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Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married and unified the kingdoms into the Spanish Empire. They also drove the Muslims Jews out of Spain and commissioned Columbus' voyage this year. -
The Dutch Republic was arguably the first nation-state
Various “Dutch” territories unified and broke off from the Spanish Empire
they declared independence in 1581 and Spain recognized their sovereignty in 1588
The Dutch Republic was the blueprint for the modern sovereign republic, and formed a huge colonial empire managed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC)
The Dutch East India Company was one of the world’s first joint-stock corporations and very important in the development of capitalism -
King Charles I of England believed in the “divine right of kings:” that there is one sovereign and their power is given to them by God
The Parliament believed that Charles was abusing his power
The Royalists and Parliamentarians fought a civil war that ended with Charles I being beheaded
After his execution there was no monarch for 11 years. The government failed and in 1660 Charles’ son was crowned king. This created the “United Kingdom”
Parliament stayed powerful -
King Charles I of England believed in the “divine right of kings:” that there is one sovereign and their power is given to them by God
The Parliament believed that Charles was abusing his power
The Royalists and Parliamentarians fought a civil war that ended with Charles I being beheaded
After his execution there was no monarch for 11 years. The government failed and in 1660 Charles’ son was crowned king. This created the “United Kingdom”
Parliament stayed powerful -
Looking to Europe's absolute monarchies as inspiration, Peter I makes Russia an empire of Slavic people. It has never been conquered by another power. -
Nepal has never been occupied by another country, and has been independent since it unified into a nation-state in 1768. -
In July 1776, America declared independence from Great Britain.
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which rejected the British monarchy and the Parliament.
It established the sovereignty of the new nation separate from the British Empire. -
The French Revolution had great importance in the development and spread of nationalism as an ideology.
French revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy and declared the rule of “popular sovereignty” - the sovereignty of “the people.”
All this talk about “the people” raised the question: “what people?” The answer was: the French! “The French” saw themselves as a nation with a shared identity and culture, who now had the shared experience of creating their own form of government. -
After French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power in 1799, he extended the central government of France into all the countries he conquered across Europe.
After ten years of war within France, the French people had gained a sense of cohesion against their enemies, especially Great Britain. They were able to define themselves both as what they were - French – and what they were not—not English, not German, not Italian, nor anything else. -
The military victories of France helped to create a common sense of history and identity, making nationalism strongest in France.
As Napoleon expanded and his armies occupied many other European countries, those other countries all agreed national sovereignty was the way to go. Uniting against the French regime created a sense of common destiny, or a sense of nationalism. -
During the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, enslaved people in the French colony of Haiti fight off the French overlords and gain their indpendence in 1804. Europe has been afraid this would happen in the rest of the Caribbean, but Haiti is the only successful slave rebellion of this size -
Egypt becomes independent, but doesn't form a sovereign nation state. In the 19th century they are invaded by Napoleon, "liberated" by the British, and then become basically a British colony for a century -
Venezuela gains its independence from Spain. In the years that follows, Simon Bolivar tries to unify the South American states, to no avail. -
After Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Paris,* ambassadors of European states called a conference to settle issues arising from:
the French Revolution
the Napoleonic Wars
the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
This resulted in the redrawing Europe’s political map, establishing the boundaries (borders) of France, Duchy of Warsaw, Netherlands, the states of Rhine, German Kingdom of Saxony, among others.
The Congress of Vienna attempted to forge a peaceful balance of power in Europe. -
Colombia fights Spain directly and wins indpendence after 9 years in 1819. Simon Bolivar, their leader, is inspired by the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions
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Mexico defeats Spain and forms its own country, although they lose much territory over the years.
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The Belgians united to fight and break off from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (the former Dutch Republic) to form their own nation
established an independent Kingdom of Belgium
The London Conference recognized Belgian independence, and Leopold I became King of the Belgians.
Under Leopold, Belgium became one of the most brutal colonizers in Central Africa, with corporate holdings in the Congo -
Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire going back to the 16th century, even though Greeks shared a language and identity going back to ancient times.
The Greek Revolution against the Ottomans lasted between 1821 and 1832. After years of negotiation, Greece was finally recognized as an independent nation in May 1832. -
Nicaragua breaks off rom Mexico to form its own republic.
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Honduras becomes a sovereign state, having become independent with the rest of Central America in the Spanish-Mexican War of 1821
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Having gained its independence in the Mexican revolution of 1821, El Salvador finally declares itslef a sovereign nation.
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In 1848 there was a wave of revolutions across Europe that sought to get rid of the last of feudalism and absolute monarchy and instead form nation-states with popular sovereignty.
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King Victor Emanuel I unifies italy from several kingdoms into a state with borders similar to its modern borders. This is basically the formation of the modern Italian state.
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Ethiopia, one of the oldest states in the world, officially becomes recognized under that name after defeating Italy, who tries to invade again during the reign of Mussolini -
Cuba became independent from Spain in the Spanish-American war, but the U.S. occupied the island for three years and then played a heavy role in Cuban politics until Castro's revolution 60 years later, calling into question whether Cuba was actually a sovereign nation-state
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The Philipines gains its independence from Spain as part of the U.S.-Spanish War, but the U.S. maintains colonial occupation until after WWII. -
Australia's 6 self-governing British commonwealths federate; that is, they unify into a single, sovereign state.
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New Zealand becomes a self-governing state within the British Empire just like Australia
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Mongolia declared independence after the Qing dynasty fell in 1912, with help from the communists. They aligned with the Red Army in the Russian Civil War and became part of the Soviet Union in 1924.
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In early 1917, the soviets of the Russian Empire form the Russian Republic. InNovember 1917, the Bolsheviks take power of the Petrograd Soviet and form the communist Soviet Union. The Tsar flees the country and the Bolshevik Red Army starts a civil war with the royalist White Army.
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Afghanistan gains its independence for the first time from the British Empire, following three wars -
After WWI, the British Empire recognizes Egypts independence
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Mongolia declared independence after the Qing dynasty fell in 1912, with help from the communists. They aligned with the Red Army in the Russian Civil War and became part of the Soviet Union in 1924. -
Türkiye becomes a sovereign republican state 5 years after the Ottoman Empire falls in WWI and is partitioned by the British and French
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia unifies from two kingdoms that were previously part of British Mandatory Palestine and before that the Ottoman Empire. The Saud family and its affiliates have been the sovereigns of the Kingdom ever since.
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Thailand, for centuries an absolute monarchy known as the Kingdom of Siam, has a military coup and becomes a constitutional monarchy like Britain
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Iraq, previously part of British Mandatory Iraq since WWI, becomes formally independent, although it doesn't shake off British influence until later
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The Korean peninsula is freed from Japanese occupation. North and South Korea split; the North attacks the south in 1950, starting the Korean War. -
Japan approves a new constitution that seriously limits the Emperor's power -- giving state sovereignty to the people
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India became independent of the British Empire after the partition of the India territory that included modern Pakistan and Bangladesh
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Pakistan is created by the British partition of India
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A war between Israeli settlers and indigenous Palestinians ends in Palestine's loss of most of its territory. 750,000 of its people are resettled into the administrative districts of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The Israeli state is the only sovereign in the region, although many countries have finally, ceremonially recognized Palestinian statehood as of 2025.
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The Phillipines gains independence from U.S. colonial rule
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Mao Zedong of the Chinese Communist Party renames the former Republic of China the People's Republic of China, following a "century of humiliation" for what the Chinese perceive as Chinese civilization (a civilization is bigger than a nation)
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On New Year's Day 1959 Fidel Castro's July 26 Movement stormed into Havana and took over the U.S.-backed government, ending the neocolonial period of the Country's history
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As part of a larger trend of African independence
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Nigeria becomes a sovereign state with 200 distinct ethnicities and almost as many languages. Its borders are drawn by the English, from whom Nigeria gets its independence. Several civil wars and military coups ensue between different parts of the country. This is common among African nations after colonialism.
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After being occupied by Japan in WWII, Indonesia finally got its independence from Dutch colonization in 1962. They had a brutal U.S. backed military coup in 1965, in which more than a million people were executed on suspicion of being political enemies
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Jamaica gained its independence after being under British rule for more than 300 years
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Malta gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1964
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Tanzania unifies with Zanzibar, both having gained their independence three years earlier.
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Singapore is expelled from Malaysia due to political differences (Singapore's multiculturalism and free trade with other countries)
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Taiwan, backed by the U.S., tries to establish its claim of independence from the Chinese Communist Party; the CCP still claims Taiwan as part of China. -
Fiji gains its independence from the British Empire in 1970 -
Iraq puts down a rebellion of Kurds, a nation-identifying ethnic group that still does not possess an internationally recognized state
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Persia becomes the Iranian Islamic Republic following a Shia Islamist revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini
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After years of military occupation supported by the U.S, Honduras has its first free election
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Mongolia breaks free of the Soviet Union
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The Turkmenians formed a nation-state after the fall of the Soviet-Union
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The Soviet Union finally falls. Many Slavic-speaking nation-states, including Russia and Ukraine, form in its aftermath.
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Ukraine gains independence, having been part of the Russian Empire and then the USSR.
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Belarus becomes a sovereign state following the fall of the Soviet Union (USSR)
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1979-1992: El Salvador's FMLN fights the U.S.-backed government and wins in 1992.
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The European Union, with 27 current member states, forms in 1993. Most of its member are on the Euro. in 2016, the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, arguing that its sovereignty was threatened -- ironic when the UK is made up of multiple states that lack sovereignty
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AS part of the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan breaks off and becomes the world's newest nation-state
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Egypt has a revolution and installs a new president, Mohamed Morsi; Morsi is removed by a military coup in 2013. All of the Arab world ("Macro-Arabia") is rocked by protest