Countries That No Longer Exist
Geopolitics can be a funny beast. While Earth's landmass has stayed virtually identical for most of human history, borders have been drawn and redrawn time again as our planet's inhabitants jockey for position.
Whether the dissolution of these countries is due to warfare, colonization, or straightforward diplomacy, it's fascinating to think back on these former nations. While the landmass and the people remain, the country itself is long gone.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was one of several countries to emerge from the chaos of World War I, in this case coming from a merger between the Kingdom of Serbia with the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs.
The country had a tough history — it came into existence in 1918, was decimated by World War II, then saw various economic and political crises in the decades to come. After a series of revolutions in 1989, it divided into five countries.
East Germany
East Germany is mostly remembered as a chapter in Germany's history where the eastern half of the country was a communist state that was centrally planned.
While East Germany reunified with West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it's easy to forget that the country was the most successful in the entire Eastern Bloc, even accounting for World War II reparations that it had to pay to the Soviet Union.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia first declared independence from Austria-Hungary after World War I. It lost territory during World War II, and actually ceased to exist during this war, as its constituent states declared independence or were invaded.
After the war, Czechoslovakia was re-established with its original borders, and became a Communist country after a 1948 coup. The 1968 Prague Spring uprising, coupled with the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union, caused Czechoslovakia to peacefully split into Slovakia and Czechia.
Austro-Hungarian Empire
This constitutional monarchy was formed by the Habsburg monarchy in 1867 following the end of the Austro-Prussian War.
Of course, the early 20th century brought widespread change to Europe, notably the transition from monarchy to republic for many nations. After World War I, Austria-Hungary dissolved, and Austria and Hungary became two separate countries.
Soviet Union
Likely the most notable former country on this list, the Soviet Union was easily the largest country by landmass in the world. It spanned eleven time zones and bordered twelve countries, and incorporated not just modern-day Russia, but a host of states.
The country came into existence following 1917's October Revolution and played a major role in international geopolitics for most of the 20th century. The country dissolved in 1991 and was reconstituted as the Russian Federation.
Ottoman Empire
An ancient nation that survived into modern times, the Ottoman Empire existed in some form between the 14th and 20th centuries, spanning parts of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa.
The Ottoman Empire gradually lost territory due to a number of military defeats in the 18th and 19th centuries. It eventually dissolved after the Turkish War of Independence in 1922.
Rhodesia
Rhodesia had a short, chaotic history. It first emerged as an unrecognized successor state to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia.
What made Rhodesia so controversial was apartheid, with a power structure ruled entirely by White people, who made up a minority in the country. Rhodesia existed between 1965 and 1979, and emerged as Zimbabwe after the Zimbabwe African National Union won an electoral victory.
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia, the predecessor to modern-day Colombia, occupied much of northern South America, as well as parts of Central America, between 1819 and 1831.
The country's large size was its undoing, as infighting between groups that favored federalism and centralism respectively came to a head. When it broke apart, it became the states of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Republic of Texas
Texas still exists of course, and much of the source of the state's pride comes from the fact that it used to be a sovereign country between 1836 and 1846.
Texas emerged when the formerly Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas declared independence in 1836. Following a series of conflicts with Mexico in the following decade, Texas agreed to annexation with the United States in 1846.
Zanzibar
Officially known as the Sultanate of Zanzibar, this East African state existed for over a century until it relinquished its sovereignty in 1964.
This did not go smoothly, as the African Afro-Shirazi Party overthrew the largely Muslim government of Zanzibar, which spurred the massacre of tens of thousands of Zanzibar's Arab citizens.
(Independent) Tibet
The collapse of imperial China's Qing dynasty in 1912 led to the creation of the mountainous state of Tibet. While the new Republic of China wanted to extend its claim to Tibet, the region was too remote for them to assert much authority.
Following the Chinese Civil War, the newly-formed People's Republic of China once again set its eyes on Tibet, and annexed the territory in 1951.
Prussia
The precursor to modern-day Germany, Prussia emerged in 1525. For most of its history, it was viewed as one of Europe's great powers, particularly under the reign of Frederick the Great.
In 1871, Prussia united Germany's various states to form the German Empire. The chaos of Germany's interwar period caused borders to be drawn and redrawn, and what was left of Prussia was officially abolished by the Allies in 1947.
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland is a large, rocky island off of Canada's east coast, and today it (along with the Labrador region) forms the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. But for a time, it was an independent nation.
However, in the midst of the Great Depression, a financial crisis on the island caused Newfoundland's government to voluntarily give up its self-governing status in 1934. An appointed commission governed Newfoundland until it officially joined Canada in 1949.
Kingdom of Sikkim
This hereditary monarchy in the Eastern Himalayas was in existence for more than three centuries, between 1642 and 1975, and is now a state of India.
Conflicts between the Kingdom and India grew to a boiling point until a palace siege led to a referendum on the monarchy in 1975. While the results ostensibly justified India's annexation of Sikkim, there are questions as to the validity of this takeover.
South Vietnam
The site of untold atrocities and bloodshed during the Vietnam War, the nation of South Vietnam only existed between 1955 and 1975, spending almost its entire history in the midst of conflict.
The country first emerged as an independent nation after Japanese forces were expelled following World War II. The Vietnam War started that same year, and the eventual Paris Peace Accords of 1973 saw the annexation of South Vietnam by North Vietnam.
Kingdom of Hawaii
Kamehameha I first conquered the Hawaiian islands of O'ahu, Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i in the late 18th century and unified them as the Kingdom of Hawaii.
The kingdom was widely recognized by other governments, but increased interest in the Hawaiian Islands spelled its doom. The native Hawaiian population was decimated by disease, and the weakened kingdom was ended by an American-led coup d'état in the 1890s.
Biafra
Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967 to serve as a home for the Igbo ethnic group following a series of anti-Igbo pogroms in the 1960s.
The move led to immediate warfare, as the Nigerian military attempted to regain control of the area. Following three years of bitter conflict, the territory was ceded back to Nigeria in 1970.
Manchukuo
Japan's imperial ambitions ran rampant during the early 20th century, and the nation didn't just annex areas — it also set up puppet states. Manchukuo, also known as the State of Manchuria, was one such state.
The country was founded as an ostensibly independent nation in 1932 and existed until the end of World War II.
Senegambia Confederation
The Gambia, a nation that's almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, teamed up with Senegal in the 1980s to form the Senegambia Confederation, a soft merger of the two countries designed to promote cooperation and trade.
In 1989, after The Gambia had cold feet about creating an official union, the Senegambia Confederation was officially dissolved.
Mughal Empire
The origins of the Mughal Empire are murky, but this empire in South Asia emerged sometime in the 1500s in modern-day Uzbekistan.
The Mughal Empire flourished for a time, but the British colonial influence in India soon doomed it. The empire was dissolved by the British Raj in 1857.
