Annexation, << `an` uhk SAY shuhn, >> is the process that governments use to acquire and establish sovereignty over new territory. Annexation can occur through military force or by other means, such as cession, purchase, and discovery and occupation. Many cities and other municipalities in the United States have annexed nearby areas by referendum and other legal means.
An annexed territory becomes an integral part of the annexing country. Protectorates (countries under the protection and partial control of other countries), leased territories, and areas under military occupation are not annexed lands, because they do not become an integral part of the country controlling them. The citizens of an annexed territory must change their allegiance and become citizens of the annexing country. Laws of the annexed territory that are not in conflict with those of the annexing country may be retained and special arrangements for limited self-government may also be made. The annexing country also inherits such treaty obligations as the territory may have had prior to its annexation.
Annexations have been the cause or result of many wars. For example, Italy annexed Ethiopia in 1936, and Germany annexed Austria in 1938. These annexations helped to create the tensions that led to World War II (1939–1945). During and after World War II, the Soviet Union annexed territories in eastern Europe and eastern Asia covering about 270,000 square miles (699,000 square kilometers). In 1898, following the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States. Many annexations have been made peacefully. The United States annexed Texas in 1845 following consent by the governing authority. France ceded the Louisiana Territory to the United States in 1803 for about $15 million.
