Territories That Countries (Maybe) Shouldn't Have

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Have you ever looked at a country's map and thought they probably shouldn't have that
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Either because the border looks weird or because we can identify a specific regional culture
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that allows us to understand they should either belong to another neighboring country or instead
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just be independent. In this video we're going to take a look at a few of those cases of territories
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that countries maybe shouldn't have. Just a quick disclaimer, I'm not seriously arguing that all of
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these countries should lose these territories, just bringing up the discussion about them so we can
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better understand the local situation
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Starting with Tibet and China. Tibet's existence throughout history has been divided between independence and Chinese rule
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Since the early independent Tibetan states to the Yuan dynasty and then the Qing, it
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existed as its own kingdom more recently between 1912 and 1951. Before that it was under the control of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, also known as Imperial
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China, between 1720 and 1912, existing as their protectorate, so with a good degree of
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local autonomy still. And before that it was semi or fully independent, either as part of their own kingdom or semi-autonomous
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as part of Kanats and Khaganats that reached into their region, the Khoshkut Kanat included
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all of Tibet, even stretching out of its borders. And while it was a Mongol kanat, the local administration was established and mostly
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controlled by the 5th Dalai Lama. Before this other local dynasties controlled and ruled the territory
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Tibet first came under the control of the Qing dynasty of China in 1720 after they expelled
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the forces of the Dzungar kanat from Tibet. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the Republic of China was supposed to keep it
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but was never able to assert their authority there. And Tibet's ruler, the Dalai Lama, declared that Tibet's relationship with China ended
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with the fall of the Qing Dynasty and proclaimed their independence. Tibet and Outer Mongolia also signed a treaty proclaiming mutual recognition of their independence
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from China. And while Mongolia remains an independent country today, by 1951, the People's Republic
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of China invaded Tibet and annexed it. These events are referred to as a peaceful liberation by the Chinese government but as
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the Chinese invasion by the Central Tibetan administration of the time and much of the
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Tibetan diaspora up to today. Its history of autonomy or even independence allows us to understand how they have their
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own history and their own cultural identity and their opposition to Chinese rule paired
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with those factors I think presents a pretty solid case for the fact that they should not
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belong to China today And then Kurdistan Iraq I mentioned Kurdistan a lot in past videos so I just glance over it here Kurdish people are an ethically distinct group that exists in the middle east within the current borders of Turkey Syria Iraq and Iran They are mostly Muslim but partly Catholic and
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even Jewish as well. None of the governments of the four countries they exist in want to grant
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them independence as this would mean losing some of their land. However in Iraq they have been
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granted a good amount of autonomy in their northern lands. In fact, many say that these
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areas are, apart from Baghdad, the only ones where some governmental stability exists
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proving their ability to rule themselves, which paired with their claim for sovereignty and their different cultural identity, shows that perhaps they shouldn't belong to Iraq
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All the way in America, Guantanamo Bay, controlled by the USA in the island of Cuba. Known for its
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awful prison, Guantanamo Bay is a bay in the southeastern end of Cuba. It's the largest harbor
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on the south side of the island. After the Spanish-American War of the late 1800s, Cuba became
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essentially a US puppet for a while, until the revolution, and so in 1903 they assumed control
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of this bay under an indefinite territorial lease, creating a naval base there. But even this lease
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recognized continued Cuban sovereignty over it. However, after the Cuban revolution, relations
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between the two countries became very negative, but the US still kept their base there. The
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location's geography also helps, it's surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that cuts
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it off from the rest of the island, the Cuban government refuses US presence and refuses to
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take US payment for the lease, so this is kind of a sign that they maybe shouldn't have it
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In Oceania, Papua New Guinea is limited to half of their island because Indonesia controls the
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other half. The island of New Guinea or Papua is this one but it's divided into two. The eastern
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half is the sovereign Papua New Guinea country while the western half is ruled by the country
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of Indonesia which rules so many other islands in Southeast Asia and Oceania. So why doesn't
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Papua New Guinea get to rule all of the island? It mostly has to do with colonialism. During
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colonial times the west part of the island was Dutch while the east was British and German then
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only British after World War I, when Indonesia became independent from the Dutch, they kept
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their half of the island as their own, while the eastern part moved on to a temporary Australian
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control and then getting independence. Indonesia became independent first, so there was no new
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country to join, and by the time Papua New Guinea was sovereign, this would mean leaving one country
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to join another. Furthermore, there is so much diversity within Papua that a single nation is
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difficult and honestly not that logical. And in Africa, Angola's ownership of Kepinda could also
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be questionable. And it also goes back to colonialism, in this case that of the Portuguese
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Kabinda is this territorial exclave of Angola, separated from the rest of the country by
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a narrow strip of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of the Congo It also borders the Republic of the Congo in the north In 1885 the Treaty of Simulambuku established Kabinda as a protectorate of the Portuguese Empire
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Eventually, in the 20th century, Angola natives rebelled against Portuguese rule, eventually
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being given independence by Portugal. All of Angola's independence movements were invited to the treaty, except that of Kabinda
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and the exclave, part of Angola only due to Portuguese colonialism, declared its own
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independence which led to an invasion by Angola in 1975. They do have similar cultures, but their desire for independence and exclave status perhaps
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justifies their transition to potentially be independent or instead a part of one of
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the Congos. Next we move to Europe to Spain's plazas de soberania, their possessions in Africa
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Spain still has today some remnants of its colonial empire in North Africa, while other
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remnants of the colonial empire such as islands, for instance the canneries of Spain, are
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understandable as they were deserted upon settlement, these are a little more questionable
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They are essentially pieces of land carved off what is today Morocco and its coast
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Their names translate to strongholds of sovereignty. Historically, a distinction was made between the so-called major places of sovereignty
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another translation, comprising the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and the minor
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places of sovereignty, referring to a number of islands and a small peninsula along the coast
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This map shows us all of those. During the Reconquista, and mainly following the conquest of Granada in 1492, forces of
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the Castilian and Portuguese kingdoms conquered and maintained numerous outposts in North
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Africa for trade and as a defence against Barbary piracy. Ceuta was conquered by Portugal but kept by Spain after the brief Iberian Union
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Regardless of Moroccan sovereignty and the end of European colonialism, Spain decided
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to keep these territories which Morocco of course doesn't like. It's a little questionable that Spain should get to keep these lands that are not only
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territorially disconnected from their territory, but also across the water in literally a separate continent
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On the other hand, maybe Spain should be able to have Gibraltar, which is still today under
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British rule. It was founded as a permanent watchtower by the Almohad dynasty in 1160, it became a part
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of the crown of Castile in 1462 as the Spanish conquered the southern Iberian peninsula from
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the moors. 1704 however anglo-dutch forces captured it from spain during the war of spanish succession and it was later ceded to great britain in perpetuity
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under the treaty of utrecht in 1713 It was an incredibly strategic location as it allowed the british to control exit and entry into the mediterranean at the time
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The suez wasn't built yet. So this was the only way in and the only way out
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However, this was done at a time of colonial empires when overseas possessions were normal
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Now I would argue not so much And just like I think it odd that parts of what is today Morocco are carved away and controlled by Spain it also odd that a part of Spain is carved away and controlled by the British regardless of the validity of it under international law
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However, and like many on this list, the people of Gibraltar seem to want to remain British
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A 2002 referendum on shared sovereignty between the UK and Spain only had 1% of the voters
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in favour so maybe this is one they should get to keep
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Back in Europe, the Åland Islands are Finnish when many argue they should be Swedish instead
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They are today an autonomous and demilitarized region of Finland and oddly their official
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language is Swedish, spoken by almost all of its small 30,000 people population
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They became Finnish and autonomous by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following
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the Åland dispute. Prior to 1809, they were a part of the Kingdom of Sweden, however in the Treaty of Fredriksham
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of 1809, Sweden had to give up control of the islands, along with all of Finland, to
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imperial Russia. The Grand Duchy of Finland became an autonomous entity, including the Allin Islands, within
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the Russian Empire. With Finnish independence, Sweden supported the desire of locals to self-determination
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wanting to rejoin Sweden instead. However, following the end of World War I, the League of Nations decided that they would
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remain Finnish as long as they were politically autonomous and had measures to protect the
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Swedish language and culture which the Finnish agreed to. Most locals have accepted their fate by now and Sweden doesn't really seem to want them
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back but it would still make more sense for them to be Swedish rather than Finnish
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So those are some territories that countries maybe shouldn't have. Either because local cultures are significantly different, being able to justify independence
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or they are different than those who ruled them but equal or more similar to another neighboring
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country justifying their potential belonging to them instead. Or the ownership of the territories comes from somewhat illogical territory transfers
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from former colonial powers, just because their borders didn't make sense at the time
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doesn't mean we have to stick with them now. Do you agree with any of these or do you think some or even all of these countries are entitled
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to these territories? Plus, are there any other countries you think control territories that they shouldn't
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Let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching, remember to subscribe if you want and I will see you next time for
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