Since
World War I, there have been many changes in
borders between
nations, detailed below. For information on border changes from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to 1914, see the
list of national border changes (1815–1914). Cases are only listed where there have been changes in borders, not necessarily including changes in ownership of a territory. For instance, many European colonies in Africa became independent without any adjustment to their borders, although some did have many changes. Also mentioned are some de facto changes, not recognized by the international community, such as
Crimea, and
South Ossetia.
1919–1922 — The
Treaty of Versailles divides Germany's African colonies into mandates of the victors (which largely become new colonies of the victors). Most of Cameroon becomes a French mandate with a small portion taken by the British and some territory incorporated into France's previously existing colonies;
Togo is mostly taken by the British, though the French gain a slim portion;
German East Africa was separated between
Belgium (
Rwanda and
Burundi), Portugal (the
Kionga Triangle) and the
United Kingdom (
Tanganyika, later merging with
Zanzibar to form
Tanzania); and
German South-West Africa (
Namibia) becomes a mandate of
South Africa. In September, France settles its African colonial borders with Italian Libya. On September 8, following the signing of the Anglo-French Convention of September 8, 1919, the borders of Italian
Libya and French
Chad are settled to the present-day boundaries.[5] A few days later, the borders of western and southwestern Libya are extended to their current boundaries after French concessions with the Franco-Italian Arrangement of 12 September 1919.[6]
1925 May 15 — The
Tangier International Zone is established after France and Spain end their control over parts of the city.
1924 June 15 — The UK cedes a portion of Jubaland to Italy (Trans-Juba, it. Oltregiuba) as a reward for the Italians having joined the Allies in World War I.
1925 — The eastern borders of Libya and British Egypt are changed to their present boundaries, with the exception of parts of present-day southern Libya still remaining part of British
Sudan.[5]
1934 — The borders of Libya are changed to their present-day boundaries after the Italo-British-Egyptian Agreement, British Sudan cedes northern territory to Libya.[5]
1940 – 1943 — With the outbreak of World War II, war arrives in Africa in 1940, with Italy joining the war, initially British forces in
British Somaliland are defeated by the Italians coming from Italian East Africa and the territory is taken. However, by 1941, the British retake lost territory and take over Italian East Africa. In North Africa, after a period of retreat into Libya, Italian forces receive vital aid from the German army and the Germans move deep into Egypt by 1942, before beginning to lose ground. By 1943, The German and Italian forces retreat from Libya and capture
Tunisia from France prior to fleeing to Sicily.
1953 August 1 —
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland established from the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland.
1961 May 31 — the northern two-thirds of British
Cameroons joins
Nigeria; October 1 — the southern third of British Cameroons joins with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. This year also the tiny Portuguese outpost of
São João Baptista de Ajudá was annexed by
Dahomey (now
Benin)
1967 May 30 — The break-away state of
Biafra is formed from southern
Nigeria. Officially Biafra receives de jure acknowledgement of existence by only a few nations, but has the de facto support of France, Israel, Portugal, and South Africa which provide arms to the state in its war of independence against Nigeria.
2024 April 1 —
Puntland announces its temporary independence from
Somalia until constitutional disputes and internal issues are to be resolved. It has no other formal recognition.
World War II — In the early stages of World War II in the Pacific, Japan made steady gains against the Allies. In 1940, with the collapse of France in Europe, the new
Vichy regime allows Japan to annex French Indochina. After the
attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan proceeds to occupy
Wake Island, the
Philippines,
British Malaya, the
Dutch East Indies, northern
New Guinea and a number of pacific islands. Also Japan begins attacks against British-held Burma and India, and creates a puppet regime in Burma. From 1943 to its defeat, Japan steadily loses territory in the Pacific to the Allies and in 1945, Japan surrenders, abolishing its remaining puppet regimes in Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and abandoning its hold on
Korea.
1945 — Following the war, the
Soviet Union annexes the Southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands from Japan according to the Yalta Conference, and
Korea is divided into the two countries,
South Korea and
North Korea.
1948 — The
State of Israel is created after the 1947
United Nations General AssemblyResolution 181 called for the partition of the British-ruled
Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The resolution is accepted by the Jews in Palestine, but rejected by the Arabs in Palestine and the Arab states.
1955 — The Soviet Union hands over Dalian port to the People's Republic of China.
1960 —
Cyprus declares its independence from the United Kingdom; the
Sovereign Base Areas of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia are established on the island by the United Kingdom under the latter's control.
1961 December 19 —
India takes over the Portuguese colony of
Goa, Daman and Diu, which becomes a single
Union Territory of India. In 1987,
Goa is elevated to full statehood, with
Daman and Diu remaining a Union Territory.
1962 August 16 — India officially absorbs the French enclaves of
Pondicherry.
2005 August 1 —
Israel dismantles its settlements in the
Gush Katif region of the
Gaza Strip, and the remainder of the Gaza Strip, most of which had already been transferred to Palestinian rule in 1994, becomes administered by the
Palestinian Authority, until 2007 when the territory is seized by the military wing of
Hamas in a violent coup d'état.
2020 — While
Nagorno-Karabakh remained an internationally recognised territory of
Azerbaijan, the four UN Security Council resolutions, adopted in 1993 and demanding immediate withdrawal of the
Armenian occupying forces from all occupied regions of Azerbaijan, remained unfulfilled until 2020. In 2020, a
new war erupted in the region, which saw Azerbaijan retake control of most of southern Karabakh (Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Qubadli, Hadrut districts) and parts of north-eastern Karabakh (Talish, Madagiz). A trilateral ceasefire agreement signed on 10 November 2020, ended the war and forced Armenia to return control of all of the remaining territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.
1921 — As a result of winning a
war against Soviet Russia,
Poland gains territories east of the
Curzon Line, inhabited essentially by Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles, and Ukrainians.
1923 — The Treaty of Sèvres is superseded by the
Treaty of Lausanne under which Greece loses its earlier territorial gains and the borders of modern
Turkey are established.
Western Thrace is ceded by
Bulgaria to
Greece, a decision earlier agreed upon in the 1919
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine. On the Baltic sea, Lithuania annexes the Memel territory without plebiscite. Italian military forces take control of the Greek island of
Corfu.
1924 February 22 — The
Treaty of Rome comes into effect, ending the existence of the Free State of Fiume and the Italo–Yugoslav border dispute. The treaty assigns Fiume (
Rijeka) to Italy and
Sušak to Yugoslavia, with joint port administration. On March 16, Italy formally annexes Fiume.
1926 — Albania cedes territory to the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.
1938 April 25 — The United Kingdom agrees to return its three
Treaty Ports to Ireland as part of the
Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement over the course of the next several months.
1938 November 2 — Hungary is awarded southern Slovakia and parts of the Subcarpathian Rus' in the
First Vienna Award. Shortly after, Poland seizes
small border regions.
1939 March 14 — The Slovak part of Czechoslovakia
declares independence with German support.
World War II — Many boundary changes occur during the Second World War as the
Axis powers and the
Soviet Union re-divide and annex various areas under their control.
1945 — Following the war, the borders of Germany are moved west to the
Oder-Neisse line, while the approximate boundary of the
Curzon Line is used as the eastern border of Poland. In addition to incorporating the
Kresy territories, the Soviet Union also annexed the
Baltic states,
Carpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia, and
Bessarabia, the
Hertsa region, and
Northern Bukovina from Romania. From Germany, the Soviet Union acquired the northeastern third of the former East Prussian exclave with the
Klaipeda/Memel region becoming part of the
Lithuanian SSR and the bulk of the territory forming the
Kaliningrad Oblast of the
Russian SFSR. Additionally, Finland ceded major portions of
Karelia and
Salla to the Soviet Union as well as islands in the
Gulf of Finland, the whole
Petsamo, and a lease to use
Porkkala as a Soviet naval base for 50 years.
1948 — Following the signing of the
Moscow Protocol of 1948, the Soviet Union formally annexes some Danubian islands and the
Snake Island in the Black Sea from Romania.
1955 April 23 — Italy and Switzerland modify the border in the zone of
Lago di Lei[20]
1955 June 27 — The
Austrian State Treaty comes into force, establishing an independent
Austrian state from the four occupation zones of the Allied powers.
1961 — An adjustment to the Meuse river between
The Netherlands and
Belgium results in three small packages of land being exchanged between the two countries.[21]
1963 — The 1949 Dutch acquisitions of West German territory are almost completely reverted; the
Duivelsberg remains permanently with the Netherlands.
12 February 1986 —
France and the
United Kingdom sign the
Treaty of Canterbury, defining a land frontier between the two countries. This border becomes physical with the breakthrough of the
Channel Tunnel on 1 December 1990.
1990 — East Germany
unites with West Germany on October 3.
Transnistria declares independence from the
Moldavian SSR but is not recognised by any country.
2003 —
Lithuania's share of
Lake Vištytis increases to about 383 ha (about 22% from 2.2%) from a new border treaty with
Russia.[22]
2006 June 3 — The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved following
a referendum;
Montenegro and
Serbia each become independent states.
2008 February 17 —
Kosovo unilaterally
declares independence from
Serbia. The declaration is strongly opposed by Serbia and
recognised by just over half (101 out of 193) of UN member states.
2016 November 28 —
Belgium and
the Netherlands swap land near
Lanaye and
Oost-Maarland over the discovery of a headless body several years prior, which the Belgian authorities could not access without crossing Dutch territory. The
border has been straightened out and now runs down the centre of the
Meuse River.[21] The change took effect on 1 January 2018.
2022 September 30 — Russia
unilaterally declares the annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Similar to the annexation of Crimea in 2014, this border change is not recognised internationally.
North America
1927 April 1 — The
Imperial Privy Council of the United Kingdom establishes the boundaries of the
Dominion of Newfoundland and Canada, in particular, the province of
Quebec, which affirmed that territories claimed by Quebec were part of Newfoundland. Previous maps showed the disputed territory as undefined.
1949 March 31 — The Dominion of Newfoundland joins Canada. The territory is now called
Newfoundland and Labrador.
1962 August 6 —
Jamaica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1962 August 31 —
Trinidad and Tobago gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1966 November 30 —
Barbados gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1973 July 10 — The Commonwealth of
The Bahamas gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1974 February 7 —
Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1999 —
Panama Canal Zone returns from
joint US–Panamanian control to
Panamanian control. A previous important development was the 1979 change from US control to joint US–Panama control, with plans for full Panamanian sovereignty at some point after that.
1949 July 1 — The
Territory of New Guinea joins with the Australian
Territory of Papua to form The Territory of Papua and New Guinea.[23] The union is an administrative one only and does not affect the separate position of the Territory of New Guinea as a territory governed by Australia as a United Nations trust territory.
1974 — A
referendum is held in the British colony of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Per the results of the referendum, the colony was divided into two.
1975 September 16 — The
Territory of New Guinea and the
Territory of Papua which were in an administrative union under Australian governance with the name Papua New Guinea are unified as a single sovereign country called the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
1979 — The
Marshall Islands leaves the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, becomes an independent country while also an
associated state with the U.S.
1979 — The
Federated States of Micronesia formed from part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, also independent as an associated state with the U.S.
1994 — The
Republic of Palau is formed from the remainder of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, as an independent state associated with the U.S.
South America
1938 — A ceasefire signed between
Paraguay and
Bolivia awards Paraguay three-quarters of the Chaco Boreal which it took over during the
Chaco War (1932–35).
^Manning, Patrick (1990). Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Lovejoy, Paul E. (2012). Transformations of Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Martin Klein, "Slave Descent and Social Status in Sahara and Sudan", in Reconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, ed. Benedetta Rossi (Liverpool:
Liverpool University Press, 2009), 29.
^"Vatican City turns 91". Vatican News. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2024. The world's smallest sovereign state was born on February 11, 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy
Since
World War I, there have been many changes in
borders between
nations, detailed below. For information on border changes from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to 1914, see the
list of national border changes (1815–1914). Cases are only listed where there have been changes in borders, not necessarily including changes in ownership of a territory. For instance, many European colonies in Africa became independent without any adjustment to their borders, although some did have many changes. Also mentioned are some de facto changes, not recognized by the international community, such as
Crimea, and
South Ossetia.
1919–1922 — The
Treaty of Versailles divides Germany's African colonies into mandates of the victors (which largely become new colonies of the victors). Most of Cameroon becomes a French mandate with a small portion taken by the British and some territory incorporated into France's previously existing colonies;
Togo is mostly taken by the British, though the French gain a slim portion;
German East Africa was separated between
Belgium (
Rwanda and
Burundi), Portugal (the
Kionga Triangle) and the
United Kingdom (
Tanganyika, later merging with
Zanzibar to form
Tanzania); and
German South-West Africa (
Namibia) becomes a mandate of
South Africa. In September, France settles its African colonial borders with Italian Libya. On September 8, following the signing of the Anglo-French Convention of September 8, 1919, the borders of Italian
Libya and French
Chad are settled to the present-day boundaries.[5] A few days later, the borders of western and southwestern Libya are extended to their current boundaries after French concessions with the Franco-Italian Arrangement of 12 September 1919.[6]
1925 May 15 — The
Tangier International Zone is established after France and Spain end their control over parts of the city.
1924 June 15 — The UK cedes a portion of Jubaland to Italy (Trans-Juba, it. Oltregiuba) as a reward for the Italians having joined the Allies in World War I.
1925 — The eastern borders of Libya and British Egypt are changed to their present boundaries, with the exception of parts of present-day southern Libya still remaining part of British
Sudan.[5]
1934 — The borders of Libya are changed to their present-day boundaries after the Italo-British-Egyptian Agreement, British Sudan cedes northern territory to Libya.[5]
1940 – 1943 — With the outbreak of World War II, war arrives in Africa in 1940, with Italy joining the war, initially British forces in
British Somaliland are defeated by the Italians coming from Italian East Africa and the territory is taken. However, by 1941, the British retake lost territory and take over Italian East Africa. In North Africa, after a period of retreat into Libya, Italian forces receive vital aid from the German army and the Germans move deep into Egypt by 1942, before beginning to lose ground. By 1943, The German and Italian forces retreat from Libya and capture
Tunisia from France prior to fleeing to Sicily.
1953 August 1 —
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland established from the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland.
1961 May 31 — the northern two-thirds of British
Cameroons joins
Nigeria; October 1 — the southern third of British Cameroons joins with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. This year also the tiny Portuguese outpost of
São João Baptista de Ajudá was annexed by
Dahomey (now
Benin)
1967 May 30 — The break-away state of
Biafra is formed from southern
Nigeria. Officially Biafra receives de jure acknowledgement of existence by only a few nations, but has the de facto support of France, Israel, Portugal, and South Africa which provide arms to the state in its war of independence against Nigeria.
2024 April 1 —
Puntland announces its temporary independence from
Somalia until constitutional disputes and internal issues are to be resolved. It has no other formal recognition.
World War II — In the early stages of World War II in the Pacific, Japan made steady gains against the Allies. In 1940, with the collapse of France in Europe, the new
Vichy regime allows Japan to annex French Indochina. After the
attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan proceeds to occupy
Wake Island, the
Philippines,
British Malaya, the
Dutch East Indies, northern
New Guinea and a number of pacific islands. Also Japan begins attacks against British-held Burma and India, and creates a puppet regime in Burma. From 1943 to its defeat, Japan steadily loses territory in the Pacific to the Allies and in 1945, Japan surrenders, abolishing its remaining puppet regimes in Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and abandoning its hold on
Korea.
1945 — Following the war, the
Soviet Union annexes the Southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands from Japan according to the Yalta Conference, and
Korea is divided into the two countries,
South Korea and
North Korea.
1948 — The
State of Israel is created after the 1947
United Nations General AssemblyResolution 181 called for the partition of the British-ruled
Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The resolution is accepted by the Jews in Palestine, but rejected by the Arabs in Palestine and the Arab states.
1955 — The Soviet Union hands over Dalian port to the People's Republic of China.
1960 —
Cyprus declares its independence from the United Kingdom; the
Sovereign Base Areas of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia are established on the island by the United Kingdom under the latter's control.
1961 December 19 —
India takes over the Portuguese colony of
Goa, Daman and Diu, which becomes a single
Union Territory of India. In 1987,
Goa is elevated to full statehood, with
Daman and Diu remaining a Union Territory.
1962 August 16 — India officially absorbs the French enclaves of
Pondicherry.
2005 August 1 —
Israel dismantles its settlements in the
Gush Katif region of the
Gaza Strip, and the remainder of the Gaza Strip, most of which had already been transferred to Palestinian rule in 1994, becomes administered by the
Palestinian Authority, until 2007 when the territory is seized by the military wing of
Hamas in a violent coup d'état.
2020 — While
Nagorno-Karabakh remained an internationally recognised territory of
Azerbaijan, the four UN Security Council resolutions, adopted in 1993 and demanding immediate withdrawal of the
Armenian occupying forces from all occupied regions of Azerbaijan, remained unfulfilled until 2020. In 2020, a
new war erupted in the region, which saw Azerbaijan retake control of most of southern Karabakh (Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, Qubadli, Hadrut districts) and parts of north-eastern Karabakh (Talish, Madagiz). A trilateral ceasefire agreement signed on 10 November 2020, ended the war and forced Armenia to return control of all of the remaining territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.
1921 — As a result of winning a
war against Soviet Russia,
Poland gains territories east of the
Curzon Line, inhabited essentially by Lithuanians, Belarusians, Poles, and Ukrainians.
1923 — The Treaty of Sèvres is superseded by the
Treaty of Lausanne under which Greece loses its earlier territorial gains and the borders of modern
Turkey are established.
Western Thrace is ceded by
Bulgaria to
Greece, a decision earlier agreed upon in the 1919
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine. On the Baltic sea, Lithuania annexes the Memel territory without plebiscite. Italian military forces take control of the Greek island of
Corfu.
1924 February 22 — The
Treaty of Rome comes into effect, ending the existence of the Free State of Fiume and the Italo–Yugoslav border dispute. The treaty assigns Fiume (
Rijeka) to Italy and
Sušak to Yugoslavia, with joint port administration. On March 16, Italy formally annexes Fiume.
1926 — Albania cedes territory to the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.
1938 April 25 — The United Kingdom agrees to return its three
Treaty Ports to Ireland as part of the
Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement over the course of the next several months.
1938 November 2 — Hungary is awarded southern Slovakia and parts of the Subcarpathian Rus' in the
First Vienna Award. Shortly after, Poland seizes
small border regions.
1939 March 14 — The Slovak part of Czechoslovakia
declares independence with German support.
World War II — Many boundary changes occur during the Second World War as the
Axis powers and the
Soviet Union re-divide and annex various areas under their control.
1945 — Following the war, the borders of Germany are moved west to the
Oder-Neisse line, while the approximate boundary of the
Curzon Line is used as the eastern border of Poland. In addition to incorporating the
Kresy territories, the Soviet Union also annexed the
Baltic states,
Carpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia, and
Bessarabia, the
Hertsa region, and
Northern Bukovina from Romania. From Germany, the Soviet Union acquired the northeastern third of the former East Prussian exclave with the
Klaipeda/Memel region becoming part of the
Lithuanian SSR and the bulk of the territory forming the
Kaliningrad Oblast of the
Russian SFSR. Additionally, Finland ceded major portions of
Karelia and
Salla to the Soviet Union as well as islands in the
Gulf of Finland, the whole
Petsamo, and a lease to use
Porkkala as a Soviet naval base for 50 years.
1948 — Following the signing of the
Moscow Protocol of 1948, the Soviet Union formally annexes some Danubian islands and the
Snake Island in the Black Sea from Romania.
1955 April 23 — Italy and Switzerland modify the border in the zone of
Lago di Lei[20]
1955 June 27 — The
Austrian State Treaty comes into force, establishing an independent
Austrian state from the four occupation zones of the Allied powers.
1961 — An adjustment to the Meuse river between
The Netherlands and
Belgium results in three small packages of land being exchanged between the two countries.[21]
1963 — The 1949 Dutch acquisitions of West German territory are almost completely reverted; the
Duivelsberg remains permanently with the Netherlands.
12 February 1986 —
France and the
United Kingdom sign the
Treaty of Canterbury, defining a land frontier between the two countries. This border becomes physical with the breakthrough of the
Channel Tunnel on 1 December 1990.
1990 — East Germany
unites with West Germany on October 3.
Transnistria declares independence from the
Moldavian SSR but is not recognised by any country.
2003 —
Lithuania's share of
Lake Vištytis increases to about 383 ha (about 22% from 2.2%) from a new border treaty with
Russia.[22]
2006 June 3 — The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved following
a referendum;
Montenegro and
Serbia each become independent states.
2008 February 17 —
Kosovo unilaterally
declares independence from
Serbia. The declaration is strongly opposed by Serbia and
recognised by just over half (101 out of 193) of UN member states.
2016 November 28 —
Belgium and
the Netherlands swap land near
Lanaye and
Oost-Maarland over the discovery of a headless body several years prior, which the Belgian authorities could not access without crossing Dutch territory. The
border has been straightened out and now runs down the centre of the
Meuse River.[21] The change took effect on 1 January 2018.
2022 September 30 — Russia
unilaterally declares the annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Similar to the annexation of Crimea in 2014, this border change is not recognised internationally.
North America
1927 April 1 — The
Imperial Privy Council of the United Kingdom establishes the boundaries of the
Dominion of Newfoundland and Canada, in particular, the province of
Quebec, which affirmed that territories claimed by Quebec were part of Newfoundland. Previous maps showed the disputed territory as undefined.
1949 March 31 — The Dominion of Newfoundland joins Canada. The territory is now called
Newfoundland and Labrador.
1962 August 6 —
Jamaica gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1962 August 31 —
Trinidad and Tobago gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1966 November 30 —
Barbados gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1973 July 10 — The Commonwealth of
The Bahamas gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1974 February 7 —
Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1999 —
Panama Canal Zone returns from
joint US–Panamanian control to
Panamanian control. A previous important development was the 1979 change from US control to joint US–Panama control, with plans for full Panamanian sovereignty at some point after that.
1949 July 1 — The
Territory of New Guinea joins with the Australian
Territory of Papua to form The Territory of Papua and New Guinea.[23] The union is an administrative one only and does not affect the separate position of the Territory of New Guinea as a territory governed by Australia as a United Nations trust territory.
1974 — A
referendum is held in the British colony of the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Per the results of the referendum, the colony was divided into two.
1975 September 16 — The
Territory of New Guinea and the
Territory of Papua which were in an administrative union under Australian governance with the name Papua New Guinea are unified as a single sovereign country called the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
1979 — The
Marshall Islands leaves the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, becomes an independent country while also an
associated state with the U.S.
1979 — The
Federated States of Micronesia formed from part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, also independent as an associated state with the U.S.
1994 — The
Republic of Palau is formed from the remainder of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, as an independent state associated with the U.S.
South America
1938 — A ceasefire signed between
Paraguay and
Bolivia awards Paraguay three-quarters of the Chaco Boreal which it took over during the
Chaco War (1932–35).
^Manning, Patrick (1990). Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Lovejoy, Paul E. (2012). Transformations of Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Martin Klein, "Slave Descent and Social Status in Sahara and Sudan", in Reconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, ed. Benedetta Rossi (Liverpool:
Liverpool University Press, 2009), 29.
^"Vatican City turns 91". Vatican News. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2024. The world's smallest sovereign state was born on February 11, 1929, with the signing of the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy