Suriname becomes independent after a negotiated transfer of sovereignty

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...

São Tomé and Príncipe became independent after Portugal’s Carnation Revolution opened negotiations with African liberation movements. The islands’ colonial economy had relied on plantation labor under...

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...

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...