What was the last country to be taken over by another?

Given that throughout history there have been many changes to the map of the Earth. Countries have came and gone, empires were born and collapsed, countries invaded, divided, merged etc.

Obviously WW2 was the last significant attempt to take over land but I'm curious, what others were there before WW2?

So can someone name some other "recent" countries which have come and gone? I'm particularly looking for countries which literally not longer exist due to them being taken over and the new country is actually a true country which is accepted by the world.

An example would be Tibet and China. China absorbed Tibet and now that land belongs to China.

Thanks.

Reply 1

pingu27

Northern Cyprus was taken by Turkey in 1974, not a whole country though. One that springs to mind is Tannu Tuva, which was briefly an independent state and later quietly absorbed by into the Russia SSR just after WW2.

Reply 2

Davey1

OP

1

Original post by pingu27

Northern Cyprus was taken by Turkey in 1974, not a whole country though. One that springs to mind is Tannu Tuva, which was briefly an independent state and later quietly absorbed by into the Russia SSR just after WW2.

So what happened to Northern Cyprus? Did the world just let it happen?

Reply 3

pingu27

Original post by Davey1

So what happened to Northern Cyprus? Did the world just let it happen?

Pretty much, but there is now a UN buffer zone between the largely unrecognised independent state of Northern Cyprus and Greek Cyprus, and RAF Dhekelia also lies along it.

Reply 4

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Davey1

So what happened to Northern Cyprus? Did the world just let it happen?

We let it happen. We should have stopped it.

However it fell into that gap between our leaving Aden in 1967 and the Falklands in 1982 where the only military activity we engaged in outside of NI was the "secret war" that the SAS fought in Oman. This represented the nadir of our military confidence.

Reply 5

ZionistSupremacy

Ukraine this year. Taken over by a US funded and supported coup of their Democratically chosen leader.

Reply 6

nulli tertius

21

Disappearing countries:

Newfoundland 1949 absorbed by Canada
Établissements français dans l'Inde 1954 absorbed by India
Saar 1955 absorbed by Federal Republic of Germany
British Togoland 1957 absorbed into Ghana
State of Somalialand 1960 absorbed into Somalia
British Cameroons 1961 split between Cameroon and Nigeria
Estado da Índia Portuguesa 1961 absorbed into India
Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo 1963 united as Malaysia
Zanzibar and Tanganyika 1964 united as Tanzania
Biafra 1970 reabsorbed by Nigeria
Republic of Vietnam 1975 absorbed by Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Western Sarhara 1975 Spanish colony occupied (mostly) by Morocco
Kuwait (briefly) 1990 became Iraq's 19th province
German Democratic Republic 1990 absorbed into German Federal Republic
Yemen Arab Republic and Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen 1990 united as Yemen
Transkei, Ciskei, Bophuthatswana and Venda 1994 reabsorbed into South Africa
Hong Kong 1997 British colony absorbed in China
Macau 1999 Portuguese colony absorbed in China

Various states dissolved USSR, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, United Arab Republic, Federation of the West Indies

Any others?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 7

Puddles the Monkey

21

South Sudan is the world's youngest country. :smile:

Reply 8

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Puddles the Monkey

South Sudan is the world's youngest country. :smile:

Depends on where you are sitting,

Between 17th and 21st March 2014 The Republic of Crimea claimed to be an independent state.

Between 27th April 2014 and 24th May 2014 the Lugansk People's Republic claimed to be an independent state.

Between 7th April and 24th May 2014 the Donetsk People's Republic claimed to be an independent state.

Since 24th may 2014 the Federal State of Novorossiya has claimed to be an independent state.

Reply 9

TommeDeSavoie

14

If by independent country and not a colony, maybe Tibet?
They were independent as far as I know.

Obviously there are colonies like Hong Kong and rebel territories, but Tibet was a sovereign nation state.

Reply 10

Rakas21

21

I thought Singapore was independent from Malaysia.

Reply 11

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Rakas21

I thought Singapore was independent from Malaysia.

It was independent for a week or so in 1963, then joined with others to form Malaysia. It then left Malaysia after two years.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 12

nulli tertius

21

Original post by KrisCussans

If by independent country and not a colony, maybe Tibet?
They were independent as far as I know.

Obviously there are colonies like Hong Kong and rebel territories, but Tibet was a sovereign nation state.

Tibet's sovereignty prior to the Chinese invasion was always somewhat iffy. It is not a clear example of a sovereign state.

Of the ones in my list the following were all internationally recognised sovereign states when they vanished:-

The two Yemens
German Democratic Republic
Republic of (South) Vietnam
Zanzibar
Tanganyika
Singapore
Malaya
Sarawak
State of Somalialand

USSR
Czechoslovakia
Yugoslavia
Serbia and Montenegro
United Arab Republic

(edited 9 years ago)

Ukraine 2015

Original post by James222

Ukraine 2015

I think that would come as news to the government in Kiev which appears to be winning.

I have posted above the various claimed pseudo-states arising from the Ukraine crisis.

Reply 15

James222

3

Original post by nulli tertius

I think that would come as news to the government in Kiev which appears to be winning.

I have posted above the various claimed pseudo-states arising from the Ukraine crisis.

Well Crimea got annexed

Reply 16

navarre

20

Hawaii was once independent, but became part of the United States in 1951 (I think).

Reply 17

nulli tertius

21

Original post by navarre

Hawaii was once independent, but became part of the United States in 1951 (I think).

1898 I am afraid.

Otherwise FDR wouldn't have given a fig if the Hawaiian navy had been sunk at Pearl Harbor :tongue:

Reply 18

navarre

20

Original post by nulli tertius

1898 I am afraid.

Otherwise FDR wouldn't have given a fig if the Hawaiian navy had been sunk at Pearl Harbor :tongue:

Ah yes, and I was wrong. It became a state in 1959, not 1951.

Reply 19

democracyforum

4

Original post by Davey1

Given that throughout history there have been many changes to the map of the Earth. Countries have came and gone, empires were born and collapsed, countries invaded, divided, merged etc.

Obviously WW2 was the last significant attempt to take over land but I'm curious, what others were there before WW2?

So can someone name some other "recent" countries which have come and gone? I'm particularly looking for countries which literally not longer exist due to them being taken over and the new country is actually a true country which is accepted by the world.

An example would be Tibet and China. China absorbed Tibet and now that land belongs to China.

Thanks.

Great Britain, beginning in 1996, with a major offensive in 2004, with a final assault in 2014.

What was the last country to be taken over by another?

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