Territories That Countries (Maybe) Shouldn't Have 

*Any other territories you think a country shouldn't have?*

General Knowledge giving up on his ability to visit China, half the Middle East, and Indonesia for our sakes. What a legend.

My man doesn`t want to Travel nomore-

Hello i am kurdish, honestly as long as the iraqi goverment dosent discriminate against us kurds and is actually a competent goverment i would be completely fine with us staying as part of iraq, right now our leadership (kurdish politicians to be exact) arent exactly the best of people and dont care about their people, so if the iraqi goverment proves to care more about us than our own goverment then i rather stay with them

Why does the CCP insist on calling things peaceful when we know it’s not. Be upfront. You wanted Tibet and you took it because you wanted it. Not to liberate a people who liked their government.

Kurdistan should be independent, ever since World War I this was promised and they pose no threat to others if they get some freedom

The case of Western Sahara is heart breaking. Annexed and colonised by Marocco but nobody cares...

The Canary islands weren't deserted upon setlement.

East Turkestan, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria are also different countries. Historical and ethnical China is the Eastern parts only.

France still have a lot territories that they shouldn't have

This is comment section is gonna be full of people saying "The US shouldn't have Hawaii or Alaska or Puerto Rico or Texas or...."

For what could have been a pretty contentious topic, you provided a well balanced and excelently researched short guide. It was very impressive..Thank you for the time you took to make it - and well done.

Here's three suggestions if you do a part 2. Point Roberts, the NorthWest Angle and St. Pierre

There is a similar story but a one not too many people now and speak about. It is about a Croatian controlled peninsula called Istra that was never really Croatian. For most of its history it belonged to the Italians and even to the Austrians. Even today there is a very strong Italian minority in the whole peninsula and everything is in two languages - Croatian and Italian. I am from Croatian and have been to Istra many times and it really does remind of Italy.

It is highly ignorant to say that the Plazas de soberania shouldn’t belong to spain. They have been Spanish for centuries and are culturally and linguistically Spanish, and have no desire to join Morocco. Just because it looks weird on a map doesn’t mean it’s any less Spanish

You forgot Kaliningrad, just to complete the list of countries you won't be able to travel to. Would that then be divided between Poland and Lithuania, given to Germany (for old times sake) or become independent?

In the context of Spanish history, it's crucial to recognize that Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary Islands are as much a part of Spain as any mainland province. These territories have been Spanish long before the current concept of nations like Morocco was even conceived. Ceuta and Melilla have been under Spanish rule since the 15th century, predating the establishment of Morocco as a state by two centuries. These cities are fully integrated into Spain’s administrative framework, treated just like any other province, with representatives in the national parliament and subject to the same laws as the rest of the country. Similarly, the Canary Islands were annexed by the Crown of Castile in the 15th century, also well before Morocco's national formation. Today, they enjoy autonomy within Spain, having their own government and legislative powers, much like any other autonomous community in Spain. The situation of Gibraltar adds another layer to Spain’s complex territorial history. Seized by the British during the War of Spanish Succession, Gibraltar remains under British control despite being geographically part of the Iberian Peninsula. This is in stark contrast to Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary Islands, which have consistently been governed by Spain. Regarding the term "colonies," it’s misleading when applied to Spain’s historical territories. During its imperial era, Spain organized its overseas domains into viceroyalties and captaincies general, which were integral parts of the kingdom, with the same rights and responsibilities as any province in mainland Spain. Thus, calling these places "colonies" does not accurately reflect their status within the Spanish Empire. It’s vital to understand the enduring connection of Ceuta, Melilla, and the Canary Islands to Spain. Their historical, cultural, and administrative ties to the country affirm their status as undeniable parts of the Spanish nation, dispelling any notion of them being mere transient holdings.

As a Swedish speaking Finn not from Åland I would be very sad to see Åland go. I feel that it'd be even harder to protect our language rights in a scenario where Åland is no longer part of Finland. Also, if Åland left Finland because of language, why not Ostrobothnia as well? It's got a small majority of Swedish speakers

What about american indigenous nations?

I know that you've done a full video on it, but I would also like to include the Southern Cameroon.

Åland people would not want to be part of Sweden, In Sweden it would be just a one Swedish town and very little control over themself. Now they are much higher autonomy. So high that very few people in Åland support independence either.

The comparison that can be made between Gibraltar and Ceuta/Melilla has caught my attention. If they voted in Ceuta and Melilla and it came out that they wanted to continue being Spain, wouldn't Morocco have the right to say anything? to compare with Gibraltar (I think that just as Morocco has the right to complain, so does Spain). By the way, the Treaty of Utrecht cedes ownership over the city, castle, port, fortresses and defense, it does not cede ownership over the territory. It must also be clarified that Gibraltar has repeatedly failed to comply with the conditions of the agreement, extending itself further and further (expanding the land border, building an "airport", constructing new buildings towards the sea, claiming waters that are not its own, etc.). I understand that these videos try to simplify a lot but you always have to take more information into account. I say this to make the situation clear, in any case I consider that Gibraltar and Ceuta and Melilla are fine as they are. I simply want to clarify that they are not the same situation, although people like to believe that they are and that is simplifying it to the point of absurdity. Just like calling everything colonies without valuing the characteristics.

Puerto Rico(USA) We are a different country with our own history, culture, and Spanish is the dominant language. All those referendums that say we want statehood are total BS, they are non-binding and have low turnout, its really like 30% that want statehood, and they are just a loud minority. Statehood will never happen and it never should, there's way to many obstacles blocking it from happening, and if somehow it did happen it would be detrimental to both the US and Puerto Rico financially, politically, and culturally.

Man you are so close to 1 million subs.

I actually have two antique moneybank globes form the 1960's; one displays Tibet as it's own sovereign nation (the rest of the map looks more or less the same to the standard), meanwhile the second one is slightly older and has stuff like Rhodesia, the Belgian Congo, & French West Africa (very outdated colonial states in Africa), but no sovereign Tibet! It's very strange :/

China has improved every aspect of Tibet though. Before Mao took over, Tibet was a backwater serfdom where people lived in poverty and even slavery.

It is called peaceful liberation because the Tibetan government agreed to negotiate with the Communists after the Battle of Chamdo, and the result was that the Tibetan delegation accepted most of the demands made by the Chinese government, and the Seventeen Point Agreement was reached.

I love your intro, it’s bussin

Very bold General Knowledge. I salute your integrity.

You should've put Nagorno-Karabahk

Forgot Hawaii

Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish cities even before Morocco existed. So its impossible for Morocco ti say they want that cities back when they have never owned them. If I remember correctly, Ceuta and Mellia are Spanish territories since 2 centuries before US got its independence. What you should have include in the video is WESTERN SAHARA. Saharauis have been kicked out of their land by Morocco. Most of them live in a refugees camp near the border of their stolen country.

Good video.

5:20 there is so much more to say about west papua like how the Dutch kept it nominally till 1960, years after Indonesian independence, and it was the UN who forced the Dutch to give it up.

Northern Ireland in the UK should go to the Republic of Ireland

This is an extremely important problem and it looms over a lot of places. Frequently, leaders of independence movements will claim that international law requires existing boundaries must be respected when moving from possession to independent. But they will turn around and violate that rule when it suits them so there really isn't a law. Indonesia is a great example. New Guinee and the Moluccas have so little in common with Acheh or Java that shouldn't be in the same state even though they were all Dutch colonial possessions.

Northern Ireland should be in this video

It's insane to me how a country who got independence from another country then refuses to let a part of it's territory become independent.

Somehow managed to miss the Kuril Islands and Kaliningrad...

I want to point out about the Åland that iirc Sweden also stopped caring because they were worried about Länsipohja/Västerbotten/West Bothnia of Northern Sweden. The area in question had a large Finnish speaking population (and even today has a lot of Finnish speakers. According to Sweden they speak Meänkieli, a different language, which sounds suspiciously similar to Finnish) and by getting Åland they could cause people from Västerbotten to want to join Finland. So they opted to keep Västerbotten due to its resources and much larger population base over Åland which doesn't really have anything valuable outside of beautiful environment.

Though your rationale on the Papuan matter is a bit weird (since the same logic should've been applied to other Indonesian islands itself, which are incredibly diverse as well), interestingly the first Vice President of Indonesia Muhammad Hatta had also stated that he thought Papua shouldn't be included as part of Indonesia due to great differences in culture and race, which was obviously objected by Soekarno.

Catalonia (spain and france)

The Canary Islands were not deserted when the Castillians arrived. They were inhabited by native Guanche people, who are amazigh in origin, and which were exterminated by the Castillians. So.. yeah.

can you please provide the soundtrack used in videos?

You being Portuguese, I was surprised by the fact that you didn't mention the case of Olivença 😅

Have you spoke about Brunei yet?

all of the americas should be indigenous nations

I had heard that the ferocity with which Finland defended Åland during WW2 had helped push local opinion towards staying a part of Finland.

Great video, as usual! I can say that Russia deserves an entire separate video, ~70% of its modern territory is colonised land: Mordovia, Ural, Siberia, Tatarstan & Bashqortostan, Chukotka, Yugra and so on, the list is VERY long. There's many different nations living in Russia and they deserve to be more well known!

Tibet should be free and independent again, Kurdistan deserves their own independent and sovereign state, Aland it's clear that should belong to Sweden and in the case of Papua, it seems that it should be one single political entity at first sight (like it should be Ireland as well for example), but not sure of its reality. It is ridiculous the small bits that Spain has in Africa, Ceuta and Melilla might be two well stablished Spanish cities, and the Canary Islands too, but the rest is more logical to return/belong to Morocco.

You are swiming in dangerous waters

I come from Indonesia. I will explain why West Papua belongs to Indonesia. At the time of Indonesian independence, the independence proposal stated "The Dutch colonial territories in Southeast Asia fully belong to Indonesia". At that time, Indonesia was united at the beginning of its independence. But the Dutch colonized again, at that time the Dutch made an agreement not to carry out continued colonization. Indonesia and the Netherlands create a state. Where each region has its own president "United State of Indonesia" (except West Papua, there is the Dutch headquarters). However, the Indonesian people want everything to be one. And the State of Indonesia was re-formed as the "Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia or NKRI)" Then the Indonesian people urged the government to follow the independence proposal that had been made at the beginning of independence. The Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia were the property of Indonesian independence. That's when the Indonesian Army, which already had strength and weapons assistance from other countries, tried to seize West Papua so that it could be fully controlled by Indonesia. So a war broke out in West Papua between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Because the war was dramatic and quite long, the United Nations finally intervened. The United Nations makes a ceasefire proposal. The proposal also contains general elections for the people of West Papua to choose, whether they want complete independence or join Indonesia. And as a result of the general election, it turned out that the people of West Papua chose to join Indonesia. As I have said, West Papua has belonged to Indonesia from the start. Because after Japan surrendered, the first President of Indonesia, Mr. Soekarno already said. "Remove Dutch colonialism from Southeast Asian lands, and the former Dutch colonies are the rightful property of Indonesian independence" Indonesia is a country that has a nationalist spirit. In fact, until now Indonesian people cannot speak Dutch Even though Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch for more than 350 years.

I like the new intro

Where is russia? Syberia for example is not russian at all, more than that the culture of nationalities who live there, is way different from any european country including russia. Idk why you didn't include russia to be honest, because this country tried to russify other cultures, for example bashkirs, kazakhs, ukrainians, bellarussians and many other nationalities. Many territories inside russia aren't actually russian culturaly and are rather colonies than core territories. Don't take it personally though. Your channel is doing a great work after all.

There are plenty of other areas and people in Finland other than Åland that speak Swedish. Language alone is not an argument.

Ceuta's EEZ touch the rest of Spain EEZ. Ceuta and Melilla are closer to Spain than Corsica and Sardinia to France and Italy. Closer than most of the Egean islands are to Greece, closer than Shetlan to the UK, closer than Socotra to Yemen, closer than Hawaii, Galapagos or Pascua islands to the USA, Ecuador or Chile. There are countries divided by seas and no one ask about them. What about Malaysia with a part on an island divided into 3 states? And what about the UK in N. Ireland? And what about Turkiye and its european continental part? Or Alaska and the USA? Ceuta and Melilla had been ruled from the different nations of the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. And I'm not just talking about the Christian Kingdoms. The Caliphate of Cordoba (Muslim Kingdom) ruled those two cities. The Emirate of Granada held Ceuta too until it was conquered by the portuguese. The Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo ruled Ceuta too. Even with the Roman Empire and the Bizantine Empire, Ceuta had closer ties to the peninsula than to the rest of Africa.

French Guyana,Quebec and Greenland should be in this video

Leaving my mark before the Chinese bots come angrily arguing on points that weren't made in the video because they haven't watched it.

🔥🔥🔥

6:20 No, but yes. Unlike Madeira and the Azores the Canaries where not deserted when the Spaniards took them they were inhabited by the guanche, berber people who where gradually "integarted" through the centuries after the normans enstablished the kingdom of the Canaries. But I suppose it counts since there's no one of them left...

Ceuta and Melilla are spanish founded and ran cities for centuries and they are just accross a narrow stretch of water it total ly makes sence for Spain to keep them and that is what the population wants. You make it sounds much worse than it is

I love how you didn't mention Israel-Palestine knowing that would get you demonetized

I'm SHOCKED you didn't talk about Olivença lol

As a kurd every kurds want an independent kurdistan our whole existence is for that in our culture anyone who says otherwise is ignorant abt us and we deserve a separate country we r not a turk or a persian or an arab.

The so-called Simla Convention, which made Tibet a self-governing state but recognized China as its suzerainty, was refused by the Chinese delegates who refused to formally sign it at the time and left. When the Chinese representative refused to sign, the Tibetan government unilaterally declared that China had renounced its suzerainty and that Tibet was therefore a completely independent state, and Britain turned to recognizing Tibet's independence in exchange for Tibet's recognition of the McMahon Line in order to gain access to southern Tibet. Therefore, from the standpoint of both the Chinese government and the Chinese people, Tibet is not a legally independent state, but merely an autonomous government within the British sphere of influence.

In terms of Tibet, as much as the 'Free Tibet' discourse is popular amongst Westerners who don't quiet know anything about Tibet beyond that, it should be mentioned that Tibet was an extremely backwards State before 1951. It was an absolute monarchy and I think was the last remaining State to still enslave the majority of its entire population under Serfdom and a Feudal System. Tibet was not a good place to live before the PRC retook it and ultimately, Tibetans are still oppressed today, but the common Tibetan is an innumerable amount of times more free than they would've been as Serfs and Slaves before 1951. It was also one of the most impoverished and isolated nations in the world.

I enjoy all of General Knowledge videos

Parabéns ao autor deste video! Nunca tenhas medo de falares do que queres e nunca te vergas ao medo!

If china shouldn’t have Tibet then should USA go back to the borders of the 13 colonies? I doubt any of the Native American tribes consented to American takeover of their lands

The Tibet map is the current Tibetan Autonomous Region but Tibet is bigger than that. Chinese split with Ando Province, called Qinhai in Chinese and they added the Western part of Tibet to the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. China not only shouldn’t have Tibet but West Turkmenistan, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan. If one study Chinese history, one can see Chinese have committed genocide so many times. Whole people were totally wiped out and forced to integrate. Manchuria even lost its name, now it’s called Dongbei, the Northeastern Region. When many people say Taiwan is not part of China, they don’t realise that the people called Taiwanese are also invaders. The first Han settlers went to Taiwan to work for the Dutch tin mines. The native population is minority now, totally wiped out. Same for Hong Kong, Singapore, they were British Free Ports, overran by Chinese, taken over by the triads. Now 75% of new immigrants in Singapore must be racially Chinese. I would recommend to read Jack London’s short story “The Unparalleled Invasion”, really prophetic, it’s available online

I don’t know much about the history but I know the Orkney Islands in the UK used to belong to Norway but were given as a Royal Wedding dowry. But they are now looking into how to return back to Norway

I am from Finland and I love Åland. Probaly the friendliest people in the country.

As a Brit, I think Gibraltar should be in the U.K. because that’s what they want, I don’t get why “cause it’s near spain” is an excuse because then Portugal would be Spanish! I also don’t think the Spanish cities in Africa want to be Moroccan so it wouldn’t make sense to just give them away against their will. Both areas are in the country they want so both should be left alone by the rest of the world.

What about Puerto Rico, Golan Heights, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Guam, Biafra, Artsakh, Baluchistan, Pashtustan, Akrotiri & Dhekelia, Northern Cyprus, Donetsk, Luhansk, Siberia, Karelia, Kola, Uyghuristan, Bougainville, Northern Territory (Australia), Galicia (Spanish), Galicia (Ukraine), Eskadi, Catalonia, Srpska, Hong Kong, and US Indian Reservations?

What about Southern Mecadonia (Greece), Kashmiri (India), the kuril Islands (Russia), French Guiana (France), Byzantium (Turkey), Greenland (Denmark), Jersey (UK), and Sinai Peninsula (Egypt)?

The Kurdistan region being "safest and most developed" is just a rumor. Its a dubai like mess no actual human development effort has been made compared to the bordering areas, trust me as a kirkuki ive visited it and the only stuff i see is large towers.

Surprised he didn't mention the falklands

The argument that something doesn’t look right on a map is a reason to change it doesn’t hold weight. The Falklands come to mind as another big one. Maybe the U.S. owning g Guam which should be part of the Marianas Islands is another case?

Make a video on unification of punjab

You always talk about Kurdistan and that it should be an independent country, but you must know that Kurdistan and the Kurdish people have always belonged to Iran, and the cities that exist today in the fake maps of the fake country of Kurdistan have always been and will be part of Iran . If there was supposed to be a Kurdistan country, it would have been created right after the First World War, but there must have been a reason why it did not exist, and the reason was that today these ideas are causing unrest in the Middle East and the countries of Turkey and Iran.

Bees

What about West Sahara and Morroco?

I don't entirely understand why the gibraltarians wouldn't want dual sovereignty, but I suppose considering it was pre-brexit it wouldn't have mattered

Königsberg 💀

The whole Us, not mention Hawaii and Guam

I'm surprised you didnt talk about Mayotte island that chosed to remain french while the rest of Comoros chosed independance and still claims this island today

You mentioned Cuba and the Spanish American War but technically Puerto Rico isn’t supposed to be apart of America. PR is classified as a “Commonwealth”

Opinion: Türkiye shouldn't have anatolia.

The video's "disclaimer" doesn't hold much water when in all examples you listed, you expressing your opinion that status quo should not be kept. If you don't want your "disclaimer" to sound as disingenuous as it can get, at least present both sides of the argument like you did with Gibraltar. Either you adopt an absolutely neutral standpoint, or you don't. You can't be both.

I believe in the right to self-determination and freedom of association for all people(s).

There are a lot more areas where the wrong culture is in the wrong country. I was in Goa and surprised how long the Portuguese managed to hold on until forced to leave. Australia spent a fortune getting Timor Leste back. Sometimes autonomy works, sometimes the corruption ends in war. Even Switzerland had cultural issues between French speaking catholics and German speaking protestants. They created a new state but the fine details are still worked on over 30 years on. Sometimes money talks and the gras is always greener on the other side.

USA - Alaska and Hawaii

Of course Tibet is here, but Scotland, Dhekelia & Akrotiri, Texas and Golan heights aren't, color me surprised.

A lot of north Iraq is Assyrian not as much kurdish as shown

UK referendums where they ask UK citizens if they feel like UK citizens shouldn't equate to them having legitimate authority over the land. Specially if they forcefully kicked and/or prevent actual locals from settling.

Hello General Knowledge! 🫡 A very interesting video! 😀, and as a Spaniard 🇪🇸, I’d like to say the following: - Ceuta and Melilla are two autonomous cities fully integrated into the Spanish territorial organization, with their own Statute of Autonomy and their own institutions, like the rest of the Autonomous Communities. This is why, there is no reason to be handed over to Morocco 🇲🇦, nor the “Plazas de Soberanía”, since they are also an integral part of Spain 🇪🇸. - On the other hand, Gibraltar 🇬🇮 should be part of Spain as an Autonomous Community, with its own institutions and Spanish and English as official languages, since it is a colony and has been recognized as such by the United Nations 🇺🇳. Therefore, it must be decolonized and returned to Spain, as well as the territory irregularly occupied by the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, where the Gibraltar airport is currently located.

insert generic fell off comment here

I have no strong opinions about those teritorial disputes, but I believe, that the worst worst way to solve such disputes is by american or international opinion. That usualy only brings even more disputes, as usually people do not know whole situation, genesis of it and simply do not understand both sides, supporting the side that they like more, sometimes even without understanding of them.

Also Arica and Tarapacá in Chile, or Gibraltar in UK.

One thing about Western side of New Guinea, there is more to it than just that. A decent amount of Papuans view the referendum so called the "Act of Free Choice" to determine if the Papuans should join Indonesia as a sham. Not only was it military run, but there was also a lot of fishy things with it. The Papuan people (regardless of ethnicity) are very different than the majority of Indonesians. They have their own customs, traditions, and other things (especially religion) are different from much of Indonesia. They also feel marginalized compared to to other Indonesian groups. That's why they should be independent.