Autonomy and Indigenous self-government
Acadian political-status movements
The Parti acadien's 1972-1982 campaign for a separate Acadian province within Canada.
North America
History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026
Historical independence
Concluded independence processes and documented earlier projects.
Results
76 published cases matching Historical independence.
Historical independence
Aceh
From the 1976 founding of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the resulting insurgency, through the 2004 tsunami's catalytic effect, to the 2005 Helsinki Agreement under which GAM abandoned independence for self-government.
East Asia History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Alaskan independence advocacy
From Joe Vogler's 1973 petition drive and the party's 1984 recognition, through Wally Hickel's 1990 governorship and Vogler's 1993 murder, to the party's 2025 dissolution and 2026 successor.
North America History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Algeria
Algeria's path from French colonial rule through the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), fought between the FLN and France amid a rival MNA and an anti-independence OAS, to the 1962 Évian Accords, a self-determination referendum, independence, and a subsequent FLN one-party state.
North Africa History: 3 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Angola
Angola's path from Portuguese colonial rule through the 1975 Alvor Agreement, independence amid civil war between rival liberation movements, and a delayed UN admission process in 1976.
Central Africa History: 2 min Status verified Sep 2026Political status and decolonisation
Anguilla political status
From the 1967 secession referendum and the short-lived Republic of Anguilla, through Operation Sheepskin, to the 1980 formal separation from Saint Kitts-Nevis.
Caribbean History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Anjouan separatist episodes
From the 1997 declaration of the State of Anjouan and its 2001 Fomboni Agreement resolution, to Mohamed Bacar's 2007 renewed secession and its ending by a February 2008 military intervention.
East Africa and the Horn History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Political status and decolonisation
Aruba political status
From Betico Croes' MEP campaign and the 1977 general strike, through the 1986 achievement of status aparte, to the 1995 repeal of the independence plan and the 2010 dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Caribbean History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Independence movements
Bakassi political-status claims
From the 2002 ICJ judgment and 2006 Green Tree Agreement resolving the Nigeria-Cameroon interstate dispute, to the distinct local BAMOSD self-determination movement and its independence declarations.
West Africa History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Bangladesh
Bangladesh's path from a declaration of independence amid Pakistani military crackdown in March 1971, through the Bangladesh Liberation War, to a UN admission process delayed nearly three years by a Chinese veto.
South Asia History: 2 min Status verified Sep 2026Political status and decolonisation
Bermuda political status
From the decisively rejected 1995 independence referendum, through the PLP's post-1995 strategy and 2022 constitutional-reform report, to the 2025 general election.
North America History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Biafra
From the 1967 declaration and the Nigerian Civil War's 1970 end, to the 2012 founding of IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu's 2025 conviction.
West Africa History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Brazil
From the 1822 Cry of Ipiranga, proclaiming independence from Portugal, to Portugal's formal recognition of Brazilian independence in the 1825 Treaty of Rio de Janeiro.
Latin America History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Cape Verde
Cape Verde's path from Portuguese colonial rule, through a PAIGC-led transition following Portugal's 1974 revolution, to independence in July 1975 and UN membership that September.
West Africa History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Casamance
From the MFDC's 1947 autonomy origins and 1982 shift to violent secession, through the 1990s escalation and failed ceasefires, to the 25 February 2025 peace agreement with Senegal.
West Africa History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Comoros
The Comoros' path from French colonial administration through a December 1974 archipelago-wide referendum, a unilateral declaration of independence in July 1975, and UN admission that November — accompanied by a dispute over Mayotte, whose voters rejected independence.
East Africa and the Horn History: 2 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Cuba
From Spain's relinquishment of sovereignty over Cuba in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, through US military government, to the establishment of the Republic of Cuba in 1902.
Caribbean History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Cyprus
The establishment of the Republic of Cyprus on 16 August 1960, following the Zurich and London Agreements, and its UN admission that September.
Europe History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The transfer of sovereignty over the Belgian Congo on 30 June 1960, establishing the independent Republic of the Congo, and its UN admission that September.
Central Africa History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Djibouti
Djibouti's path from French colonial administration through UN calls for independence, a May 1977 referendum, and independence from France the following month.
East Africa and the Horn History: 2 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Eritrea
Eritrea's path from Italian and British colonial rule through federation with and annexation by Ethiopia, a thirty-year armed independence struggle, the 1993 UN-verified referendum, and post-independence relations with Ethiopia including the 1998–2000 border war.
East Africa and the Horn History: 3 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Espiritu Santo separatist episode
The 1980 "Coconut War": Jimmy Stevens' declaration of the "State of Vemerana" and its defeat by Papua New Guinean intervention days before Vanuatu's own independence.
Oceania and the Pacific History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Estonia
From the 1918 Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia, through decades of Soviet annexation and occupation, to the restoration of independence in August 1991 and UN admission that September.
Europe History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026Historical independence
Finland
Finland's declaration of independence from Russia in December 1917, amid the Russian Revolution, followed within weeks by Soviet Russian recognition.
Europe History: 1 min Status verified Sep 2026