Morocco gains independence from France

The FLN launched attacks across Algeria and issued a declaration calling for national independence and restoration of a sovereign Algerian state. France responded with expanding military repression....

Twenty-nine Asian and African states and governments met in Bandung, many recently independent and others still under colonial rule. Delegates built solidarity around sovereignty, racial equality,...

The conference adopted a ten-point communiqué affirming sovereignty, racial equality, non-intervention, peaceful cooperation, and support for dependent peoples. It challenged the assumption that...

The Paris Agreements ended the Allied occupation regime in West Germany and enabled its entry into NATO. The move consolidated the Western bloc and military rearmament in Europe, while Germany...

The Soviet Union and seven Eastern European states signed the Warsaw Pact, formalizing a military bloc in response to West Germany’s NATO membership. The alliance deepened Europe’s division into rival...

France recognized Tunisia’s independence after a long campaign by the Neo-Destour movement and years of negotiation and resistance. Habib Bourguiba became prime minister. Independence ended the...

Gamal Abdel Nasser announced nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, asserting Egyptian control over a strategic waterway and revenue for the Aswan Dam. The canal had been built through Egyptian...

Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, followed by British and French attacks framed as intervention to secure the canal. Egypt resisted the assault, and international pressure and UN action...

A ceasefire took effect after UN diplomacy and pressure from the United States and Soviet Union forced Britain, France, and Israel to stop military operations and withdraw. The crisis marked a shift...

The former Gold Coast became independent as Ghana, with Kwame Nkrumah as prime minister. The transition followed decades of organizing by workers, veterans, women, and political movements, including...