Decolonization
Cold War

Decolonization

Section Title: Cold War
Table Section Text: None

Year	Colonizer	Decolonized state	Event

1946	United States	Philippines	The treaty of Manila is signed, effectively ending over 380 years of foreign domination in the Philippines. United States military bases continued to be stationed in the islands.

United Kingdom	Jordan	The former Emirate of Transjordan became an independent Hashemite kingdom when the United Kingdom relinquishes its League of Nations mandate.

France	Syria	The former Mandate of Syria became an independent Republic.

1947	United Kingdom	New Zealand	New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster 1931.

United Kingdom	India, Pakistan (today Pakistan and Bangladesh)	The British government leaves India, which is partitioned into the secular, but Hindu-majority state of India and the Muslim state of Pakistan (the eastern half of which will later became independent as Bangladesh in 1971).

1948	United Kingdom	Myanmar, Sri Lanka	Burma, which had separated from British India earlier and did not gain independence in 1947, and Ceylon, which despite being a part of the Indian subcontinent was only briefly a part of British India, became independent.

Israel, Palestine	The Jewish-controlled part of Palestine declares independence as the state of Israel; the remainder of Palestine became de facto part of the Arab states of Egypt (Gaza strip) and Transjordan (West Bank).

United States	South Korea	The Republic of Korea is established in the southern part of the Korean peninsula.

Soviet Union	North Korea	The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is established in the northern part of the peninsula.

1949	United Kingdom	Newfoundland (today part of Canada)	The Dominion of Newfoundland joins Canada.

1951	United Kingdom	Eritrea	The Mandate of Eritrea is given by the British to Ethiopia.

France, United Kingdom	Libya	The British-controlled Tripolitania and the French-controlled Fezzan unifies with the Emirate of Cyrenaica to form the Kingdom of Libya.

1953	France	Cambodia, Laos	The two non-Vietnamese protectorates of French Indochina, Cambodia and Laos, became independent.

1954	France	Pondicherry (today part of India)	The Puducherry enclave is incorporated into India.

United Kingdom	Suez Canal (today part of Egypt)	In the aftermath of July 23 revolution, the United Kingdom withdraws from the last part of Egypt it controls: the Suez Canal zone.

1956	United Kingdom, Egypt (de jure, de facto just United Kingdom)	Sudan (today Sudan and South Sudan)	Egypt ends it claims of sovereignty over Sudan, forcing the United Kingdom to do the same. The southern non-Arab half will later became an independent state in 2011.

France	Tunisia	Tunisia achieve independence.

France, Spain	Morocco	After large-scale protests forces France to return the sultan of Morocco, the French-controlled territories, most of the Spanish-controlled territories (except Cape Juby and Ifni) and the Tangier International Zone are united into an independent kingdom.

1957	United Kingdom	Ghana	The Gold Coast became independent, initiating the decolonization of sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaysia	The Federation of Malaya became independent.

1958	France	Guinea	After being the only colony to vote against the 1958 French constitution, Guinea is granted independence.

1960	United Kingdom	Cyprus (today de facto Cyprus and Northern Cyprus)	Most of Cyprus became independent, though the UK retains sovereign control over Akrotiri and Dhekelia. In 1983, the northern Turkish half of Cyprus declared its independence (this state is only recognized by Turkey).

Nigeria	Nigeria became independent.

Italy, United Kingdom	Somalia (today de facto Somalia and Somaliland)	British Somaliland became independent. As the State of Somaliland, the former British Somaliland protectorate merges as scheduled five days later with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic.

France	Ivory Coast, Benin, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali Federation (today Mali and Senegal)	All remaining colony members of French West Africa became independent, including Côte d'Ivoire, Dahomey, Mauritania, Niger, Upper Volta, French Sudan, and Senegal (the last two originally as a single-entity called the Mali Federation; within the same year the two split off into Mali and Senegal).

Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon	All colony members of French Equatorial Africa became independent, including Chad, Ubangi-Shari, the French Congo, and Gabon.

Cameroon, Togo	The United Nations trust territories of Cameroun and French Togoland became independent.

Madagascar	Madagascar became independent.

Belgium	Democratic Republic of the Congo	The Belgian Congo (also known as Congo-Kinshasa, later renamed Zaire and presently the Democratic Republic of the Congo) became independent.

1961	United Kingdom	Tanzania	The United Nations trust territory of Tanganyika became independent.

Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone became independent.

Kuwait	The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over the Sheikhdom of Kuwait.

British Cameroons (today part of Nigeria and part of Cameroon)	After a referendum, United Nations trust territory of Cameroons is dissolved, with the northern Muslim half deciding to merge with Nigeria and the southern Christian half deciding to merge with Cameroon.

South Africa	The Union of South Africa declares itself a republic.

Portugal	Goa, Daman and Diu (today part of India)	The former coastal enclave colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu are taken over by India.

1962	United Kingdom	Uganda	Uganda achieves independence.

Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago	With the collapse of the West Indies Federation, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago became independent as separate entities.

France	Algeria	Following the end of the Algerian War and the signing of the Évian Accords, both French and Algerian voters approve the independence of Algeria.

Belgium	Rwanda, Burundi	Following a period of ethnic violence in Rwanda that led to abolition of its monarchy, Belgium ends its trusteeship over it and Burundi.

New Zealand	Samoa	The South Sea UN trusteeship over Western Samoa (formerly German Samoa and nowadays called just Samoa) is relinquished.

1963	United Kingdom	Kenya, Zanzibar (today part of Tanzania)	The United Kingdom and the Sultanate of Zanzibar ceded its sovereignty over Kenya. Zanzibar, itself a British Protectorate, would also have its protectorate terminated in the same year.

Sarawak (today part of Malaysia), North Borneo (today part of Malaysia), Singapore	Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore merges with the independent Federation of Malaya, which promptly renamed itself Malaysia. Within two years, however, Singapore would be expelled from Malaysia.

United Nations	Western New Guinea (today part of Indonesia)	Less than a year after Netherlands transferred Netherlands New Guinea to the United Nations, the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority transfers West Papua to Indonesia.

1964	United Kingdom	Zambia, Malawi	Following the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland declare independence.

Malta	The Mediterranean island of Malta became independent.

1965	United Kingdom	Zimbabwe	Southern Rhodesia declares independence as Rhodesia, but is not recognized due to its unwillingness to accommodate to black-majority rule.

The Gambia	The Gambia receives independence.

Maldives	The British protectorate over the Maldives archipelago in the Indian Ocean ends.

1966	United Kingdom	Barbados, Guyana	In the British West Indies, Barbados (which was a former member of the West Indies Federation) and British Guiana became independent.

Botswana, Lesotho	Near South Africa, Bechuanaland and Basutoland became independent.

1967	United Kingdom	South Yemen (today part of Yemen)	On the Arabian peninsula, the Protectorate of South Arabia and the Federation of South Arabia became independent as a single entity called the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (or South Yemen).

1968	United Kingdom	Mauritius	Mauritius achieves independence.

Swaziland	The Kingdom of Swaziland has its protectorate terminated.

Spain	Equatorial Guinea	Spanish Guinea achieves independence.

Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom (de jure, de facto just Australia)	Nauru	Australia relinquishes UN trusteeship (nominally shared by the United Kingdom and New Zealand) of Nauru in the South Sea.

1970	United Kingdom	Oman	The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Muscat and Oman.

1971	United Kingdom	Fiji, Tonga	In Oceania, Fiji became independent, while the protectorate over the Kingdom of Tonga ends.

United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar	All seven members of the Trucial States became independent upon the termination of their protectorates, with six (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain) forming the United Arab Emirates; the seventh, Ras al-Khaimah, would join the UAE a year after.

1973	United Kingdom	The Bahamas	The Bahamas are granted independence.

Portugal	Guinea-Bissau	After more than a decade of fighting, guerrillas unilaterally declare independence in the Southeastern regions of Portuguese Guinea. It would not be recognized by Portugal until a year later, in the aftermath of Carnation Revolution.

1974	United Kingdom	Grenada	Grenada, a former member of the West Indies Federation became independent.

1975	France	Comoros	The Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa is granted independence.

Portugal	Angola, Mozambique	After the Carnation Revolution, the two other colonies who have been fighting against colonial rule, Angola and Mozambique achieve independence. East Timor declares independence, but is subsequently occupied and annexed by Indonesia nine days later.

Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe	After the Carnation Revolution, the Western African island groups of Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe achieve independence.

East Timor	After the Carnation Revolution, East Timor declares independence, but is subsequently invaded and occupied by Indonesia nine days later.

Netherlands	Suriname	Surinam (also known as Dutch Guiana) achieves independence.

Australia	Papua New Guinea	Released from Australian trusteeship, Papua New Guinea gains independence.

1976	United Kingdom	Seychelles	The Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the African coast became independent (one year after granting of self-rule).

Spain	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	The Spanish colonial rule is de facto terminated over the Western Sahara (then Rio de Oro), when the territory was passed on to and partitioned between Mauritania and Morocco (which annexes the entire territory in 1979), rendering the declared independence of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ineffective to the present day.

1977	France	Djibouti	French Somaliland, also known as the "French Territory of the Afars and the Issas" (after its dominant ethnic groups), gains independence.

1978	United Kingdom	Dominica	Dominica, a former member of the West Indies Federation, became independent.

Solomon Islands, Tuvalu	The Solomon Islands and the Ellice Islands (which previously split off from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands) became independent.

1979	United States	Panama Canal (today part of Panama)	The United States promises to return the Panama Canal Zone (held under a regime sui generis since 1903) to the republic of Panama after 1999.

United Kingdom	Kiribati	The Gilbert Islands became independent.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia, both former members of the West Indies Federation, became independent.

1980	United Kingdom	Zimbabwe	In the aftermath of the Rhodesian Bush War, Rhodesia, which temporary regained its colonial status, became formally independent under black-majority rule.

United Kingdom, France	Vanuatu	The joint Anglo-French colony of the New Hebrides became the independent island Republic of Vanuatu.

1981	United Kingdom	Belize, Antigua and Barbuda	In the British West Indies, British Honduras and Antigua and Barbuda (which was a former member of the West Indies Federation) became independent.

1982	United Kingdom	Canada	Canada gains full independence from the British parliament with the Canada Act 1982.

1983	United Kingdom	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Saint Kitts and Nevis (an associated state since 1963) became independent.

1984	United Kingdom	Brunei	The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over the Brunei sultanate.

1986	United Kingdom	Australia, New Zealand	Australia and New Zealand became fully independent with the Australia Act 1986 and the Constitution Act 1986.

1990	South Africa	Namibia	South West Africa, the only League of Nation mandate that did not become a United Nation trust territory via independence, became independent from South Africa.

United States	Marshall Islands, Micronesia	The UN Security Council gives final approval to end the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific (dissolved already in 1986), finalizing the independence of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, having been a colonial possession of the empire of Japan before UN trusteeship.

Sentence(s)

In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia gained their independence from France.

final_sentence: In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia gained their independence from France.