Italian settlers in Libya terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya. On November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952. On December 24, 1951, Libya declared its independence as the United Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. The Italian population virtually disappeared after the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi ordered the expulsion of remaining Italians (about 20,000) in 1970. Only a few hundred of them have been allowed to return to Libya in the 2000s. On 30 August 2008, Gaddafi and Italian Prime
Orange River Colony Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union of South Africa as Orange Free State Province. During the Second Boer War, the British forces entered the territory of the Orange Free State and occupied the capital Bloemfontein on 13 March 1900. Five months later, on 6 October 1900, the British government declared an official annexation of the full territory of the Orange Free