Changes in British sovereignty

A list of former and present British colonies, dependencies and dates when they severed legal ties with Britain:

Losses

•  New Zealand (1986) – severed legal ties (see: Constitution Act 1986) with Britain, but (see: Monarchy of New Zealand) retained Elizabeth II as head of state.
•  Fiji (1987) – post-coup end of dominion status accepted on 15 October. Elizabeth II remained traditional (though unofficial) Paramount Chief until 2012, when the informal links with the British monarchy have been terminated.
•  New Zealand (2003) – court of final appeal transferred from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to the Supreme Court of New Zealand, which was created in 2004.

Losses in sovereignty or other jurisdiction

• The Thirteen Colonies declared independence from Great Britain on 4 July 1776.
•  Egypt (1922) – see Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence.
•  Australia,  Canada, the  Irish Free State,  New Zealand,  Dominion of Newfoundland, and  Union of South Africa (1926) – Dominions at the time of the Balfour Declaration of 1926.
• Weihai (1930) – fully restored to Republic of China sovereignty on 1 October.
•  Australia,  Canada, the  Irish Free State,  New Zealand,  Dominion of Newfoundland, and  Union of South Africa (1931) – Recognized Dominions as "autonomous communities within the British Empire" as per the Statute of Westminster.^[1][2] The Statue also affirmed the British Parliament wouldn't legislate for the Dominions unless explicitly requested.
•  British Raj (1947) – partitioned on 15 August into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan.
•  Burma and  Dominion of Ceylon (1948) – independence to Burma as a republic granted on 4 January; to Ceylon on 4 February.
•  Dominion of Newfoundland (1949) – incorporated into Canada as a province on 31 March.
•  Sudan (1956) – independence granted on 1 January (was a condominium with  Egypt)
•  Ghana (as  Gold Coast) (1957) – independence granted on 6 March.
• States of  Malacca and  Penang (1957) – joined  Malaya on 31 August.
•  British Somaliland (1960) – became part of a unified  Somalia on 1 July.
•  Cyprus and the  Federation of Nigeria (1960) – independence granted to Cyprus as a republic on 16 August (but retaining the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia); to Nigeria on 1 October.
•  Sierra Leone and  Tanganyika (1961) – independence granted to Sierra Leone on 27 April; to Tanganyika on 9 December.
• British Cameroon (1961) – southern part incorporated into  Cameroon on 1 October and northern part incorporated into  Nigeria on 31 may.
•  Jamaica,  Trinidad and Tobago and  Uganda (1962) – independence granted to Jamaica on 6 August; to Trinidad and Tobago on 31 August; and to Uganda on 9 October.
• States of  Sabah (as  North Borneo),  Sarawak, and  Singapore (1963) – states formed  Malaysia with the Federation of Malaya on 16 September
•  Nigeria and  Kenya independence granted to Nigeria as federal republic on 1 October; Kenya on 12 December.
•  Malawi (as  Nyasaland), Malta, and Zambia (1964) – independence granted to Malawi on 6 July; Malta on 21 September; Zambia as a republic on 24 October.
•  The Gambia (1965) – independence granted on 18 February.
•  Guyana (as  British Guiana),  Botswana (as  Bechuanaland Protectorate),  Lesotho (as Basutoland), and  Barbados (1966) – independence granted to Guyana on 26 May; Botswana on 30 September; Lesotho on 4 October; Barbados on 30 November.
• State of  Aden (1967) – joined  South Yemen on 30 November.
•  Mauritius and  Swaziland (1968) – independence granted to Mauritius on 12 March; to Swaziland on 6 September.
•  Fiji (1970) – independence granted on 10 October.
•  The Bahamas (1973) – independence granted on 10 July.
•  Seychelles,  Solomon Islands,  Tuvalu, and  Dominica (1978) – independence granted to Seychelles on 29 June; to Solomon Islands on 7 July; to Tuvalu on 1 October; to Dominica as a republic on 3 November.
•  Saint Lucia,  Kiribati, and  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979) – independence granted to Saint Lucia on 22 February; to Kiribati on 12 July; to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 27 October.
•  Zimbabwe (as  Southern Rhodesia) and  Vanuatu (as  New Hebrides) (1980) – independence to Zimbabwe as a republic granted on 17 April; to Vanuatu on 1 July.
•  Belize (as  British Honduras) and  Antigua and Barbuda (1981) – independence granted to Belize on 21 September; to Antigua and Barbuda on 1 November.
•  Canada (1982) – enactment of the Canada Act, 1982, ends the last remaining reliances of the Canadian Crown on the British Parliament for constitutional amendments.
•  Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983) – independence granted on 19 September. Anguilla remains a British overseas territory.
•  New South Wales,  Queensland,  South Australia,  Victoria,  Western Australia, and  Tasmania (1986) - enactment of the Australia Act 1986 brought the Australian states into conformity with the status of the Commonwealth of Australia as a sovereign nation.
•  Hong Kong (1997) – returned to the People's Republic of China as a Special Administrative Region on 1 July as per the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Termination of personal union or other connection with the United Kingdom's monarchy

•  Ireland (1949) – dominion status ended by unilateral legislative act on 18 April and left the Commonwealth.
•  India (1950) – dominion status ended by constitutional amendment on 26 January.
•  Pakistan (1956) – dominion status ended with new constitution on 23 March.
•  Ghana (1960) – Commonwealth realm status ended by referendum on 1 July.
•  South Africa (1961) – dominion status ended by referendum on 31 May and left the Commonwealth.
•  Tanganyika (1962) – Commonwealth realm status ended on 9 December.
•  Uganda (1963) – Commonwealth realm status ended by Constitution of Uganda constitutional amendment on 9 October.
•  Kenya (1964) – Commonwealth realm status ended with new constitution on 12 December.
•  Nigeria and the  Malawi (1966) – Commonwealth realm status ended by Nigeria via constitutional amendment on 24 May; Malawi via new constitution on 6 July.
•  Guyana and  The Gambia (1970) – Commonwealth realm statuses ended by Guyana via constitutional amendment effective 17 March; The Gambia via referendum on 14 April.
•  Sierra Leone (1971) – Commonwealth realm status ended on 19 April.
•  Ceylon (1972) – dominion status ended on 22 May; renamed Sri Lanka.
•  Malta (1974) – Commonwealth realm status ended on 13 December.
•  Trinidad and Tobago (1976) – Commonwealth realm status ended on 1 March.
•  Mauritius (1992) – Commonwealth realm status ended on 12 March.
•  Barbados (2021) – Commonwealth realm status ended by constitutional amendment on 30 November.

Gains

• Falkland Islands (1833)
• Rockall (1955) – annexed to the Crown on 18 September.

References

This page was last edited on 9 November 2023, at 11:15