When nations attempt unity: Lessons from failed collaborations

Since you guys had so many suggestions after the latest video I made on this, here's a part 2 of countries that tried to unite but failed. This includes unions that were proposed but never happened, or unions that did happen but were somewhat short-lived. Let's start right away with the ones on the thumbnail. First, the Benelux, or more accurately, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was a short-lived state that existed from 1815 to 1830, created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna, which aimed to redraw the map of Europe following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. It brought together the former Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands, modern-day Belgium. The main goals of this union were to create a strong buffer state between France and the major European powers to promote stability in the region. Their constitution aimed to promote unity among the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking populations in the kingdom. However, tensions and disagreements between these linguistic and cultural groups persisted. The predominantly Catholic population of Belgium felt marginalized and oppressed by the Protestant Dutch government. In 1830, these tensions erupted into the Belgian Revolution for Independence. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was unable to hold on to its southern provinces and the secession of Belgium was recognized by most European powers. The kingdom was dissolved in 1830 and the Dutch monarchy continued to exist as the Netherlands. Its short existence highlights the challenges of creating a single nation out of regions with distinct linguistic, religious, and cultural differences which were ultimately the cause of their demise. Then we have Transcaucasia, which also has a longer official name, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, a very short-lived country in the South Caucasus region that existed from 1918 to 1919. It was established in the wake of the Russian Revolution and the collapse of the empire which previously ruled the region. The republic was created by the Transcaucasian Committee, a provisional government established by local political leaders in the South Caucasus, including Georgians, Azerbaijanis, and Armenians. It was intended to be a multi-ethnic and multi-religious federation, bringing together the three major ethnic groups in the South Caucasus. However, the fragile unity of the republic was constantly challenged by ethnic conflict, political tensions and external threats, namely from the Ottomans. In April of 1918, the Ottoman Empire invaded, leading to the dissolution of the Republic. The territory was eventually retaken by the Russians, now as the Soviet Union. And it was a good amount of decades before the three of them would achieve independence again, but as three separate countries and not a united one. Another potential union of regional neighbors was in the Baltics with Livonia, the United Baltic Duchy, existing precisely in the same years as Transcaucasia and having a similar raison d'etre. It was a short-lived political entity that existed during the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution, particularly from 1918 to 1919. It was an attempt to establish a German-dominated, even puppet, buffer state in the Baltic region, encompassing modern-day Latvia and Estonia. The duchy was a product of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had been signed between the central powers including Germany and Soviet Russia in March of 1918. The treaty recognized the independence of Estonia and Latvia but allowed for significant German influence in the region. It was intended to be a monarchy under German control with a German duke or king at its head. This arrangement was in line with the ambitions of the German empire to secure a strategic and economic foothold in the Baltic region. However, the local Baltic populations desired independence and autonomy, nationalist movements in both countries rejected the German-dominated regime and sought to establish their own governments. As the locals organized themselves into national councils, they effectively resisted German rule and proclaimed independence, marking the de facto end of the Union. But wait, because I also need to tell you about who made this video possible, Bellwright. The rumblings of insurgents begin to grow louder across the countryside as Bell's Toll for Vengeance. Bellwright is a single player or co-op open world medieval strategy survival sim game where you as the player are charged with picking up the pieces of your past and bringing justice to a broken nation. In childhood you were framed for the assassination of the crown prince and in order to save your family were shepherded out of the country by a family friend. Years later when this family friend is mysteriously killed you You return to your homeland to find answers and liberate your country from corrupt powers. Built in Unreal Engine 5, this gorgeous, sprawling open world is where you work your way up from a tiny settlement to the acting leader of a full-fledged rebellion. Deal with threats in different regions to gain renown and acquire new resources to further the technologies and strengthen your cause. Add recruits as companions to complete quests or assign them to build, craft or hunt to expand your settlement. Bellride is out now in Early Access on Steam, check the link in the description of this video for more information. Moving away from Europe, there's also Singapore and Malaysia. While Singapore is an independent city-state today, there was a brief period in which it wanted to be a part of Malaysia, it happened between 1963 and 65. This year, Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia alongside the existing member states of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, but from the start it didn't go very well. Singapore had a predominantly ethnic Chinese population, while Malaysia was more ethnically diverse with significant Malay, Indian and indigenous communities. The Malaysian government implemented policies aimed at achieving a balance between these various ethnic groups, but they mostly failed or faced opposition. Singapore's government under Lee Kuan Yew promoted a more open system, which sometimes clashed with Malaysia's policies, cementing their ideological differences in addition to the ethnic ones. In 1965, Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became an independent and sovereign nation. And in South America, we have Gran Colombia, a federation that existed from 1819 to 1831. It encompassed what is now Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. It was founded as a result of the efforts of several prominent South American leaders, including Simón Bolívar, to gain independence from Spanish colonial rule. The nations that would become Gran Colombia were part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Granada, and the struggle for independence had been ongoing for many years. Gran Colombia was founded with the vision of creating a large, united, and powerful South American nation, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution and the writings of European Enlightenment thinkers. It had a republic form of government with a presidential system, and its first president was, in fact, Simón Bolívar himself. The federation experienced political and regional divisions, economic difficulties, and conflict among its leaders. It officially dissolved in 1831 with the secession of Venezuela, followed by Ecuador and New Granada, Colombia. Panama remained part of Colombia until it gained its own independence in 1903. Today, some effects of it are still visible, namely in the very similar flags many of them use, referring to the historical flag of Gran Colombia. Then we have the temporary Kalmar Union, between the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, under a single monarch during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, established in 1397 and taking its name from the city of Kalmar in which its initial treaty was signed. The union was created in an effort to consolidate the power of the three Scandinavian kingdoms under a single ruler, naming Margaret I of Denmark as the regent, attempting to counteract the influence and expansion of the Hanseatic League and to strengthen their own position in the Baltic. While it was technically a single political entity, each kingdom retained a degree of autonomy and this led to frequent disputes and power struggles between member states, especially between Denmark and Sweden. As Russia expanded and conflicts with the Hanseatic League grew, uprisings and conflicts began taking place internally, mostly in Sweden and Norway. The Kalmar Union formally came to an end in 1523 when Sweden elected Gustav Vasa as its king, marking its independence from Danish rule. Norway remained in a personal union with Denmark until 1814. The Kalmar Union's brief existence reflects the complexities of maintaining a political union between historically distinct and often rival kingdoms. It ultimately failed due to internal conflicts, power struggles, and the desire for greater national autonomy among its members, as is the case for so many other examples on this list. The next one is in Africa with South Africa and Namibia, the Union of South Africa. This one was a colonial state, in part, and existed from 1910 to 1961, and the state itself consisted of South Africa proper. However, at one point, it also included modern-day Namibia. The reason why was World War I and the defeat of the central powers, namely Germany, who previously held Namibia as their colony. When the war ended and Germany lost, the Union of South Africa, despite being essentially a British colony, was a signatory country of the Treaty of Versailles and became one of the founding members of the League of Nations. It was mandated by the League, with the administration of Namibia, which was known as Southwest Africa, and which became treated in most respects as another province of the Union, but it was never formally annexed, still, de facto, it was part of the country. After World War II, with the decolonization movement gaining strength, South Africa was forced to grant them independence, as local movements began demanding it, staging protests and strikes, and even armed insurgencies, with this independence eventually being achieved. And finally for this video, we go back to Europe, to Greece, and Cyprus. The process of enosis, meaning union in Greek, aimed at the annexation of Cyprus by Greece, due to the first having a significant ethnic Greek population at the time, and also throughout history. Cyprus had recently been under Ottoman rule, and later British colonial administration, which was viewed by many Greek Cypriots as an impediment to their national aspirations of uniting with their ethnic group. In the 1950s, various nationalist organizations took up an armed struggle for this to happen, in response, the Turkish Cypriot population, who were a minority on the island, opposed Enosis and favored a partition instead, which led to internal conflicts. As a compromise, at first, neither separation nor annexation was to take place, with a single country being created, having power shared by both sides. But tensions between them continued to grow. In 1974, a coup by Greek nationalists, supported by elements of the Greek military junta, led to a Turkish military intervention, which resulted in the de facto partition of the island into the Republic of Cyprus and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a Turkish puppet. The issue remains up to today, with the island being divided and a buffer zone separating the two communities. But above all, the attempted union was stopped, due to the resistance of another ethnic minority and the intervention of another neighbor, Turkey. So, those are some other attempted but failed country unions throughout the world. Like I said at the start, some existed only on paper, with part of them being serious proposals while others were wishes of a minority group that never came to happen. Some, though, actually happened and lasted for some time, eventually failing for the reasons we learned about. Are there any more proposed unions of countries that you know of? Let me know in the comments. Subscribe if you liked the video and want to watch future ones and I will see you next time for more general knowledge.