A Time for Independence

By Claire Booth

America isn’t the only country having a birthday this week. It turns out July has historically been a hot time for independence. Here’s a sampling of nations celebrating their special days, and this doesn’t even count at least ten other countries whose birthdays fall later in the month.

Algeria, July 5, 1962, from France

Argentina, July 9, 1866, from Spain

Burundi, July 1, 1962, from Belgium

Canada, July 1, 1867. Now a member of the British Commonwealth

Cape Verde, July 5, 1975, from Portugal

Comoros, July 6, 1975, from France

Malawi, July 6, 1964. Now a member of the British Commonwealth

Rwanda, July 1, 1962, from Belgium

Solomon Islands, July 7, 1978. Now a member of the British Commonwealth

Somalia, July 1, 1960, joining together the Trust Territory of Somalia                        (formerly Italian Somaliland) and British Somaliland

Venezuela, July 5, 1811, from Spain

And for those blog readers here in the U.S., there's a date in the course of human events that none of us forget:

United States of America, July 4, 1776, from Britian

Happy Fourth of July.