Talk:List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom/Archive 1

Australia and New Zealand
Yes as above Australia is 1901 or Dominion status in 1907, likewise NZ (Dominion status) in 1907 Hugo999 (talk) 20:32, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

Egypt
Why isn't Egypt on the list? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.255.183.220 (talk) 13:30, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

Years of independence?
Some of these dates are dates of formation, rather than independence. Especially regarding Aus, Canada and NZ.  VEO one five 04:35, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

New Zealand has no fixed date of independence, so why is one listed? The islands we know as New Zealand weren't even part of what we now know as the UK in 1840. It, for want of a better word, "joined" in 1841, it can't become independent from somewhere before it's part of it. Also, why is Somalia or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines not included? Stevie fae Scotland (talk) 20:09, 12 February 2014 (UTC)

In general
I believe it would be better for this list to be named "Countries that were part of the British empire" and have a separate list with the countries that directly gained independence from Britain, and with no connection with Britain, because alot of confusion is happening right now with the countries! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aragotton (talk • contribs) 23:06, 20 February 2014 (UTC)

Australia
Australia didn't become independent of Britain in 1788 - that was when the first fleet arrived. It's either 1901 or 1986 depending on how you look at it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.238.1.135 (talk) 19:46, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Australia actually isn't independent - we have our constitution BUT we're still a part of the British Empire. This is why we have a Governor-General that represents the Queen for us.

Not true that, she is independent from the United Kingdom now but there is no definitive date, similarly for New Zealand and Canada. South Africa also had a semi-evolutionary independence that was cut short with the unilateral declaration of a republic and the leaving of the commonwealth. I am going to create a new section with the "dominions" in in order to highlight the evolutionary nature of their independence as it is unrealistic to compare them directly to the other former colonies. --Lemonade100 19:37, 27 July 2014 (UTC)

Hong Kong
Hong Kong is missing. It gained independence in 1997 when the UK transferred sovereignty to the People's Republic of China — Preceding unsigned comment added by Paulwenman (talk • contribs) 21:39, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Hong Kong become part of another sovereign country. It did not gain independence. Jacob Newton (talk) 06:31, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

More Dates
Australia 1 Jan 1901 Canada 1 July 1867 Irish Free State 6 Dec 1922 (not the Easter Rising date 24 April 1916 South Africa 31 May 1910 or 11 Dec 1931 (why 1931?) New Zealand 26 Sept 1907 Hugo999 (talk) 10:46, 9 October 2012 (UTC) The world map image shows Barbados having become independent in 1931. That is not correct. It was 1966. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lucchase (talk • contribs) 11:43, 11 July 2016 (UTC)

Canada, Australia and New Zealand
It seems to me that the dates in this article are all over the place. For these countries it has the dates, 1867, 1986 and 1907, respectively. Surely in all three cases the right date is when the Statute of Westminster came into force? Chocoholic2017 (talk) 23:10, 14 February 2018 (UTC)

Singapore
I believe that Singapore is also considered to be a part of the British Empire. However, we gained our independence from Malaysia after Malaysia gained independence from Britain. Does that warrant an inclusion on this list? Discmon (talk) 07:57, 18 September 2014 (UTC)


 * Was there roughly half a month in between when it lost the status as a crown colony and when it became a state of the new Malaysian federation? 219.77.116.4 (talk) 17:45, 14 June 2018 (UTC)

The Cameroons, the Ionian Islands
Were they once possessions of the UK? 219.77.116.4 (talk) 17:51, 14 June 2018 (UTC)

Date of Independence According to Statute of Westminster 1931 — AU CA IE NF NZ ZA
The founding of the Dominions of Australia, Canada, Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa were separate events from their gaining independence as sovereign nations independent from the British Empire. Dominions were internally self-governing, but external affairs were controlled by the UK, and the head of state was the King/Queen of the UK (as opposed to the King/Queen of Australia, Canada, etc).

Canada, Ireland and South Africa automatically gained independence on 11 December 1931 after the passing of the Statute of Westminster 1931.

Australia and New Zealand gained independence on 9 October 1942 and 25 November 1947 respectively. This was because these two Dominions, along with Newfoundland, were required to ratify the statute before it could take effect.

Newfoundland never ratified the statute and therefore never gained independence. In fact, it reverted to direct British governance in 1934 and became the tenth province of Canada in 1949.

Therefore, the dates of independence listed are not accurate and should be modified according to the application of the Statute of Westminster 1931. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Illinois347 (talk • contribs) 23:45, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

United States
The USA *declared* independence on 4th July 1776, but didn't *achieve* it till 3rd September 1783. I have corrected this. Jacob Newton (talk) 06:31, 18 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I think recognized is a better term than achieved. We Americans date our independence to 1776.  To us that is de jure when British rule ended.  In 1781 members of Parliament acknowledged the practical reality, and in 1783 the British government gave its official recognition.  Emperor001 (talk) 13:25, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Year of adoption of the Statute of Westminster in South Africa.
The year in which South Africa has adopted the Statute of Westminster was in 1931 or 1934? --Davi Gamer 2017 (talk) 01:48, 20 April 2019 (UTC)

Tibet
It was a all a bit temporary. but for the sake of completeness shouldn't Tibet be on this list? British expedition to Tibet 2A02:C7D:CA43:EA00:B505:AAB9:118D:6F07 (talk) 20:00, 21 June 2019 (UTC)

Merging categories with only one entry into a single category
The categories that should be merged are:

- Former British Crown Colonies that became part of another British Crown Colony then later restored previous status

- British Overseas Territories that have voted against another independent country sharing sovereignty over the territory with the British Crown

- British Overseas Territories that have voted to retain their British Overseas Territory status

- British Overseas Territories that have voted not to be an independent country

- Countries or province forming part of the United Kingdom that have voted to remain part of the United Kingdom

- Countries forming part of the United Kingdom that have voted not to be an independent country

- Countries which did not vote to terminate British rule yet were relinquished

As it currently stands, there seven separate categories with only one entry. Maybe some or all of them should be merged into a category called "Notable Exceptions" or similar. Rtrb (talk) 16:33, 3 August 2019 (UTC)

Date sorting
Can we have a single sortable date column, instead of separate columns for day+month, and year? See List of recipients of the Order of Industrial Heroism for an example, using dts. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:26, 16 December 2019 (UTC)

Edit request on 15 May 2021
The table/s with the names of the countryies don't seem to be aligned properly (to the  left), someone please correct it - especially the "See also" and "References " sections
 * ✅ (by someone other than me) Zoozaz1 talk  01:12, 22 May 2021 (UTC)

Why did the independent happened if our independence did not happen.
Why? 172.58.172.72 (talk) 01:02, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

Relevancy of ex-American colonies
User:Barry Wom, I fail to see why listing the Philippines, Cuba, and Liberia in the notes for America is irrelevant, while listing (e.g.) Singapore in the notes for Malaysia is not.

Glide08 (talk) 12:50, 30 November 2022 (UTC)


 * Fair point; I've removed the excessive detail from the Malaysia entry. Any details of a country's history post independance is surely irrelevant. Barry Wom (talk) 13:17, 30 November 2022 (UTC)

A narrow and completely British perspective that ignores reality.
Once again, the British are silencing the voices of the former colonies. 1831 is NOT a recognized date for Canada, as the Statute of Westminister merely altered some legalese around the King's position, so that instead of him being the King of the British Empire, he received an additional title as King of Canada. A paper title of little value, since his representative, the Governor General is chosen by the Canadian Prime Minister, and he does little more than rubber stamp the PM's decision. The GG has only ceremonial powers and has no more input on government decisions than any other private citizen (and probably less in most cases). Canada had been independent officially since 1867, was signing international treaties by 1871, and sat at the 1919 Paris Conference as an independent nation (despite protests by the US). Whether the King recognized Canada or not is not is no more relevant than the date the British gave up in the US. If the US can claim 1776 (which is based on the declaration of independence, not the British recognition of defeat - a date when their victory was far from assured), then Canada must claim 1867, otherwise you are using different criteria for each country - a criteria that has no relevance to those countries. Also, that has got to be one of the worst drawn maps I have ever seen - flags randomly strewn over other entities, arrows pointing in the wrong locations (Malta being thousands of miles off), and countries are entirely missing such as Afghanistan, which achieved its independence in 1919.&#32;- NiD.29 (talk) 06:46, 12 May 2023 (UTC)


 * These roles and their job duties changed over time. The post in 1800s may have been under a different set of laws at that time as opposed to now. New rules and laws may have been implemented and things will have changed over time. CaribDigita (talk) CaribDigita (talk) 07:12, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * The role certainly did change, (mostly in terms of ceremonial honours being reduced) but to use 1931 as the date of independence for Canada, a date no legitimate historian would ever choose, and which is not used in the country, ever, is DEEPLY, and deliberately insulting. Comparable to suggesting that there is no difference between the Welsh and the English or the Scots and the English or the Irish and the English, and that they are all just one people. No - worse even than that.&#32;- NiD.29 (talk) 20:34, 12 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I might be missing something here, but it doesn't appear to me that the article is stating "1931 as the date of independence for Canada" as you claim. 1931 is listed only as the date the Statue of Westminster was adopted. Barry Wom (talk) 09:09, 13 May 2023 (UTC)