A global calendar: The independence days, land pacts and amendments dated July 9

Few dates on the calendar carry as much unrelated historical weight across different countries as 9 July, which marks major milestones in the history of Argentina, South Sudan, Canada and the United States.

Argentina’s independence day falls on 9 July, commemorating the Congress of Tucumán’s 1816 declaration of independence from Spain. Known locally as “Nueve de Julio,” it is a federal holiday observed with parades, fireworks and family gatherings, and follows a decade of upheaval that began with the repulsion of British attacks on Buenos Aires in 1806.

Nearly two centuries later, on 9 July 2011, South Sudan became an independent country, separating from Sudan after a referendum in which 98.8 per cent of voters backed independence. The vote followed a 2005 peace deal ending a civil war that had killed an estimated two million people. South Sudan became Africa’s 54th independent nation and joined the United Nations five days later.

In Canada, 9 July is marked as Nunavut Day, commemorating the 1993 passage of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, described as the largest Indigenous land claim settlement in Canadian history, which laid the groundwork for the creation of Nunavut territory in 1999.

And in the United States, 9 July 1868 saw the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, granting citizenship and equal protection under the law to formerly enslaved Americans, after Louisiana and South Carolina supplied the final votes needed for ratification.