São Tomé and Príncipe becomes independent from Portugal

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:...

Mozambique became independent after FRELIMO’s long armed and political struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. Portugal transferred power to a FRELIMO-led government under the Lusaka agreement....

Cape Verde became independent after Portugal accepted the end of its colonial empire. PAIGC linked the archipelago’s future to the liberation struggle in Guinea-Bissau, though the two territories...

The Comorian Chamber of Deputies declared independence from France. Mayotte’s voters had chosen to remain linked to France, and France treated the islands separately, leaving the archipelago...

Papua New Guinea became independent after being administered by Australia, first as a League of Nations mandate and then as a UN trust territory. Independence involved hundreds of language communities...

Angola became independent as Portuguese rule ended, but rival liberation movements—the MPLA, FNLA, and UNITA—contested control and foreign powers intervened. Independence followed a long war against...

Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands and became a sovereign republic. The transition followed decades of anticolonial debate and the 1954 Charter’s limited autonomy; it was accelerated by...

After Portugal’s withdrawal and a breakdown in negotiations with rival Timorese parties, FRETILIN declared the Democratic Republic of East Timor. The declaration asserted self-determination after...

Indonesian forces invaded East Timor, beginning a 24-year occupation. The invasion came after the territory’s brief declaration of independence and was enabled by international acquiescence and Cold...