hungary Empire
November 1, 1918 North Yemen from the Ottoman Empire
November 11, 1918 Poland regained independence, proclaimed as a republic
November 18, 1918 Latvia from Russia
December 1, 1918 Iceland became a sovereign state under the Danish Crown
August 19, 1919 Afghanistan from UK control over Afghan foreign affairs
July 11, 1921 Mongolia from China
December 6, 1921 Ireland from UK by treaty, most of Ireland (26 counties) became an independent nation known as the Irish Free State; while the six counties of the North (Northern Ireland with a unionist Protestant majority) remained part of the United Kingdom.
December 6, 1921 Northern Ireland partition of Ireland formed State of Northern Ireland with own Senate and House of Commons but remained remained within the United Kingdom.
1922 Soviet Union fall of the Russian Empire
October 29, 1923 Turkey successor state to the Ottoman Empire
February 11, 1929 Vatican City from Italy
September 23, 1932 Saudi Arabia Unification of the Kingdom
October 3, 1932 Iraq from League of Nations mandate under British administration
November 22, 1943 Lebanon from League of Nations mandate under French administration
June 17, 1944 Iceland from Denmark
September 17, 1944 Estonia from Ostland
May 8, 1945 Latvia from German Military Administration
August 15, 1945 Korea from Japan
August 17, 1945 Indonesia from the Netherlands
September 2, 1945 Vietnam declaration of independence from France
April 17, 1946 Syria from League of Nations mandate under French administration
May 25, 1946 Jordan from League of Nations mandate under British administration
July 4, 1946 Philippines regained independence from US
August 14, 1947 Pakistan from UK
August 15, 1947 India from UK
December 30, 1947 Romania proclaimed as a republic
1948 Republic of Ireland 26 counties of Ireland cuts off all lasting political links with the United Kingdom and is now fully independent with the exception of the 6 counties of Northern Ireland.
January 4, 1948 Burma from UK
February 4, 1948 Sri Lanka from UK
May 14, 1948 Israel from League of Nations mandate under British administration
August 15, 1948 Republic of Korea founding of the Republic of Korea
September 9, 1948 Democratic People's Republic of Korea founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
May 23, 1949 Federal Republic of Germany from the western part of occupied Germany
July 19, 1949 Laos from France
August 8, 1949 Bhutan from India
October 1, 1949 People's Republic of China from Republic of China
October 7, 1949 German Democratic Republic from the eastern part of occupied Germany
December 24, 1951 Libya from Italy
November 9, 1953 Cambodia from France
January 1, 1956 Sudan from Egypt and UK
March 2, 1956 Morocco from France and Spain
March 20, 1956 Tunisia from France
March 6, 1957 Ghana from UK
August 31, 1957 Malaysia from UK
October 2, 1958 Guinea from France
October 5, 1958 France French Fifth Republic declared
January 1, 1960 Cameroon from French-administered UN trusteeship
April 4, 1960 Senegal from France
April 27, 1960 Togo from French-administered UN trusteeship
June 26, 1960 Madagascar from France
June 26, 1960 Somalia from the UK
June 30, 1960 Democratic Republic of the Congo from Belgium
July 1, 1960 Somalia from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship
August 1, 1960 Benin from France
August 3, 1960 Niger from France
August 5, 1960 Burkina Faso from France
August 7, 1960 Côte d'Ivoire from France
August 11, 1960 Chad from France
August 13, 1960 Central African Republic from France
August 15, 1960 Republic of the Congo from France
August 16, 1960 Cyprus from UK
August 17, 1960 Gabon from France
September 22, 1960 Mali from France
October 1, 1960 Nigeria from UK
November 28, 1960 Mauritania from France
April 27, 1961 Sierra Leone from UK
June 19, 1961 Kuwait from UK
January 1, 1962 Samoa from New Zealand-administered UN trusteeship
July 1, 1962 Burundi from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration
July 1, 1962 Rwanda from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship
July 5, 1962 Algeria from France
August 6, 1962 Jamaica from UK
August 31, 1962 Trinidad and Tobago from UK
October 9, 1962 Uganda from UK
December 12, 1963 Kenya from UK
April 26, 1964 Tanzania from UK-administered UN trusteeship
July 6, 1964 Malawi from UK
September 21, 1964 Malta from UK
October 24, 1964 Zambia from UK
February 18, 1965 The Gambia from UK
July 26, 1965 Maldives from UK
August 9, 1965 Singapore from Malaysian Federation
November 11, 1965 Rhodesia UDI from UK
May 26, 1966 Guyana from UK
September 30, 1966 Botswana from UK
October 4, 1966 Lesotho from UK
November 30, 1966 Barbados from UK
November 30, 1967 South Yemen from UK
January 31, 1968 Nauru from the Australia-, NZ-, and UK-administered UN trusteeship
March 12, 1968 Mauritius from UK
September 6, 1968 Swaziland from UK
October 12, 1968 Equatorial Guinea from Spain
June 4, 1970 Tonga from UK protectorate
October 10, 1970 Fiji from UK
August 15, 1971 Bahrain from UK
September 3, 1971 Qatar from UK
December 2, 1971 United Arab Emirates from UK
December 16, 1971 Bangladesh from Pakistan
July 10, 1973 The Bahamas from UK
September 24, 1973 Guinea-Bissau declared independence from Portugal
February 7, 1974 Grenada from UK
October 19, 1974 Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand
June 25, 1975 Mozambique from Portugal
July 5, 1975 Cape Verde from Portugal
July 6, 1975 Comoros from France
July 12, 1975 São Tomé and Principe from Portugal
September 16, 1975 Papua New Guinea from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship
November 11, 1975 Angola from Portugal
November 25, 1975 Suriname from Netherlands
February 27, 1976 Western Sahara from Spain
June 29, 1976 Seychelles from UK
June 27, 1977 Djibouti from France
July 7, 1978 Solomon Islands from UK
October 1, 1978 Tuvalu from UK
November 3, 1978 Dominica from UK
February 22, 1979 Saint Lucia from UK
July 12, 1979 Kiribati from UK
October 27, 1979 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from UK
April 18, 1980 Zimbabwe from UK
July 30, 1980 Vanuatu from France and UK
September 21, 1981 Belize from UK
November 1, 1981 Antigua and Barbuda from UK
September 19, 1983 Saint Kitts and Nevis from UK
January 1, 1984 Brunei from UK
October 21, 1986 Marshall Islands from the US-administered UN trusteeship as Compact of Free Association takes effect
November 3, 1986 Federated States of Micronesia from the US-administered UN Trusteeship as Compact of Free Association takes effect
March 11, 1990 Lithuania from the Soviet Union
March 21, 1990 Namibia from South Africa
May 22, 1990 Yemen unification of North Yemen and South Yemen
October 3, 1990 Germany unification of West Germany and East Germany
April 9, 1991 Georgia from the Soviet Union
June 25, 1991 Croatia from Yugoslavia
June 25, 1991 Slovenia from Yugoslavia
August 20, 1991 Estonia from the Soviet Union
August 21, 1991 Latvia from the Soviet Union
August 24, 1991 Russia from the Soviet Union
August 24, 1991 Ukraine from the Soviet Union
August 25, 1991 Belarus from the Soviet Union
August 27, 1991 Moldova from the Soviet Union
August 30, 1991 Azerbaijan from the Soviet Union
August 31, 1991 Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union
September 1, 1991 Uzbekistan from the Soviet Union
September 8, 1991 Republic of Macedonia from Yugoslavia
September 9, 1991 Tajikistan from the Soviet Union
September 21, 1991 Armenia from the Soviet Union
October 27, 1991 Turkmenistan from the Soviet Union
December 16, 1991 Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union
March 1, 1992 Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia
April 27, 1992 Serbia and Montenegro from Yugoslavia
January 1, 1993 Czech Republic Czechoslovakia dissolved
January 1, 1993 Slovakia Czechoslovakia dissolved
May 24, 1993 Eritrea from Ethiopia
October 1, 1994 Palau from the US-administered UN Trusteeship as Compact of Free Association takes effect
May 20, 2002 East Timor from Indonesian Occupation, Nominally Portugal
Serbia Serbia and Montenegro dissolved (pending) May 21,2006
Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro dissolved (pending)
