Independence Day of Tunisia (20/03)

Every year on March 20, the northernmost African country — Tunisia, which officially bears the name Tunisian Republic, celebrates the big public holiday — Independence Day in Tunisia.

Tunisia's historical path to independence is very interesting. At the very beginning, the country was part of the Carthaginian Empire. According to legend, the Phoenicians founded the city of Carthage in 814 BC. Over time, it became the center of a powerful empire.

Beginning in 264 AD, Carthage waged wars with the Roman Empire, as a result of which it was defeated and was part of the Roman province of Africa for seven centuries.

In the 5th century, the territory came under Vandal rule, and from the 7th to the 16th century, the territory of modern Tunisia was ruled by Arab conquerors. After this, Tunisia was under the rule of pirates, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire for some time. At the end of the 19th century, Tunisia came under French rule, although the Tunisian Bey was nominally considered the ruler.

On March 20, 1956, the leader of the Tunisian Independence Movement, Habib Bourguiba, signed a protocol with the French government annulling the 1881 and 1883 agreements on the French protectorate. France thus recognized the independence of Tunisia, and the protocol became a symbolic document of the end of the colonial period in Tunisia. On July 25, 1957, Tunisia was proclaimed a Republic.

Every year on Independence Day, several thousand people take to Habib Bourguib Avenue to celebrate the next anniversary of the country's independence. On this day, at the processions you can see almost all the politicians of the Republic, hear their speeches and parting words. Tunisians come to the celebrations with their families, bringing their children.

977