Independence Days by FlaxmanR

Like July 4 in the United States, March 26 is celebrated as Independence Day even though independence was not cemented until the outcome of a war. WHAT COUNTRY concluded its exceptionally bloody war of independence on December 16, 1971, nine months after declaring itself independent, and just thirteen days after India officially entered the war on its side?

The 1830 London Conference recognized Belgium’s independence from the Netherlands, but Belgium’s National Day is celebrated on July 21 to mark the date in 1831 on which a German prince – who had earlier turned down an offer to become King of Greece – ascended to its throne. What was the REGNAL NAME of this king, held by three of Belgium’s seven monarchs to date?

November 11, a celebration of the World War I armistice in many countries, is also celebrated as a day of independence, or more accurately as a restoration of sovereignty, by a country that had spent more than a century partitioned among three powers who exited the war in turmoil and/or defeat. WHAT MODERN NATION reasserted itself as an independent republic after the defeat of Germany, the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire, and the plunging of Russia into civil war?

Controversially, the official celebrations for Independence Day in Belarus are held on July 3, which does not mark its 1918 independence from Russia or its 1991 independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but rather the 1944 date on which THIS CITY, the capital, was liberated from the Nazis.

Five of the seven nations in Central America (not including Mexico) celebrate their independence days on September 15, marking the secession of the United Provinces from Spain in 1821. Belize also celebrates its independence (160 years later) in September. WHAT COUNTRY, which left Spain in 1821 and then became fully independent in 1903, is the only Central American state that celebrates its independence in November?

Four retired generals attempted to stage a coup against Charles de Gaulle in April 1961 in opposition to the French government having opened negotiations with the FLN. The coup failed, and the overwhelming support of the French people led to de Gaulle declaring, on July 3, 1962 (although July 5 was selected as the national independence day), the independence of WHAT AFRICAN COUNTRY?

Lee Kuan Yew, despite being considered the country’s founding father, was not actually in favor of the independence the country celebrates on August 9. WHAT COUNTRY only declared its 1965 sovereignty hours *after* being expelled from the Federation of Malaysia, an event Lee called “a moment of anguish?”

The island group was contested between Germany, Britain, and the United States at the end of the 19th century, but the country now bearing the name officially became independent of New Zealand in 1962. WHAT PACIFIC ISLAND NATION, which knows something about date changes following its jump across the International Date Line in 2011, celebrates the occasion on June 1 rather than the actual date of January 1 to avoid a glut of holidays around the turn of the year?

The tourist board’s website refers to May 30 as “the spark that ignited the island’s freedom,” rather ironic as the refusal of the island to join a dependency with St. Kitts and Nevis may have led to greater autonomy at the time, but ended with the island remaining a British crown colony to this day while St. Kitts and Nevis became a sovereign nation in 1983. WHAT TERRITORY, with a name meaning “eel,” celebrates May 30 as a national holiday anyway?

Israel became an independent nation on 5 Iyar 5708. The holiday marking this day, Yom Ha’atzmaut, is celebrated between April 15 and May 15 depending on how the Hebrew calendar lines up with the Gregorian, making it the world’s only non-fixed Independence Day as far as your smith could tell. But in WHAT YEAR ON THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR did Israel’s independence take place?

August 20 is celebrated as “State Foundation Day” in THIS COUNTRY, the feast day of its first Christian king, Saint Stephen, who was canonized in 1083. As Stephen ascended the throne around 1000 AD, what Central European country thus celebrates what is possibly the oldest national day in the world with a fireworks display along the Danube?

The country’s independence is now celebrated on June 12, marking the day in 1898 when it declared independence from Spain. For years, however, WHAT COUNTRY also celebrated its independence – fully achieved in 1946 – on, somewhat ironically, July 4th?