1976 — Seychelles Raises Its Flag

On June 29, 1976, the Seychelles raised its flag at independence from Britain. James Mancham became the first president of the 115-island nation in the Indian Ocean, and an archipelago scattered across wide waters began its life as one independent country, governed from within its own islands at last.

The world's smallest new country claimed its place on the map. Smallness, on this day, was no barrier to sovereignty. A nation of islands could stand in the same company as the largest states, with its own president, its own flag, and its own voice. A paradise became free on this day.