Curated category
Former republics
- South VietnamIn September 1945, communist-led Viet Minh forces seized power in Hanoi and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
- Free FranceOn the evening of the 18th of June 1940, a voice crackled through BBC radio waves from London. Charles de Gaulle spoke to his fellow countrymen in French…
- West BerlinThe Potsdam Agreement of 1945 established a four-power occupation zone for Germany, dividing the capital city of Berlin into sectors controlled by the United…
- State of KatangaIn 1906, the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga company received exclusive rights to mine copper in Katanga. The principal shareholders included the Comité…
- French First RepublicMobs of Parisians broke into the city's prisons during the first week of September 1792. They killed over half of the prisoners, including nobles and…
- Commonwealth of the PhilippinesThe Tydings, McDuffie Act received approval on the 24th of March 1934. This legislation established a ten-year transition period for the Commonwealth of the…
- Roman RepublicIn 509 BC, the Roman Senate expelled Tarquin the Proud after his son Sextus raped Lucretia. This event marked the end of seven kings who had ruled Rome for…
- Second Federal Republic of MexicoIn April of 1846, the Mexican American War erupted while Mariano Paredes held the presidency. A string of military defeats fueled public anger and forced…
- Helvetic RepublicOn the 5th of March 1798, French troops completely overran Switzerland and the Old Swiss Confederation collapsed. The invasion proceeded largely peacefully…
- Italian Republic (Napoleonic)On the 26th of January 1802, a painting by Nicolas-André Monsiau captured a pivotal moment. The Consulta of the Cisalpine Republic received Napoleon…
- Maritime republicsIn 839, the city of Amalfi threw off Lombard rule to become a free republic. This moment marked the beginning of a new political order along the Italian…
- StrasbourgThe name Strasbourg emerged from a linguistic collision between Celtic and Germanic roots. Before the fifth century, Roman milestones recorded the settlement…
- Czechoslovak Socialist RepublicOn the 25th of February 1948, President Edvard Beneš capitulated to Soviet pressure and appointed a Communist-dominated government.
- Italian Social RepublicOn the 24th of July 1943, Dino Grandi presented a motion to the Grand Council of Fascism. The vote passed with twenty-one votes in favor and only seven…
- CzechoslovakiaOn the 28th of October 1918, a crowd gathered on Prague's Wenceslas Square to hear the declaration of independence. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk returned from…
- Republic of VeniceIn 697, Paolo Lucio Anafesto became the first doge of Venice according to tradition. This date marks the birth of a sovereign state that would survive for…
- Republic of FlorenceIn 1115, the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany following the death of Matilda of Tuscany. This uprising marked the beginning of a…
- Russian RepublicPrince Georgy Lvov took the helm of a new Provisional Government on the 2nd of March 1917. This date marked the moment Emperor Nicholas II abdicated his…
- Novgorod RepublicIn 1136, the Novgorodians marched to Yaroslav's Court and dismissed their prince Vsevolod Mstislavich. They did not kill him or exile him permanently.
- Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthOn the 1st of July 1569, deputies from the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania signed a document in Lublin that erased two separate states…
- Free City of DanzigOn the 15th of November 1920, the Free City of Danzig officially came into existence under the protection of the League of Nations.