- Ladies and gentlemen, the country of Baldonia.
Okay, it no longer exists,
but I am the last remaining native of it.
You know, over time we just take for granted
that the countries that we hear about in the news
will just always exist.
But life gets busy, and unless you pay close attention
you might be surprised to learn that some countries
that you have definitely heard about no longer exist,
they have disappeared.
(glass shatters)
Here are 10 countries that no longer exist.
(glass shatters)
(glass shatters) Number 10 is Austria-Hungary.
Austria-Hungary didn't just lose the first World War,
it ceased to exist because of it.
This massive union between the Austrian Empire
and the Kingdom of Hungary was formed in 1867
and became one of the world's most powerful states.
But by the time 1918 came around, the party was over.
After the first World War, it was broken up into
Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia,
and Yugoslavia among others.
But unlike Germany, which remained a country after the war,
the Austria-Hungary state was made up of
different cultural groups with vastly different identities.
This was a huge factor in the breakup of the country
and after defeat, these groups
didn't exactly see eye-to-eye.
Okay, country's over, so now I'm in charge.
Nah, yeah, no I don't like you, I'm in charge.
Uh yeah, you wanna go pal?
The history of Austria-Hungary holds important lessons
for any powerful nation today.
It doesn't take long for even
the strongest of countries to topple.
So everyone in Canada and the United States,
please get along because I love these countries.
Don't be playing around now.
(glass shatters)
Number nine is Czechoslovakia.
(glass shatters) In the aftermath of
Austria-Hungary's collapse,
Czechoslovakia was created.
The new country was mostly a combination of two peoples,
the Czechs and the Slovaks.
Czechoslovakia prospered, that was until World War II,
when the Nazis occupied it.
After that, it was then occupied by the Soviet Union.
Oh man, talk about a rough deal.
After the Soviet Union disappeared, it became clear
that the Czechs and Slovaks had different visions
for their country.
So a referendum was held and it was decided
that the two regions should go their separate ways.
And so what was once a single country
then split into two and became the Czech Republic
and Slovakia, effectively bringing
the state of Czechoslovakia to an end.
Since then both the nations have maintained
a close relationship and continue to co-exist peacefully.
Oh you guys, good example.
(glass shatters)
Number eight is East and West Germany.
(glass shatters) The second World War
resulted in many fractured nations,
most notably Germany itself.
After Hitler was defeated, the Allies decided to
divide the country into two, effectively creating
two new nations, East and West Germany.
While West Germany maintained a close relationship
with the western democracies,
East Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union.
In order to stop people from fleeing from east to west,
a huge wall was built across the border in Berlin,
symbolizing the east-west split.
But when the Soviet Union collapsed,
East and West Germany broke down the wall
and came together to become one single country once more.
Since then Germany has gone on to become
one of the most progressive and economically influential
democracies in the world,
and it also doesn't hurt that they have some delicious beer.
I really want to go to Germany, excuse me.
(glass shatters)
Number seven is the Soviet Union.
(glass shatters) If you've been paying
attention to this video
you probably guessed this one was coming.
The Soviet Union was the largest union of countries
the world had ever seen, and yet it no longer exists.
It contained over 100 nationalities,
making it one of the most diverse countries in the world,
and was comprised of 15 republics covering
a gigantic 22.4 million kilometers.
To put that into perspective that's two and a half times
the size of the United States.
But where a country like the United States
valued freedom and democracy,
the Soviet Union incorporated a version of communism
which essentially amounted to a dictatorship.
The Soviet model just couldn't keep up
economically with the west, and so eventually
things had to change.
The Soviet Union ended up dissolving
and the largest country, Russia,
decided to go forward alone.
For an alternative history of how this went down,
watch Rocky IV, you'll see what I mean.
(glass shatters)
Number six is Tibet.
(glass shatters) In the eyes of many Tibetans,
their country still exists.
However, China has claimed Tibet as its own,
effectively blocking Tibet's desire to continue
as an independent country.
Tibet covers much of the Tibetan Plateau
in central Asia, and is the highest region on Earth,
its territory averaging 4.9 kilometers above sea level.
In case you didn't know, the air is mighty thin up there
you're gonna pass out.
Tibet has had a long struggle against oppression,
having to declare its own independence in 1913
from the then-Chinese Republic.
After the formation of the People's Republic of China,
Tibet was invaded in 1951
and was forced to become a Chinese territory.
Tibet's spiritual and political leader the Dali Lama
fled to India fearing assassination and ever since then
has advocated the independence and reformation of Tibet
as its own country.
This country is very unique because unlike
the other countries on this list,
it might just zip in and out of existence.
And also we should probably pay attention
to the Dali Lama 'cause he's a little bit wise,
just a little bit, so you know, let's listen to him.
(glass shatters)
Number five is West Florida.
(glass shatters) Yes that's right,
West Florida at one time existed as its own country.
Was it still filled with retired old people
at that time, does anyone know?
Originally owned by the British Empire,
both East and West Florida remained
under the influence of Britain during
the American Revolutionary War.
When the British Empire was defeated,
they ceded West Florida to the Spanish
who had invaded it in 1781.
After some disagreements between the Spanish authorities
and American and English settlers,
the residents of West Florida declared their independence.
Oranges for everybody.
This resulted in the creation of
the Republic of West Florida in 1810.
A country that would last as long as the Roman Empire,
a country that would never submit to anyone,
a country which, actually it only lasted a few months.
That's because it was claimed by the United States
as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
(glass shatters)
Number four is Neutral Moresnet.
(glass shatters) When Napoleon was finally
defeated in Europe in 1816,
much of Europe had to be divided up
between the winning parties.
This process resulted in Neutral Moresnet,
a tiny country which existed until 1919.
It measured just 3.5 kilometers squared
and existed because the Netherlands and Prussia
could not agree on who should own it.
The reason both countries claimed the tiny piece of land
was because it contained a valuable zinc mine.
But instead of fighting over it, they agreed
that the land where the mine was should be neutral territory
and so the country of Neutral Moresnet was born.
But in 1919 following the first World War
and after the zinc mine was exhausted,
the tiny country became part of Belgium,
ending the existence of this peculiar little nation.
Becoming a part of Belgium is not a big deal,
they have chocolate, it's lovely.
(glass shatters)
Number three is Rhodesia.
(glass shatters) During the Cold War,
Rhodesia was an unofficial country
which spanned most of modern-day Zimbabwe.
In the 1960s, the British government had a policy
that its territories could only become independent
if they adopted the democratic law of majority rule
and voted for it.
But the minority white settlers in Southern Rhodesia
didn't like that at all.
They wanted to maintain power over the majority
indigenous African population.
So on November 11, 1965 Southern Rhodesia's white leaders
declared independence from the British
and formed the country of Rhodesia.
Then in 1980, following a bitter civil war,
the infamous leader Robert Mugabe won political power
in a landslide victory.
He ordered that Rhodesia was no more and that instead
the country of Zimbabwe was born.
And if that sounds kinda crazy, it was,
and that was just the beginning of their troubles.
(glass shatters)
Number two is the United Arab Republic.
(glass shatters) During the 1950s,
concern about a communist takeover in the Middle East
gave rise to a new country,
the United Arab Republic.
Formed in 1958, it was a political union between
Egypt and Syria.
There was a strong communist movement at the time in Syria
backed by elements in the military,
and so one solution to this was to form
a strong political relationship with Egypt.
So with both countries united, the communist movement
would not be strong enough to overthrow such a government.
However, this arrangement was short-lived.
Many in Syria took exception to being treated as
an unequal partner by Egypt.
So on September 28, 1961 a group of Syrian commanders
organized a coup that announced that Syria
was leaving the United Arab Republic immediately
which effectively ceased to exist.
You know the more you hear about these,
the more you realize the countries are really
just lines in the sand.
We're all just human beings people,
let's just love each other, hug, and get along.
(glass shatters)
And number one is Yugoslavia.
(glass shatters) Yugoslavia ended officially
in 2006 after a series of bloody conflicts.
It was formed in 1918 from a mix of groups
which didn't necessarily see eye-to-eye.
But in 1929 it became known as Yugoslavia
and during the 1970s and 1980s,
different regions within Yugoslavia
began to turn against one another.
A series of Yugoslav wars began in 1991
with lines drawn across ethnic lines.
These were brutal conflicts resulting in
entire regions breaking off into new countries
such as Croatia and Bosnia.
Eventually the last remnants of Yugoslavia
ceased their association with it in 2006
when Serbia and Montenegro went their separate ways.
See folks, this is what I'm talking about.
We're all just human, let's just all get along.
What's wrong with this world?
Why are people going crazy? (shrieks)
(glass shatters) So that was 10 countries
that no longer exist.
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And I will see you in the next one, goodbye now.