Secession
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Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or political entity. Typically there is a strong issue difference that drives the withdrawal. The word is derived from the Latin term secessio.
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[edit] Australia
During the 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. South Australia was separated in 1836, Victoria in 1851 and Queensland in 1859.
However, settlers agitated to divide the colonies occurred throughout the later part of the century; particularly in central Queensland (centred in Rockhampton) in the 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland (with Bowen as a potential colonial capital) in the 1870s. Other secession (or territorial separation) movement around the same tree, centred in England Deniliquin in the Riverina district and Mount Gambier in the eastern part of South Australia.
[edit] Western Australia
Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia, where a 1933 referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution.
[edit] Canada
- See main article: Secessionist movements of Canada.
Throughout Canada's history, there has been tension between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. Under the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Quebec colony (including parts of what is today Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador) was divided in two: Lower Canada (which retained French law and institutions, including seigneurial land tenure, and the privileges accorded to the Roman Catholic church) and Upper Canada (a new colony intended to accommodate the many English-speaking settlers, including the United Empire Loyalists, who had arrived from the United States following the American Revolution). The intent was to provide each group with its own colony. In 1841, the two Canadas were merged into the Province of Canada. The union proved contentious, however, resulting in a legislative deadlock between English and French legislators. The difficulties of the union lead to the adoption of a federal system in Canada, and the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The federal framework did not eliminate all tensions, however, leading to the Quebec sovereignty movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
Other secessionist movements have also existed from time to time in Canada, including anti-Confederation movements in 19th century Atlantic Canada (see Anti-Confederation Party), the North-West Rebellion of 1885, and various small separatism movements in Alberta particularly (see Alberta Separatism) and Western Canada generally (see, for example, Western Canada Concept).
[edit] China
- Currently, the Republic of China (ROC) government, which ruled mainland China before 1949, administers Taiwan and a few surrounding islands, while the People's Republic of China (PRC) government administers mainland China. Both sides officially claim sovereignty over both mainland China and Taiwan. There is debate in Taiwan as to whether to create a new Republic of Taiwan to replace the current ROC government. This is supported by many in the Pan-Green Coalition in Taiwan, but is opposed by most in the Pan-Blue Coalition in Taiwan which supports continuing the ROC as is, and the PRC government which regards Taiwan as a part of its territory. (The pan-blue coalition is essentially the Kuomintang party, the party of Chiang Kai-shek, which came to Taiwan in 1945 and formerly ruled China.) See Taiwan independence.
It is worth mentioning that as Taiwan was a Japanese colony, ruled by Japan and not China, from 1894 until 1945, since 1894 Taiwan and the mainland of China have only really been politically connected for a period of four years in a period of time that is little over a century. This long term division, particularly during a critical period in the formation of the modern Chinese national identity, has weakened the feeling of connection with the mainland among many Taiwanese, particularly those whose families' residency on the island long predates 1945, and the return to China. (Unlike Korea, most Taiwanese do not have a strong animosity towards Japan.)
- Within the PRC, the two western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet are also the focus of strong secessionist calls, which are strongly suppressed within the PRC. The dispute is a result of the unique ethnic, cultural, and religious characters of the two regions, as well as differences between the two sides in the interpretation of the history, political status, and human rights situation in the regions. See International Tibet Independence Movement and East Turkestan independence movement.
- Also within the PRC there has been some talk of secession among the people of inner Mongolia. (While outer Mongolia is an independent nation, inner Mongolia is a province of China.)
- There has been some talk of secession from China among the minority peoples of Yunnan province in south central China.
- One reason why the PRC government is reluctant to consider proposals for formal index for Taiwan is that they feel that by doing so, they would encourage other independence movements in other regions now controlled by China, such as Tibet, Xinjiang and inner Mongolia.
- At the Third session of the Tenth National People's Congress (March 14th 2005) the Chinese government adopted an 'Anti-Secession Law'. It was created for the purpose of 'opposing and checking Taiwan's secession from China by secessionists in the name of "Taiwan independence" '
The Law includes that Taiwan is part of China and that the unification of China 'is the sacred duty of all Chinese people, the Taiwan compatriots included.'
[edit] Italy
The northern-Italian party Lega Nord has declared in 15 September 1996 the secession of Padania (Northern-Italy) for the differences of culture and economy between North and South, for opposition to the centralism of Rome. The politics of secession has been turned off by Lega Nord, after the coalition with the Centre-Right parties and the proposals of devolution and federalism. Although, an uneffective Parliament has been conserved into the Party and its regional sections are named as "national".
On 8 June 2006, senator Cossiga purposed, in the Italian Senate, a constitutional law about the autodetermination right of Südtyrol/Provincia autonoma di Bolzano. In the law proposal he forecasted a referendum for the people of the region, with choice between: 1) to remain in the Italian Republic; 2) to pass under Austrian Republic; 3) to pass under German federal Republic; 4) to become an autonomous State.
[edit] Norway and Sweden
Norway and Sweden had entered into a loose personal union in 1814. Following a constitutional crisis, in 1905 the Norwegian Parliament declared that King Oscar II had failed to fulfill his constitutional duties on 7 June. He was therefore no longer King of Norway and because the union depended on the two countries sharing a king, it was thus dissolved. Sweden agreed to this on 26 October.
[edit] Somalia
Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991. To date, it is unrecognized by the UN, nor by any other state.
[edit] United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a number of different secession movements:
- In Scotland the Scottish National Party (SNP) calls for the independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom, with continuing membership of the European Union. It has representation at all levels of Scottish politics.
- In Wales, Plaid Cymru - Party of Wales stands for Welsh independence. It is also represented at all levels of Welsh politics.
- In England there are a number of small movements that call for a separate devolved English parliament or full independence from the United Kingdom, among them the English Democrats Party and the Campaign for an English Parliament. None of these have made any significant electoral impact. The Conservative Party has called for non-English MPs to be excluded from voting when a matter solely concerns England, as a solution to the West Lothian question—a call which SNP and Plaid Cymru MPs also support. However the Conservative party is still an avowedly Unionist party, indeed its official name is the Conservative and Unionist Party.
- In Northern Ireland there is no significant constituency for secession from both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. A small group Ulster Nation, linked with Third Way, has called for independence from both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The now defunct Ulster Democratic Party - linked to the Protestant paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association - was also officially in favour of independence although it never seems to have actively campaigned on the subject.
- See also the Cornish self-government movement.
[edit] United States
[edit] American revolutions
According to some secession theorists, the American Revolution, in which Thirteen Colonies successfully fought for independence from the British Crown was a secession, as opposed to a revolution. Revolutions seek to replace current governments, while secession movements merely seek separation from current governments. According to this view, the independence movements of Latin American countries were also examples of secession (from Spain). Other positions emphasize the colonial nature of British rule, and the previous restrictions on participation by colonists in the government.
[edit] Northeast United States and the Hartford Convention
Opposed to the War of 1812, Federalists from northeastern U.S. states informally convened the Hartford Convention in 1814 at which there was some discussion of secession from the nation. The war ended soon afterwards, and revelations about the secession discussions politically destroyed the Federalists.
[edit] South Carolina
During the presidential term of Andrew Jackson, South Carolina had its own semi-secession movement due to the "Tariffs of Abomination" which threatened both South Carolina's economy and the Union. Andrew Jackson also threatened to send Federal Troops to put down the movement and to hang the leader of the secessionists from the highest tree in South Carolina. Also due to this, Jackson's vice president, John C. Calhoun, who supported the movement and wrote the essay "The South Carolina Exposition And Protest", became the first US vice-president to resign.
[edit] Confederate States of America
One of the most famous unsuccessful secession movements was the case of the Southern states of the United States. Thirteen states declared their secession from the United States, joining together to form the Confederate States of America. These thirteen states were Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Missouri, and Kentucky (the latter two states were represented in the US and Confederate governments). This secession movement brought about the American Civil War. The position of the Union was that the Confederacy was not a sovereign nation but instead a collection of states in revolt.
[edit] West Virginia
The counties making up what is now West Virginia seceded from the state of Virginia (which had joined the Confederacy) and became the 35th state of the U.S. during the course of the war.
[edit] Texas secession from Mexico
The Republic of Texas successfully seceded from Mexico in 1836. In 1845 Texas joined the United States as a full-fledged state. Mexico refused to recognize Texas independence and warned the U.S. that annexation meant war. The Mexican–American War followed in 1846.
[edit] Recent efforts in the United States
Examples of both local and state secession movements can be cited over the last 25 years. There was an attempt by Staten Island to break away from New York City in the late-1980s and early 1990s (See: City of Greater New York). Around the same time, there was a similar movement to separate Northeast Philadelphia from the rest of the city of Philadelphia. San Fernando Valley lost a vote to separate from Los Angeles in 2002 but has seen increased attention to its infrastructure needs (See: San Fernando Valley secession movement). Several cities in Vermont including Killington recently explored a secession request to allow them to join New Hampshire over claims that they are not getting adequate return of state resources from their state tax contributions.
Some secessionist movements to create new states have failed, others are ongoing. Advocates in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with off and on intensity, have called for it to become a separate 51st state. Others wanted the peninsula, Minnesota and Wisconsin to combine into the North Star Republic. Similarly some in the Little Egypt region of Illinois want to separate due to what they consider Chicagoan control over the legislature and economy. The Republic of Texas has been quite fractious and one faction drew wide publicity for its illegal antics in the late 1990s. Similarly, there have been a number of attempts to form a Republic of Cascadia. The Hawaiian sovereignty movement has a number of active groupings. The mock 1982 secessionist protest by the Conch Republic in the Florida Keys resulted in an ongoing source of local pride and tourist amusement.
Serious efforts to organize a continental secession movement have been initiated since 2004 by members of the Second Vermont Republic, working with noted decentralist author Kirkpatrick Sale Their second "radical consultation" in November of 2004 resulted in a statement of intent called The Middlebury Declaration. It also gave rise to the Middlebury Institute which documents the development of this movement.
In November 2006 the same group sponsored the First North American Secessionist Convention which attracted 40 participants from 16 secessionist organizations and was described as the first gathering of secessionists since the Civil War. Delegates included a broad spectrum from libertarians to socialists to greens to Christian conservatives to indigenous peoples activists. Groups represented included Alaskan Independence Party, Cascadia Independence Project, Hawaiʻi Nation, The Second Maine Militia, The Free State Project, the Republic of New Hampshire, the League of the South, Christian Exodus, the Second Vermont Republic and the United Republic of Texas. Delegates created a statement of principles of secession which they presented as the Burlington Declaration. [1]
[edit] Secession in Former Yugoslavia
In the early 1990s, Croatia, Slovenia, and later Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to secede from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which resulted in bloody Yugoslav wars of secession (though the Slovenia war was brief and of low intensity, with fewer than 100 deaths on both sides). The problem was that Serbs, who were a constituent nation of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were against secession. Macedonia, on the other hand, seceded peacefully, not violating the federal constitution. In 2006, Montenegro succeeded in seceding from its union with Serbia, finally putting an end to the state of "Yugoslavia" created after WWI.
[edit] See also
- Separatism
- Nullification
- Declaration of Independence
- Hartford Convention
- List of unrecognized countries
- List of historical autonomist and secessionist movements
- List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
- List of U.S. state secession proposals
- List of U.S. county secession proposals
- Urban secession
- New York City secession
- Republic of Kinney
- Essex Junto
- The Great Republic of Rough and Ready
- Cascadia
- Second Vermont Republic
- League of the South
- South Carolina Exposition and Protest
- Christian Exodus
- Secession of Quebec
- Belgian Revolution
- Scottish Secession Church
- European Free Alliance
[edit] External links
- The Middlebury Institute
- Second Vermont Republic
- A Salon.com article arguing for a legal basis for US states to secede.
- Cascadian Independence Project Homepage of the US based Cascadian Independence Project
- Secession (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
- Secession - from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
- Secession - from the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
- Website on short-lived effort to create Jefferson State on the U.S. west coast
- secession search
- American Secession Project
- New England Secession: Education and discussion of the possibilities of the New England states seceding from the union.
- The Worldwide Confederation of Independent States Treaty Organization: dedicated to the principle of the primacy of secession as a right.
