The Bahamas becomes independent from Britain

The Awami League won a majority in Pakistan’s National Assembly, based on strong support in East Pakistan. The result gave Bengali voters a mandate for autonomy under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Six-Point...

Before a huge gathering in Dhaka, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called for resistance and outlined a civil-disobedience program after the elected majority was denied power. The speech stopped short of a...

Pakistani forces launched a military crackdown in Dhaka and other cities after the political crisis over the 1970 election. The operation targeted civilians, students, political organizers, and...

Bangladesh’s independence was declared after the military crackdown. The declaration is associated with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and was transmitted and repeated by local resistance leaders and the...

Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered to the joint command of Bangladeshi and Indian forces. The surrender ended the nine-month liberation war and established Bangladesh as an independent...

Grenada became independent after British rule. The transition followed organizing by workers, trade unions, and political movements in a plantation society shaped by slavery and colonial...

The Armed Forces Movement overthrew Portugal’s Estado Novo dictatorship. Portugal’s prolonged and increasingly costly wars against African liberation movements were a major cause of the coup. The...

The General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order. Newly independent states argued that political independence without control over trade,...

Portugal recognized the Republic of Guinea-Bissau following years of armed struggle led by PAIGC and the unilateral independence declaration of 1973. The recognition marked a major victory for a...

The OAU’s Dar es Salaam Declaration called for support to consolidate liberation and reconstruct territories emerging from Portuguese rule. The document reflected a continental strategy:...