Editor, Times-Union: The following is the conclusion to the historical examples of secession in my previous letter to the editor as part of my series on the subject of secession. Those letters were printed in the Nov. 17, 2010, Dec. 15, 2010, Aug. 19, 2011, and Nov. 3, 2011, editions of the Times-Union. A definition of secession was included in those letters along with 49 sources of information that can be found in local libraries within Kosciusko County, your nearest neighborhood bookstore, or through print or online book catalogs. The previous letters also included 13 historical examples of secession, some of them well-known but others lesser well-known to the general reader.
Further examples of secession concluded 14. Chinese Nationalist Revolution (1911) - Fifteen provinces of the Chinese Empire declare their independence from the corrupt and declining Manchu Dynasty. 15. First Southern China Rebellion (1913) - Seven southern provinces of China declare independence from the military dictatorship of Yuan Shikai. 16. Second Southern China Rebellion (1916) - Southern province of Yunnan declares independence the military dictatorship of Yuan Shikai is quickly by joined by “several other provinces.” 17. Katanga from the Congo (1960) 18. Dissolution of the Republic of Gran Colombia into the three states of Venezuela, New Granada (later renamed Colombia) and Ecuador (1830). 19. Independence movements in the Spanish Colo0nies of South America, Mexico and Central America 1808 - 1826. 20. Colonial Brazil from Portugal (1822-1823). 21. Breakup of United Provinces of Central America (1838). 22. Attempted secession of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria (1967-1970). 23. Colonial Algeria from France (1954-1962). 24. Attempted secession of Quebec from Canada by referendum (1995). 25. Afrikaner republics of South Africa and Orange Free State from the British Empire (1881). 26. Syria withdraws from the short-lived United Arab Republic (1958-1961) formed through a union with Egypt (1961). 27. Israel from British-Ruled Palestine.
My next letter on this subject will list the general political positions that one could have on the issue of secession. Alexander Houze Leesburg
