Curated playlist
Former republics
- South VietnamSouth Vietnam lasted exactly twenty years, from 1955 to 1975. In January 1973 its army was counted fourth largest.
- Free FranceHow did a general sentenced to death for treason end up liberating Paris? It is the story of Free France.
- West BerlinIn 1948 the Soviets blockaded West Berlin by land, and the city survived.
- State of KatangaThe State of Katanga broke away from Congo on the evening of the 11th of July 1960. Moïse Tshombe led the split.
- French First RepublicThe body that made Napoleon emperor was created to protect the French republic's constitution.
- Commonwealth of the PhilippinesThe Commonwealth of the Philippines began in 1935 with a countdown to its own end.
- Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic began with one act of violence and ended with another.
- Second Federal Republic of MexicoMexico's Second Federal Republic began in 1846, with the country already at war with the United States.
- Helvetic RepublicIn April 1798, 121 deputies proclaimed the Helvetic Republic "One and Indivisible."
- Italian Republic (Napoleonic)Napoleon was president of an Italian republic while also ruling France. It lasted only from 1802 to 1805.
- Maritime republicsIn 849, four Italian coastal cities sailed to Ostia and shattered a Saracen invasion fleet.
- StrasbourgA wrong label on a French map cost Strasbourg 7,000 early printed books. German guns hit the library in 1870.
- Czechoslovak Socialist RepublicIn February 1948, a president handed his country to the Communists. Edvard Beneš feared civil war.
- Italian Social RepublicHitler threatened to destroy Milan, Genoa and Turin unless Mussolini led a new Fascist state.
- CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was dissolved by its own parliament without a single shot fired. The country had lasted 74 years.
- Republic of VeniceThe Republic of Venice fell without a battle in 1797. Napoleon's ultimatum ended a state that lasted over 1,100 years.
- Republic of FlorenceThe Republic of Florence began with one woman's death in 1115. Florence refused her successor and formed a commune.
- Russian RepublicAlexander Kerensky and Alexander Zarudny signed a decree on the 1st of September 1917 founding the Russian Republic.
- Novgorod RepublicNovgorod's princes lived on city money and could not own land in the republic. A written contract set their limits.
- Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthIn the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one deputy's dissent could cancel a whole parliament's laws.
- Free City of DanzigWhat was the Free City of Danzig?