- — North America:
The People's United Party founded
Amid anger over the 1949 currency devaluation, the People's United Party was founded and soon led by George Cadle Price; it championed democratic rights and self-rule and would dominate Belizean politics for decades.
Era: Price, the PUP and independence
Sources: History of Belize · Encyclopædia Britannica, George Price — prime minister of Belize · Encyclopædia Britannica, Our History · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Belize
- — Africa:
Exile and return of Seretse Khama
Britain exiles Seretse and Ruth to appease South Africa; he is allowed home in 1956 after renouncing the Bangwato throne, fuelling nationalism.
Era: The Bechuanaland Protectorate
Sources: Sir Seretse Khama · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Seretse Khama · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
The énosis plebiscite
The Orthodox Church organised a plebiscite in which the overwhelming majority of Greek Cypriots voted for union with Greece; Britain refused, and Turkish Cypriots opposed it, sharpening communal division.
Era: British Rule, the Demand for Énosis and the EOKA Campaign
Sources: EOKA · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cyprus: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Constitution and the Republic
The Constitution of India comes into force, making India a sovereign democratic republic with universal suffrage and fundamental rights; the day is celebrated as Republic Day.
Era: Independence, Partition and the Modern Republic
Sources: Republic Day, India · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Republic of India — Republic Day · Know India, National Portal of India
- — Asia:
Annexation of the West Bank
After his Arab Legion occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1948 war, King Abdullah formally annexed the territory and renamed the enlarged state the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Era: The Arab Revolt, the Emirate of Transjordan and Independence
Sources: Abdullah I: Biography, History, and Assassination · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jordan: Transjordan, the Hashemite Kingdom, and the Palestine war · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Founding of the Pathet Lao
Prince Souphanouvong breaks with the Lao Issara to ally with the Viet Minh and proclaims the communist-oriented Pathet Lao ("Land of the Lao"), the future ruling movement.
Era: The French Protectorate
Sources: Souphanouvong · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pathet Lao · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
First multiparty election
The Democrat Party won a landslide in the 1950 election, ending nearly three decades of one-party rule and marking Turkey's first peaceful transfer of power.
Era: The Republic and Modern Türkiye
Sources: Democrat Party (Turkey) · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Africa:
Renamed an "overseas province"
Responding to international criticism, Portugal reclassified Guinea and its other colonies as "overseas provinces", recasting empire as an integral part of Portugal while colonial conditions persisted.
Era: Portuguese Guinea and the late conquest
Sources: Portuguese Guinea · Wikipedia, History of Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Assassination of King Abdullah I
Abdullah I was shot dead on the steps of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman, opening a brief succession crisis before his grandson Hussein came to the throne.
Era: The Arab Revolt, the Emirate of Transjordan and Independence
Sources: Abdullah I: Biography, History, and Assassination · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Founding member of the ECSC
Following the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950, Luxembourg joined Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands and West Germany as a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community, operating from 1952.
Era: A Founder of the New Europe
Sources: The Schuman Declaration, 9 May 1950 · European Union (european-union.europa.eu), The history of the European Union, 1945-59 · European Union (european-union.europa.eu)
- — Africa:
Colonies redesignated 'overseas provinces'
Portugal renames its African colonies overseas provinces to resist decolonisation, while withholding citizenship and political rights from the African majority.
Era: Chartered Companies and Forced Labour
Sources: Mozambique · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Mozambique · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Revolution restores the monarchy
A palace revolt and popular movement end Rana dominance and restore the sovereignty of the Shah crown under King Tribhuvan.
Era: The Rana Century and the Return of the Crown
Sources: Nepal — Fall of the monarchy · Encyclopædia Britannica, Rana era · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Asia:
Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan
Pakistan's first prime minister is assassinated at a rally in Rawalpindi, deepening the political instability of the new state's early years.
Era: Partition and Independence
Sources: Liaquat Ali Khan · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Africa:
Rise of the Sierra Leone People's Party
Constitutional reform and the founding of the Sierra Leone People's Party under Milton Margai broadened African political participation and set the colony on the road to self-government.
Era: Protectorate, the Hut Tax War, and independence
Sources: Sierra Leone (country overview and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Milton Augustus Margai (1895–1964) · BlackPast.org
- — South America:
The National Revolution
A popular insurrection brings the MNR and Victor Paz Estenssoro to power, launching reforms that reshape Bolivia.
Era: The National Revolution and Military Rule
Sources: Victor Paz Estenssoro · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Bolivia: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — North America:
Batista's coup
Anticipating electoral defeat, Fulgencio Batista seizes power in a bloodless coup and rules as dictator, provoking armed opposition.
Era: The Republic: Occupation, Platt, Machado, and Batista
Sources: 26th of July Movement · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Republic of Cuba (1902-1959) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Free Officers' revolution
A coup by the Free Officers overthrows King Farouk, ending the Muhammad Ali dynasty's effective rule and beginning the republican era.
Era: The Modern Republic
Sources: Gamal Abdel Nasser · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Egyptian revolution of 1952 · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
UN federation with Ethiopia
Under UN Resolution 390 A (V) of 1950, Eritrea becomes an autonomous unit federated with Ethiopia, keeping its own parliament, flag and control of internal affairs.
Era: Federation, Annexation and the Thirty-Year War
Sources: Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea · Wikipedia, A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Eritrea · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — North America:
Agrarian reform under Arbenz
President Arbenz's Decree 900 expropriates idle lands, including United Fruit estates, for the landless, alarming Washington.
Era: Revolution, Coup, and Civil War
Sources: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Guatemala · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Guatemala: History (Postcolonial period and after) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Turkey joins NATO
Turkey became a member of NATO in 1952, cementing its strategic alignment with the West throughout the Cold War.
Era: The Republic and Modern Türkiye
Sources: Kemal Atatürk · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — North America:
Founding of the Progressive Liberal Party
Bahamians opposed to UBP and "Bay Street" dominance founded the Progressive Liberal Party, which became the vehicle of the movement for majority rule.
Era: Majority rule and independence
Sources: The Bahamas — Independence · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Background Note: The Bahamas · U.S. Department of State, Lynden Pindling (1930–2000) · BlackPast.org
- — Asia:
National Assembly established
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck creates the Tshogdu, Bhutan's National Assembly, beginning the reform of the country's institutions alongside the abolition of serfdom and land redistribution.
Era: Opening to the World
Sources: Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, king of Bhutan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies · Federal Research Division, Library of Congress
- — North America:
From colony to Danish county
The revised Danish constitution abolished Greenland's colonial status and made it an integral county of the Kingdom of Denmark, a change the United Nations accepted as decolonisation.
Era: War, the Cold War and the End of Colony
Sources: Greenland: History · Encyclopædia Britannica, About Greenland / Politics in Greenland · Naalakkersuisut (Government of Greenland), Greenland's National Day, the Home Rule Act (1979), and the Act on Self-Government (2009) · Library of Congress, In Custodia Legis (Law Library blog)
- — South America:
PPP victory and suspended constitution
The People's Progressive Party wins the first elections under universal suffrage and Jagan becomes chief minister, but Britain suspends the constitution and sends troops after 133 days.
Era: Jagan, Burnham and the Road to Independence
Sources: Cheddi Jagan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Guyana and Belize: Country Studies · U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Asia:
The CIA-backed coup against Mosaddegh
Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, who had nationalised the oil industry, is overthrown in August 1953 in a coup organised by the CIA and British intelligence, restoring the shah's power.
Era: The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs
Sources: 1953 coup in Iran · Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1953 Iranian coup d'état · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
King Hussein assumes power
After his father Talal was declared unfit to rule, the young Hussein bin Talal took full constitutional powers, beginning a reign of nearly half a century that shaped the modern kingdom.
Era: Modern Jordan: Hussein, the Wars, Peace and Abdullah II
Sources: Hussein: King of Jordan, Biography and Facts · Encyclopaedia Britannica, King Hussein bin Talal (1935-1999) · The Royal Hashemite Court
- — Africa:
Jomo Kenyatta convicted
Kenyatta is tried and imprisoned for allegedly directing the Mau Mau, in proceedings later widely denounced as a sham; he is freed in 1961.
Era: Mau Mau and the Road to Independence
Sources: Jomo Kenyatta · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mau Mau (1952–1960) · BlackPast.org
- — Africa:
Exile of Mohammed V
France deposes and exiles Sultan Mohammed V, an act that inflames the independence movement and unites Moroccans behind the monarchy.
Era: The Alaouite Dynasty and the Protectorates
Sources: French Colony to Sovereign State: Moroccan Independence · Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training, Alaouite Dynasty (1660–present) · Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in the United States
- — North America:
Universal adult suffrage
Britain granted universal adult suffrage to British Honduras in 1954; the PUP won the ensuing elections, beginning a long run of electoral dominance that carried Price's party toward self-government and independence.
Era: Price, the PUP and independence
Sources: History of Belize · Encyclopædia Britannica, Our History · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Belize
- — North America:
CIA-backed coup overthrows Arbenz
The covert operation PBSUCCESS pressures Arbenz to resign on 27 June 1954, ending the reform era and installing military rule.
Era: Revolution, Coup, and Civil War
Sources: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Guatemala · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Guatemala: History (Postcolonial period and after) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Stroessner seizes power
General Alfredo Stroessner overthrows President Federico Chaves and assumes the presidency, beginning a thirty-five-year dictatorship under the Colorado Party.
Era: The Stroessner Era, Democracy and Itaipu
Sources: Alfredo Stroessner · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Paraguay · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
London Memorandum on Trieste
The United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Yugoslavia agreed to divide the Free Territory of Trieste, placing Zone A under Italian and Zone B under Yugoslav administration.
Era: Socialist Yugoslavia and the Road to Independence
Sources: The Trieste Settlement, October 1954 (London Memorandum) · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian (FRUS 1952-54, vol. VIII), Treaty of Osimo (1975) and the Trieste settlement · Free Trieste / international treaties archive
- — Africa:
Founding of TANU
Julius Nyerere builds the Tanganyika African National Union, which campaigns for independence by constitutional means and comes to dominate the territory's politics.
Era: Independence, Revolution and the Union
Sources: Julius Nyerere · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Tanganyika (1961–1964) · Wikipedia
- — Europe:
Crimea transferred to the Ukrainian SSR
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet transferred the Crimean Peninsula from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR, citing economic and geographic ties, an administrative change within the USSR.
Era: Soviet Ukraine, the Holodomor and the Second World War
Sources: Transfer of Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR, 19 February 1954 · Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, History of Ukraine · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, a landmark in the legal assault on Jim Crow.
Era: Superpower, civil rights, and the modern era
Sources: Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation; U.S. History Collections · Library of Congress
- — Asia:
Geneva Accords divide Vietnam
The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam at the 17th parallel into a communist North and an anti-communist South pending reunification elections that are never held.
Era: The Wars: Independence, Division, and Reunification
Sources: Geneva Accords · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dien Bien Phu and the Fall of French Indochina, 1954 · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — South America:
Peron overthrown
The Revolucion Libertadora ousts Peron, who goes into an exile of nearly two decades while Peronism is banned at home.
Era: The Peron Era and Political Turmoil
Sources: Juan Peron · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Declaration of permanent neutrality
After the last occupation troops left, the Austrian parliament passed a constitutional law declaring the republic's permanent neutrality, the condition on which the Soviet Union had agreed to withdraw.
Era: The Second Republic: Neutrality, South Tyrol and Europe
Sources: Austria Regains Its Independence (Austrian State Treaty, 1955) · EBSCO Research Starters: History
- — Africa:
The UPC is banned
After waves of unrest, the French administration outlawed the UPC, pushing the movement underground and into an armed insurgency.
Era: Partition: French Cameroun and British Cameroons
Sources: Cameroon War (1955–1964) · Wikipedia, Ruben Um Nyobe (1913–1958) · BlackPast.org
- — South America:
The PPP splits along ethnic lines
Forbes Burnham breaks with Jagan and forms the People's National Congress; the two parties harden into Afro- and Indo-Guyanese blocs that dominate national politics.
Era: Jagan, Burnham and the Road to Independence
Sources: Guyana — Independence, Ethnicity, Politics · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Forbes Burnham · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
UK annexes Rockall
British Royal Marines landed on the uninhabited Atlantic islet of Rockall in 1955 and claimed it for the United Kingdom; it was declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972.
Era: The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question
Sources: Who owns Rockall? The history of the Atlantic dispute between Ireland and the UK · TheJournal.ie, Who owns Rockall? A history of disputes over a tiny Atlantic island · The Irish Times
- — South America:
A site and a builder for the new capital
Law 2,874, sanctioned by President Juscelino Kubitschek, fixes the boundary of the future Federal District on the central plateau and creates Novacap, the state company that will build the city. In 1957 Lucio Costa's Pilot Plan is chosen, and a law of 1 October 1957 sets the transfer of the capital for 21 April 1960.
Era: The Vargas Era and Military Dictatorship
Sources: Lei n. 2.874, de 19 de setembro de 1956 (mudanca da Capital Federal) · Presidencia da Republica, Casa Civil (Planalto), Lei n. 3.273, de 1 de outubro de 1957 (fixa a data da mudanca da Capital Federal) · Presidencia da Republica, Casa Civil (Planalto), Do quadrilatero Cruls ao patrimonio historico e cultural da humanidade (50 anos de Brasilia) · Senado Federal do Brasil
- — Africa:
Cabral founds the PAIGC
Amílcar Cabral and a small group founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, conceiving the two Portuguese territories as one nation to be liberated together.
Era: Cabral, the PAIGC, and independence
Sources: Amílcar Lopes Cabral (1924–1973) · BlackPast.org, Amílcar Cabral · Wikipedia, History of Cabo Verde · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Amílcar Cabral founds the PAIGC
The agronomist Amílcar Cabral and a small group founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the movement that would lead the struggle against Portuguese rule.
Era: Cabral, the PAIGC and the war of independence
Sources: Amílcar Cabral · Wikipedia, History of Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia, Guinea-Bissau (country overview and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
The Sinhala Only Act
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is elected on a wave of Sinhalese nationalism and makes Sinhala the sole official language, alongside measures elevating Buddhism.
Era: Republic, Civil War and the Modern Nation
Sources: Sri Lanka country profile · BBC News, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Africa:
British Togoland votes to join Ghana
In a UN-supervised plebiscite, about 58 per cent of British Togoland's voters chose union with the Gold Coast; the territory was integrated into Ghana, which became independent in 1957.
Era: Conquest, partition and the mandates
Sources: 1956 British Togoland status plebiscite · Wikipedia, British Togoland · Wikipedia, History of Togo · Wikipedia
- — North America:
Eric Williams founds the PNM
The historian Dr Eric Williams founded the People's National Movement and won office, beginning a dominance of Trinidad and Tobago's politics that would carry the colony to independence.
Era: Eric Williams, independence, and the republic
Sources: Eric Williams · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Trinidad and Tobago: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Founding the European Community
Belgium was one of the six founders of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and the European Economic Community by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, with Brussels becoming the centre of European integration.
Era: A Federal Kingdom at the Heart of Europe
Sources: History of the European Union, 1945–59 · European Union (european-union.europa.eu), 75 years of NATO: An Alliance firmly rooted in Belgium · Focus on Belgium (Federal Government of Belgium)
- — North America:
Papa Doc Duvalier takes power
Francois Duvalier becomes president and establishes a personal dictatorship enforced by the Tontons Macoutes, declaring himself president for life.
Era: Occupation and Dictatorship
Sources: Haiti: Military regimes and the Duvaliers · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Mohammed V becomes king
Mohammed V adopts the title of king, formalising the modern Moroccan monarchy as the country builds its independent institutions.
Era: Independence and the Modern Kingdom
Sources: Alaouite Dynasty (1660–present) · Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in the United States
- — Africa:
The Hutu Manifesto
Hutu leaders publish the 'Hutu Manifesto' demanding an end to Tutsi domination; Belgian authorities and the Church begin to favour the Hutu majority over the Tutsi elite.
Era: German and Belgian Rule
Sources: Rwandan Revolution · Wikipedia, Divided by Ethnicity · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- — Africa:
Republic proclaimed
The monarchy is abolished and Tunisia becomes a republic with Bourguiba as first president.
Era: French Protectorate & Independence
Sources: Habib Bourguiba · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
The war topples the Fourth Republic
The Algerian crisis brings down France's Fourth Republic and returns Charles de Gaulle to power, opening the way to eventual negotiations.
Era: The War of Independence
Sources: History of Algeria · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Slavery abolished
The third king abolishes slavery and serfdom, one of the first acts of a reign that would open a closed kingdom deliberately and slowly.
Era: Opening to the World
Sources: Bhutan country profile · BBC News
- — Africa:
Self-government under Boganda
Ubangi-Shari achieves self-government within French Equatorial Africa with Boganda as prime minister, months before his death in an air crash.
Era: French Equatorial Africa to Independence
Sources: Central African Republic country profile · BBC News, Barthélemy Boganda · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Autonomous republic proclaimed
Chad became an autonomous republic within the French Community, a step toward the full independence achieved in 1960.
Era: Rabih's empire and French conquest
Sources: Chad — Independence, Civil War, Lake Chad · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
The National Front
Liberals and Conservatives agree to alternate the presidency and share offices, ending partisan war but closing politics to other movements.
Era: La Violencia and the National Front
Sources: History of Colombia · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Autonomy within the French Community
Following the September 1958 referendum, Middle Congo became the autonomous Republic of the Congo within the French Community, a self-governing step short of full sovereignty.
Era: French Equatorial Africa, forced labour, and the Congo-Ocean Railway
Sources: Republic of the Congo · Encyclopædia Britannica, History of the Republic of the Congo · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
First referendum keeps ties to France
Voters in French Somaliland choose to remain within the French Community rather than join independent Somalia.
Era: Referendums and the Road to Independence
Sources: Djibouti (country and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Djibouti · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
Internal autonomy as the Gabonese Republic
Under the 1958 French Community Gabon became an autonomous republic with Léon M'ba as head of government, a step short of full sovereignty within the French constitutional framework.
Era: Colonial Gabon and the road to independence
Sources: History of Gabon · Encyclopædia Britannica, Gabon — History · Nations Encyclopedia
- — Asia:
Republican coup ends the monarchy
Army officers led by Abd al-Karim Qasim overthrow the Hashemite monarchy in a predawn coup; King Faisal II is killed and the Republic of Iraq is proclaimed.
Era: The Republic, Saddam Hussein and the Wars
Sources: ʿAbd al-Karīm Qāsim · Encyclopædia Britannica, Iraq — The Republic of Iraq · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — North America:
West Indies Federation
Jamaica joins the federation of British Caribbean colonies as its largest member, an experiment in regional union.
Era: Self-Government and Independence
Sources: Jamaica: The independent country · Encyclopaedia Britannica, The Federal Archives Fonds, 1958-1962 (West Indies Federation) · UNESCO Memory of the World
- — Europe:
Founding member of the European Communities
Under the Treaties of Rome, Luxembourg became a founding member of the European Economic Community, joining what is now the European Union from 1 January 1958 and later adopting the euro.
Era: A Founder of the New Europe
Sources: Luxembourg (EU country profile) · European Union (european-union.europa.eu), The history of the European Union, 1945-59 · European Union (european-union.europa.eu)
- — Africa:
Autonomous republic and Nouakchott
Mauritania becomes an autonomous republic within the French Community, and the new capital of Nouakchott is established on the coast.
Era: Independence and the Daddah Republic
Sources: Mauritania · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Moktar Ould Daddah (1924–2003) · BlackPast.org
- — Africa:
Autonomous republic within the French Community
In the 1958 referendum Niger voted to become a self-governing republic within the French Community, with Hamani Diori emerging at the head of its government on the road to independence.
Era: Conquest, the Voulet-Chanoine column and colonial Niger
Sources: Hamani Diori · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hamani Diori (1916–1989) · BlackPast.org, History of Niger · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Ayub Khan's military coup
General Ayub Khan seizes power in Pakistan's first military takeover, beginning a decade of presidential rule and a recurring pattern of army intervention in politics.
Era: Partition and Independence
Sources: Pakistan: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Africa:
Egypt asks for the territory north of the 22nd parallel
After a Sudanese election order covers areas north of the 22nd parallel that Sudan had administered since 1902, Egypt sends a note requesting their return, offering in exchange to hand over the Egyptian-administered area south of the parallel. Sudan replies that Egypt had not objected to two earlier elections there. Sudan states that it has written to the UN Security Council about the area every year since 1958.
Era: Independence and the Long Civil Wars
Sources: International Boundary Study No. 18: Egypt (United Arab Republic) – Sudan Boundary (1962) · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Geographer (via FSU College of Law), Sudan: Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (3 March 2017) · UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Egypt: Declaration to the UN Secretary-General (4 May 2017) · UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea
- — Asia:
Union with Egypt — the United Arab Republic
Syria merges with Nasser's Egypt to form the United Arab Republic in 1958, but resentment of Egyptian dominance dissolves the union in a 1961 coup.
Era: The French Mandate and Independence
Sources: United Arab Republic · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Syria — history · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Olympio's CUT wins the elections
Sylvanus Olympio's nationalist CUT defeated the pro-French parties in the 1958 elections, and Olympio became head of government of the Trust Territory of French Togoland.
Era: Independence and the killing of Olympio
Sources: Sylvanus Olympio · Wikipedia, French Togoland · Wikipedia, Togo (country overview and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — South America:
Fall of Perez Jimenez and the Punto Fijo pact
A civil-military uprising ousts the dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez; party leaders sign the Punto Fijo pact, founding four decades of power-sharing democracy.
Era: The Petro-State and the Democratic Era
Sources: Venezuela · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Venezuela: A Country Study · U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Africa:
Kaunda founds ZANC
Breaking with Harry Nkumbula's ANC, Kenneth Kaunda founded the radical Zambia African National Congress; it was banned in 1959 and Kaunda imprisoned, but the movement continued as UNIP.
Era: Federation, nationalism and independence
Sources: Kenneth Kaunda · New World Encyclopedia, Northern Rhodesia · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Constitution grants self-government
A written constitution gives Brunei internal self-government and ends the British Residency, with Britain keeping control of defence and foreign affairs.
Era: Oil, the Japanese Occupation, and the Road to Self-Government
Sources: History of Brunei · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Omar Ali Saifuddin · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Country Facts: Brunei Darussalam · Permanent Mission of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations
- — Africa:
Death of Boganda
Boganda, who had proclaimed the autonomous republic in December 1958 and championed a 'United States of Latin Africa', died in a plane crash months before independence; David Dacko succeeded him.
Era: French Equatorial Africa to Independence
Sources: Barthélemy Boganda · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Barthélemy Boganda · New World Encyclopedia, Remembering the national hero of the Central African Republic who died in a plane crash before independence · Face2Face Africa
- — North America:
Triumph of the Revolution
Batista flees and the 26th of July Movement takes power; Fidel Castro soon leads the new government, which turns toward socialism.
Era: The Revolution and the Cold War
Sources: Cuban Revolution · Encyclopaedia Britannica, 26th of July Movement · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
The Zürich-London Agreements
Greece and Turkey reached a compromise at Zürich, endorsed in London by Britain and Cypriot leaders, setting the terms for an independent Cyprus that excluded both énosis and partition.
Era: Independence, the Breakdown of Power-Sharing and UNFICYP
Sources: EOKA · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cyprus: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Made an overseas "province" of Spain
In 1959 Spain reclassified the colony as the "Equatorial Region," divided into the provinces of Fernando Poo and Río Muni, with elected local representatives sent to the Spanish Cortes — a first step toward decolonisation.
Era: Spanish Guinea and the road to independence
Sources: Spanish Guinea · Wikipedia, History of Equatorial Guinea · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
A committee proposes undoing the 1935 name request
In the summer of 1959 a committee of statesmen and scholars reported to the government proposing that the change of name be reversed. According to the scholar Ehsan Yarshater, a Foreign Ministry circular then made the use of either name, Persia or Iran, optional.
Era: The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs
Sources: Communication: Iran or Persia? (Iranian Studies 22:1, 1989) · Ehsan Yarshater, Iranian Studies
- — Africa:
State of emergency and Operation Sunrise
Amid mounting agitation against federation, the governor declared a state of emergency and detained Banda and over a thousand Congress members; the Devlin Commission later condemned the use of force and likened Nyasaland to a police state.
Era: Federation, Banda and independence
Sources: Nyasaland emergency of 1959 · Wikipedia, Devlin Commission · Wikipedia
- — Africa:
The Mali Federation with Senegal
French Soudan and Senegal join in the short-lived Mali Federation, with Modibo Keïta as a leading figure; it dissolves in August 1960.
Era: French Soudan and Independence
Sources: Mali Federation · Wikipedia, Modibo Keita — 1st President of Mali · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Africa:
The Old Location shootings
Police killed about a dozen residents of Windhoek's Old Location protesting forced removal to Katutura township, an atrocity that helped galvanise the nationalist movement.
Era: South African rule, the mandate, and apartheid
Sources: History of Namibia · Wikipedia, South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Zürich and London agreements
Britain, Greece, and Turkey, with Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot leaders, agreed terms for an independent bicommunal republic, barring both enosis and partition and naming the three powers as guarantors.
Era: British Rule and the Roots of Conflict
Sources: Cyprus - History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cyprus: A Country Study · U.S. Library of Congress (Federal Research Division)
- — Africa:
The Hutu 'Social Revolution'
A Hutu uprising, tolerated by the Belgian authorities, kills hundreds of Tutsi and drives many into exile, breaking the power of the Tutsi monarchy.
Era: Revolution, Independence and Exile
Sources: Rwandan Revolution · Wikipedia, Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background · United Nations, Divided by Ethnicity · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- — Africa:
Mali Federation formed
Senegal and the Sudanese Republic unite in the Mali Federation, seeking a federal path out of French rule.
Era: Independence and the Senghor Republic
Sources: Mali Federation · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mali Federation · Wikipedia
- — North America:
Alaska becomes the 49th state
Ninety-two years after the purchase mocked as 'Seward's Folly', Alaska entered the Union as the 49th state. Gold had already transformed the territory — it was the gateway to the Klondike fields after 1896, and a rush followed the 1898 discovery at Nome — and in 1968 the discovery at Prudhoe Bay of the largest oil field in North America, carried south from 1977 by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, remade its economy again.
Era: Superpower, civil rights, and the modern era
Sources: Purchase of Alaska, 1867 · Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, Nome · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Prudhoe Bay · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alaska · Encyclopaedia Britannica
Politics & Power in the 1950s
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged politics and power — dynasties, constitutions, revolutions and changes of regime, narrowed to the 1950s — 84 of them, drawn from 66 nations, running from 1950 to 1959. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 84
- Nations
- 66
- Earliest
- 1950
- Latest
- 1959
- Africa
- 34
- Asia
- 22
- North America
- 13
- South America
- 8
- Europe
- 7
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.