During World War II, Penang was conquered and occupied by the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945. At the end of the war, Penang was also the first state in the Malay Peninsula to be liberated by the British, under Operation Jurist. The Straits Settlements was dissolved in the following year and Penang was merged into the Federation of Malaya. In spite of a secessionist movement within Penang, the merger with Malaya went ahead and the federation attained independence from the British Empire in 1957. Malaya later evolved into the present-day Malaysia in 1963.