Power & Market

There Have Been 57 Peaceful Secessions Since 1776

My impression is that most Americans when hearing the term “secession” think of the War Between the States, or as it’s usually referred to, The Civil War, and so conjure up a bloody multiyear event when any consideration of secession arises. But secessions are in fact, often peaceful with both sides accepting the parting of ways (just as couples, business partners, friends, and club members, etc. generally do).

I’ve prepared this (admittedly non-exhaustive) list—including twenty-three secessions from or to the United States—to make the point that in fact peaceful secessions are rather common and beneficial.

There were as little as 40-70 sovereign countries in the 1940s (it’s a rather inexact science!) and today there are 206. Clearly the world can carry on with secessions being the norm for the last 80 years. And do realize that the violent secessions that have occurred were each a case of a group wanting to leave a jurisdiction only to have that jurisdiction resort to violence against its own for the sake of maintaining their power—a vile motive to say the least.

 

Secession: the act of becoming independent and no longer part of a country, area, organization, etc.

#

Date

Jurisdictions

From

1

1777

Vermont

New Hampshire/New York

2-12

 1787-1788

Georgia, South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire

The Articles of Perpetual Union

13

1789

North Carolina

The Articles of Perpetual Union

14

1790

Rhode Island

The Articles of Perpetual Union

15

1803

Louisiana Purchase

France

16

1820

Maine

Massachusetts

17

1831

Belgium

Netherlands

18

1847

Liberia

United States

19

1854-1947

New Zealand

United Kingdom

20

1861

Monaco

France

21

1867

Alaska

Russia

22

1901

Australia

United Kingdom

23

1902

Cuba

United States

24

1905

Sweden, Norway

Norway, Sweden

25

1917

Finland

Russia

26

1917

Virgin Islands

Denmark

27

1934

South Africa

United Kingdom

28

1944

Iceland

Denmark

29

1946

Philippines

United States

30

1961

Syria

United Arab Republic

31

1965

Singapore 

Malaysia

32

1982

Canada

United Kingdom

33

1983

Marshall Islands

United States

34

1986

Micronesia

United States

35

1990

Armenia

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

36

1991

Lithuania

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

37

1991

Latvia

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

38

1991

Georgia

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

39

1991

Armenia

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

40

1991

Estonia

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

41

1991

Moldova

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

42

1991

Ukraine

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

43

1991

Uzbekistan

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

44

1991

Azerbaijan

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

45

1991

Tajikistan

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

46

1991

Turkmenistan

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

47

1991

Russia

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

48

1991

Kazakhstan

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

49

1991

Belarus

Union of Soviet Socialists Republic

50-51

1991

Slovenia, Macedonia

Yugoslavia

52-53

1992

Czech Republic, Slovakia

Czechoslovakia

54

1994

Palau

United States

55

2006

Montenegro

Yugoslavia

56

2009

Greenland

Denmark

57

2020

United Kingdom

European Union

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