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The list of countries obtaining independence from Spain is a list of countries that broke away from Spain for independence, or occasionally incorporation into another country, as depicted in the map below. These processes came about at different periods and world regions starting in the 17th century (Portugal).
Independence waves
Since its beginnings in the 16th century, the Spanish empire conquered new areas starting out from its Castilian core kingdom. In 1597, the Spanish (Castilian) crown lost the Netherlands (Holland). In 1640, Portugal split away after Philip II had incorporated it to its domains in 1581. A second independence tide came about following the Independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America and the Battle of Trafalgar that heralded the end of the Spanish Atlantic hegemony. Venezuela (1811), under the influence of the Basque Enlightenment, sparked the independence movements of Central and Southern America, spearheaded by Simon Bolivar.
During the Spanish Restoration in the late 19th century, the last major colonies Cuba, Puerto Rico and Philippines detached from the metropolis with the support of the United States. Since the 1950s, Spain lost the last continental lands in Africa, Spanish protectorate in Morocco, Ifni, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara.
States
No | Country | Modern state | Pre-independence name
(if different) |
Date | year | note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dutch Republic | Netherlands | Spanish Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | 30 January | 1648 | Peace of Münster |
2 | Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves | Portugal | Iberian Union | 1 December | 1640 | Treaty of Lisbon |
3 | Dutch Formosa | Taiwan | Spanish Formosa | ? | 1642 | It was ceded to the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years' War. |
4 | Sardinia | Sardinia part of Italy | Kingdom of Sardinia part of Spanish Empire | 8 August | 1720 | Philip V's viceroy handed Sardinia over to an Austrian representative, who in turn transferred it to the viceroy of Victor Amadeus |
5 | Austrian Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | Luxembourg | Spanish Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | 7 March | 1714 | Treaty of Rastatt |
6 | Austrian Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | Belgium | Spanish Netherlands part of Holy Roman Empire | 7 March | 1714 | Treaty of Rastatt |
7 | Kingdom of Naples (Ruled by the Austrian monarchy) | Kingdom of Naples
(Spanish viceroyalty) Spanish Empire |
7 March | 1714 | Treaty of Rastatt | |
8 | Saint-Domingue | Haiti | Captaincy General of Santo Domingo | ? | 1795 | Peace of Basel, ceded eastern portion to France |
9 | 21 March | 1801 | Treaty of Aranjuez | |||
10 | Republic of West Florida | 26 September | 1810 | officially the State of Florida, was a short-lived republic in the western region of Spanish West Florida in 1810. It was annexed and occupied by the United States later in 1810 | ||
11 | First Republic of Paraguay | Paraguay | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 14 May | 1811 | May Revolution part of Spanish American wars of independence |
12 | First Republic of Venezuela | Venezuela | Captaincy General of Venezuela | 5 July | 1811 | Venezuelan wars of independence |
13 | Uruguay | Uruguay | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | ? | 1811 | Uruguay gained independence from Spain, was annexed by the Empire of Brazil, then regained independence in 1825. |
14 | United Provinces of the Río de la Plata | Argentina | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 9 July | 1816 | Argentine wars of independence |
15 | State of Chile | Chile | Captaincy General of Chile | 12 February | 1818 | Chilean wars of independence |
16 | Gran Colombia | Colombia | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 17 December | 1819 | Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada |
17 | Protectorate of Peru | Peru | Viceroyalty of Peru | 28 July | 1821 | Peruvian War of Independence |
18 | First Mexican Empire | Mexico | New Spain | 15 September | 1821 | Mexican War of Independence |
19 |
|
Costa Rica | 15 September | 1821 | Costa Rica part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Costra Rica. | |
20 |
|
El Salvador | 15 September | 1821 | El Salvador part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of El Salvador. | |
21 |
|
Guatemala | 15 September | 1821 | Guatemala part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Guatemala. late British annexed north-east Guatemala and made colony of British Honduras | |
22 |
|
Honduras | 15 September | 1821 | Honduras part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Honduras. | |
23 |
|
Nicaragua | 15 September | 1821 | Nicaragua part of 1st Mexican Empire. Then later got independence and creation of Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Then later dissolved in 1841 creation of Nicaragua. | |
24 | Panama | Panama | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 28 November | 1821 | Independence of Panama (Bloodless revolution) |
25 | Ecuador | Ecuador | Viceroyalty of New Granada | 24 May | 1822 | Ecuadorian War of Independence |
26 | Bolivian Republic | Bolivia | Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata | 6 August | 1825 | Bolivia war of independence |
27 | Second Dominican Republic | Dominican Republic | Captaincy General of Santo Domingo | 15 July | 1865 | Spain ceded the island to France in the Peace of Basel. Spain recaptured the eastern portion of Santo Domingo 1809-1821 (the España Boba period). The Republic of Spanish Haiti gained independence from Spain in 1821, was occupied by Haiti, then gained independence as the First Dominican Republic; reoccupied by Spain 1861-1865, the Second Dominican Republic gained independence but was occupied by the United States 1916-1924. The Third Dominican Republic followed the U.S. occupation. |
28 | Cuba | Cuba | Captaincy General of Cuba | 10 October | 1898 | Prior to its independence from Spain, the United States occupied the island until the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1898), which ended the Spanish–American War). The U.S. Armed Forces left the island in 1902. |
29 | First Philippine Republic | Philippines | Captaincy General of Philippines | 12 June | 1898 | The Philippines gained its independence from Spain. But United States occupied Philippines (USA and Spain had signed the Treaty of Paris in 1898. Spain give the Philippines to USA to end the Spanish-American war). The Empire of Japan then occupied Philippines during the Second World War before surrendering, after which point the US took control of the Philippines. The Philippines gained independence from the US in 1946 and established the Third Republic of the Philippines |
30 | German New Guinea | Spanish East Indies | 11 February | 1899 | Spain sold other smaller islands to Germany in the German–Spanish Treaty | |
30 | 11 April | 1899 | Treaty of Paris (1898) | |||
31 | Morocco | Spanish protectorate in Morocco | 7 April | 1956 | Decolonisation of Africa | |
32 | Equatorial Guinea | Spanish Guinea | 12 October | 1968 | Decolonisation of Africa | |
33 | Ifni | 30 June | 1969 | Decolonisation of Africa | ||
34 | Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Spanish Sahara | 26 February | 1976 | Decolonisation of Africa |
See also
- Mexican War of Independence
- Spanish American wars of independence
- Philippines revolution
- Spanish–American War
- Eighty Years' War
- War of the Spanish Succession
- List of national independence days
- Spanish-American war
References
- ^ "Humanities › History & Culture Independence from Spain in Latin America". ThoughtCo. Dotdash. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Simón Bolívar: The Liberator". latinamericanstudies.org. Dr. Antonio Rafael de la Cova. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- Onnekink, David (2018-05-03), "Eighty Years' War (1568-1648)", The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy, Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 1–6, doi:10.1002/9781118885154.dipl0415, ISBN 978-1-118-88791-2, retrieved 2022-11-13