Abolition of monarchy

Organized anti-monarchism in what is now the United States developed out of a gradual revolution that began in 1765, as colonists resisted a stamp tax through boycott and condemnation of tax officials.[7] While they were subject to the authority of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (as the monarchy was a limited monarchy since 1660), the North American citizens enjoyed a level of autonomy that increasingly clashed with the Parliament that did not provide seats for parliamentary representatives. With the Declaration of Independence in 1776, anti-monarchical propaganda resulted in violent protests that systematically removed symbols of monarchy. For instance, an equestrian statue of George III in New York City was toppled. Parliamentary loyalists were particularly affected by partisan attacks, with tens of thousands leaving for Canada.[8] Property that remained was confiscated by each of thirteen newly created States through newly passed laws.[9] Artifacts from the colonial period depicting the British monarchy are seldom found in the United States. However, not all sentiment equated to anti-monarchism. A normality of a monarchy at the head of a polity remained, that some Americans saw a presidency in monarchical terms, a Caesar of the republic, was an early debate in the new republic.[10]

One of the most significant abolitions of monarchy in history – along with the Dutch Republic of 1581–1795 – involved the French monarchy in 1792 in the French Revolution.[11] The French monarchy was later restored several times with differing levels of authority. Napoleon, initially a hero of the Republican revolution, crowned himself emperor in 1804, only to be replaced by the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, which in turn was replaced by the more liberal July Monarchy in 1830. The 1848 Revolution was a clearer anti-monarchic uprising that replaced the succession of royal leaders with the short-lived Second French Republic. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte established the Second French Empire (1852–1870), retaining republican aspects while placing himself in the center of the state until the losses in the Franco-Prussian War led to his fall, resulting in the French Third Republic and the definitive end of the monarchy in France.

Madagascar The monarchy of Madagascar, known as the Merina Kingdom, came to an end in 1897 when France made it a colony and overthrew Queen Ranavalona III.

Mexico The First Mexican Empire existed from the September 1821 Declaration of Independence until the emperor's abdication in March 1823. The Provisional Government took power and the First Mexican Republic was proclaimed in 1824. Due to French intervention under Napoleon III, the Second Mexican Empire lasted from 1864 to 1867, when it collapsed and its Emperor, Maximilian I of Mexico, was executed.

Brazil In Brazil, the monarchy was abolished in 1889, when Emperor Pedro II was overthrown by a republican military coup (the status of the republic was confirmed by a plebiscite in 1993 that resulted in 86% of the votes to the republican government).

Burma The monarchy of Burma was abolished in 1885 when the last king, Thibaw Min, lost his throne and the country was annexed by Britain.

South Asia In 1858 the Mughal Empire came to an end after losing a war against Britain, and its Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, lost his throne.

Italy Between 1859 and 1861, four monarchies in Southern Europe ceased to exist (Parma, Modena, Tuscany and the Two Sicilies) when they all became part of the new Kingdom of Italy.

Spain In Spain monarchy was abolished from 1873 to 1874 by the First Spanish Republic, but then restored until 1931.

Hawaii In 1893 foreign business leaders overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani of the Kingdom of Hawaii. They established a republic, which was annexed by the United States in 1898.

Tahiti The monarchy of Tahiti came to an end in 1880 when France made it a colony and overthrew King Pōmare V.

China The monarchy of China ceased to exist in 1912 when the Xinhai Revolution led by Sun Yat-sen succeeded in overthrowing the Xuantong Emperor; this marked the end of the Qing dynasty and the start of the Republic of China. In 1915, Yuan Shikai proclaimed the Empire of China with himself as the emperor; the regime failed to gain legitimacy and collapsed three months later. In 1917, the Qing loyalist Zhang Xun sought to revive the Qing dynasty and briefly reinstalled the Xuantong Emperor to the Chinese throne; this attempt is known as the "Manchu Restoration" in historiography.

During the Xinhai Revolution, Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty of China in the Mongolian Revolution of 1911. The Bogd Khanate of Mongolia was subsequently proclaimed, although the Republic of China laid claims to Outer Mongolia and was widely recognized by the international community as having sovereignty over it. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was established, bringing an end to the monarchy in Mongolia.

Greece Throughout Greece's eventful modern history, the monarchy was toppled and restored several times between and after the two World Wars. The last king, Constantine II, was forced into exile after a coup in 1967 and the republic was proclaimed in 1973 by the then-ruling military dictatorship. The final abolition of the monarchy was confirmed overwhelmingly after constitutional legality was restored, by free referendum in 1974.

Italy, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia World War II saw another spate of abolition. In 1939 Italy invaded Albania and removed the reigning self-proclaimed King Zog and instated their own King Victor Emmanuel III as its new monarch. Italy, along with the eastern European monarchies of Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania joined with Germany in World War II against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Western allies and the Soviet Union. As the Axis powers came to a defeat in the war, communist partisans in occupied Yugoslavia and occupied Albania seized power and ended the monarchies. Communists in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania removed their monarchies with strong backing by the Soviet Union, which had many troops and supporters placed there during the course of the war. Through this, Peter II of Yugoslavia, Simeon II of Bulgaria and Michael I of Romania all lost their thrones. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy had switched sides during the war in favor of the western allies, but a referendum in 1946 ended the short reign of his son King Umberto II and the Italian monarchy ceased to exist.

In a 1999 referendum, the voters of Australia rejected a proposal to replace the constitutional monarchy with a republic with a president appointed by Parliament. The proposal was rejected in all states, with only the Australian Capital Territory voting in favor. Though polling consistently showed a majority in favour of a republic, the result of the referendum was attributed to a split among republicans between those who supported the presented model and those who supported a directly elected president.[12][13][14][15]

Afghanistan In 1973, the monarchy of King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan was abolished after a socialist-supported coup d'état led by Mohammad Daoud Khan, from the same Musahiban royal family.

Ethiopia Emperor Haile Selassie I was overthrown in 1974 as a result of a Marxist coup, ending almost 3000 years of monarchical rule in Ethiopia.

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Montenegro The defeated German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires saw the abolition of their monarchies in the close aftermath of the war, ending the reigns of Wilhelm II, Charles I and Mehmed VI respectively. The monarchs of the constituent states within the German Empire, most importantly Ludwig III of Bavaria, Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Wilhelm II of Württemberg, soon abdicated. During the war, monarchies were planned for Poland (Kingdom of Poland), the Grand Duchy of Finland (to have a Finnish King), and Lithuania (Mindaugas II of Lithuania), with a protectorate-like dependency of Germany. Both intended kings renounced their thrones after Germany's defeat in November 1918. King Nicholas I of Montenegro lost his throne when the country became a part of Yugoslavia in 1918.

Indochina In 1945, during the August Revolution, Bảo Đại abdicated under the pressure of the Việt Minh led by Ho Chi Minh. This marked the end of the Nguyễn dynasty and the Vietnamese monarchy. From 1949 to 1955, Bảo Đại served as the Quốc Trưởng (lit. "Chief of State") of the State of Vietnam and did not receive the title of Hoàng Đế (lit. "Emperor").

Political upheaval and Communist insurrection put an end to the monarchies of Indochina after World War II: a short-lived attempt to leave a monarchical form of government in post-colonial South Vietnam came to naught in a fraudulent 1955 referendum, a military coup overthrew the kingless monarchy in Cambodia in 1970 and a Communist takeover ended the monarchy in Laos in 1975. Cambodia's monarchy later saw an unexpected rebirth under an internationally mediated peace settlement with a former king Norodom Sihanouk being restored as a figurehead in 1993.

Middle East That of Iran was abolished by the Islamic revolution of 1979 overthrowing Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Portugal The monarchy of Portugal was also overthrown in 1910 (5 October), two years after the assassination of King Carlos I, ending the reign of Manuel II, who died in exile in England (1932), without issue.

Russia World War I led to perhaps the greatest spate of abolitions of monarchies in history. The conditions inside Russia and the poor performance in the war gave rise to a revolution which toppled the entire institution of the monarchy, followed by a second revolution against that government in October of the same year that executed Tsar (Imperator (Императоръ)) Nicholas II and implemented a Marxist-Leninist government.

Sikkim King Palden Thondup Namgyal of Sikkim lost his throne in 1975 when the country became a state of India following a referendum.

Spain In Spain, the monarchy was again abolished in 1931 by the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939). In 1947, General Franco declared Spain a realm, and appointed Juan Carlos of Bourbon his successor in 1969. The Prince of Spain became king at Franco's death in 1975, and constitutional monarchy was restored in 1978 under him.

Egypt The monarchy of Egypt was abolished in 1953, after the revolution of 1952, which caused King Farouk I to abdicate in favor of his infant son Fuad II.

Tunisia The monarchy of Tunisia ended in 1957 when Muhammad VIII al-Amin lost his throne.

Iraq The monarchy Iraq ended in 1958 when King Faisal II was killed and a republic proclaimed.

Yemen The monarchy of Yemen was abolished in 1962 when King Muhammad al-Badr was overthrown in a coup, although he continued to resist his opponents until 1970.

Libya King Idris of Libya was overthrown by a military coup led by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969.

Commonwealth of Nations Many monarchies were abolished in the middle of the 20th century or later as part of the process of decolonization. The monarchies of India, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, Guyana, and Malawi were abolished shortly after they became independent of the United Kingdom, while remaining within the Commonwealth. The monarchy of Ireland was not abolished following the Ireland war of independence in the 1920s. The monarchy was abolished by the Republic of Ireland Act of 1948, which came into force in 1949. Some Commonwealth realms waited a little longer before abolishing their monarchies: Pakistan became a republic in 1956 and South Africa in 1961. Gambia abolished its monarchy in 1970, while Sierra Leone became a republic in 1971, as did Sri Lanka in 1972, Malta in 1974, Trinidad and Tobago in 1976, and Fiji in 1987. The latest country to become a republic within the Commonwealth was Mauritius in 1992.

Japan A unique result of World War II was that the Emperor Hirohito of Japan became a figurehead instead of losing the throne altogether. The Japanese Emperor had held a debated but important role in Japan's warfare against an alliance of nations. The reduction in stature from a divine being to a figurehead was at the direction of the United States.

Korea In 1910 the last emperor of Korea, Sunjong, lost his throne when the country was annexed by Japan. However, the Korean royal family was mediatized as a puppet family within the Japanese imperial family. Many of the Korean royals were forcibly re-educated in Japan and forced to marry Japanese royalty and aristocrats to meld the ruling families of the two empires. With the abolition of the Japanese aristocracy and cadet branches of the imperial family, the Korean royals officially lost their remaining status.

South Asia The independence of the Indian subcontinent from direct British rule in 1947 posed a unique problem. From 1858, when the British government had assumed direct rule over the subcontinent, it had been governed as a quasi-federation, with most of the subcontinent (known as British India), under the direct rule of the British sovereign. The remainder of the subcontinent, however, was under a form of indirect rule through its division and subdivision into over 500 subnational monarchies, known as princely states; each was ruled by a prince in a subsidiary alliance with the British government. The princely states ranged from powerful and largely independent principalities such as Hyderabad or Mysore, with a high level of autonomy, to tiny fiefdoms a few dozen acres (in the low tens of hectares) in size. The resulting imperial structure was broadly similar to that of the German Empire before the First World War.

In 1947, it was agreed that the Indian subcontinent would be partitioned into the independent British dominions of India and Pakistan, with the princely states acceding to one nation or the other. The accession process proceeded smoothly, with the notable exception of four of the most influential principalities. The Muslim ruler of the Hindu-majority state of Junagadh ruler acceded to Pakistan, but his decision was overruled by the Indian government, while Hyderabad chose to be independent, but was forcibly annexed to India in 1948. The Hindu ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, among the largest and most powerful of the principalities, but with a Muslim-majority population, initially held off on a decision. In the autumn of 1947, an invading force from Pakistan frightened the ruler into acceding to India. The ruler of Kalat, in Baluchistan, declared his independence in 1947, after which the state was forcibly merged with Pakistan, resulting in an insurgency persisting to this day. With the promulgation of the Indian constitution in 1950, India abolished its monarchy under the British crown and became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, followed by Pakistan in 1956; as a result of both developments, the majority of the princes formally lost their sovereign rights. A few remaining principalities in Pakistan retained their autonomy until 1969 when they finally acceded to Pakistan. The Indian government formally derecognized its princely families in 1971, followed by Pakistan in 1972.

In a referendum in Brazil in 1993, voters rejected an attempt to restore the country's monarchy. Unsuccessful efforts to restore the monarchies of some of the Balkan states in the former Eastern Bloc continue. Former King Michael of Romania and Prince Alexander of Serbia have been allowed to return, gained some popularity, played largely apolitical public roles, but never came close to being restored to their ancestral thrones. However, in Bulgaria, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who was deposed from the Bulgarian throne in 1946, was elected and recently served as the Prime Minister of his country from 2001 to 2005. The only formerly socialist country to have held a referendum on the monarchy was Albania where the claimant to his father's throne, the self-styled Leka I, lost by a 2/3 majority, though it was later revealed upon Leka’s death in 2011 by the Albanian government that the referendum had been rigged in favour of the republic.

The 20th century also saw the formation of a number of new monarchies that still exists to this day such as: Bhutan (1907), Jordan (1921), Saudi Arabia (1932) & Malaysia (1957).

The bulk of monarchies did not survive the 20th century, those that remained were limited to figurehead status or continued in odd forms such as the Cambodia communist monarchy. One of the few traditional monarchies that remained was the Kingdom of Nepal. After a series of strange events, King Gyanendra's monarchy was abolished in May 2008 and replaced with a secular federal republic.[16]

Country		Year abolished	Notes	Year restored	Years of republic
	England	1649	Commonwealth of England established, then Parliament reversed itself and invited the return of the monarchy.	1660	11
	Scotland	1652	Commonwealth	1660	8
	Spain	1873	First Spanish Republic established	1874	1
		1931	Second Spanish Republic established, then 1947 restored (de jure) under the regency of Francisco Franco	1975 (de facto)	44 (16 - de jure)
	Kuwait	1990	Republic of Kuwait proclaimed prior to annexation by Iraq; restored in the Gulf War.	1991	1
	Ankole	1967	Four traditional Ugandan monarchies abolished by government under new constitution of Milton Obote	1993	26
	Buganda
	Bunyoro
	Tooro
	Cambodia	1970	The Khmer Republic established and through transformations restored as an elective monarchy.	1993	23
	Rwenzururu, a part of Uganda	1982	'Reinstated' out of popular support despite no evidence of such a kingdom.[17]	2009 (de facto)	27

Many other monarchies continue to exist in the 21st century, never having been abolished.