h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When was the last time a country was successfully invaded, to the extent that it no longer exists, except as a region of the conquering nation? I know we've had territorial gains in wars within the last few decades (Israel springs to mind) but the increase in international oversight bodies like the UN seems to mean that countries don't just _stop existing_ any more. Which is probably a good thing.

South Vietnam, 1975?

That's the one that springs to mind at this hour of the morning, anyway.

Interesting question, by the way.

This probably isn't the right answer, but the most recent I can remember is the Byzantine Empire falling to the Turks in 1490-something A.D.. I don't imagine there were any after WWI, and almost certainly not after WWII.

Oh, wait wait wait wait wait wait. You could count South Vietnam to North Vietnam in the 1970s or 1980s, but that's kind of debatable.

Does "liberation" count as "invasion"?

What about the country formerly known as Yugoslavia?

B

Good question!

Would East Germany count? Wasn't strictly speaking conquered, but it was an economic takeover.

Chechnya is another debatable one.

South Ossetia?

I'm not talking about countries gaining independence. That's happened quite a few times in recent history: Yugoslavia breaking up, East Timor, etc. The international community doesn't appear to have a problem with peoples "winning their freedom".
I can't think of many occasions when the total number of nations in the world has gone _down_ by one, though. Germany fits the criteria, except that there was no country called just "Germany" beforehand. Same with Vietnam.
Actually, I may be wrong about that. They were officially called things like "The Democratic Republic of Germany" and "The Socialist Federation of Vietnam" to start with, right? Did those titles change on reunification?

If the question can be taken as "What was the internationally recognised sovereign nation state to subjugated and to cease to exist by means of hostile action another internationally recognised sovereign nation state?"
Then I struggle to think of one more recent than Tibet.

Tibet wasn't widely internationally recognised: the British and the Russians recognised it because they were looking to carve it up as part of the Great Game.

What about Sikkim? It existed as an independent state for a hundred-ish years before being absorbed into India in the mid-60s.

Ah. Would similar disqualification apply in the case of North and South Vietnam rendering it more of a civil war?

I'd not heard of Sikkim before. Interesting history.

half a job

cyprus

Yeah...South Vietnam was reunified with the rest of the country, after they kicked out the American invaders. (Oh, wait...I'm forgetting. They were *invited* in. )

Gosh! Good one. I shall give it some thought.

I wonder...would an army going round ammalgamating tiny states into one big one count? In which case...Italy. Certainly former distict sovereign states such as Lomardy, Piedmont and the Kingdom of Naples no longer exist.

Ah! Manchuria.

Prussia.

like Alexander at Gordium, I untie this knot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_states


(or maybe not.)

The Free Territory of Trieste must rank up there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Territory_of_Trieste

My guess is if you had a look at a map of Africa from the 1950s you'd probably see quite a few border changes...

The old colonial borders have undoubtedly shifted a bit since.

Africa! Western Sahara! I knew there was an unambiguous one out there.

This question's actually been bugging me all night.

Damn your hide, HI. That's the one I thought of in bed last night.

Don't you people have better things to do in bed?

B

Well some people - ahem - 'prolong then moment' by reciting the FA League table backwards. I found thinking about defunct countries equally effective.


As if!