Secession (from Latin: sēcessiō, lit. 'a withdrawing') is a term and concept of the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity.
In international law, secession is understood as a process in which an integral part of a state's territory unilaterally withdraws without the consent of the original state.
The Principality of Hutt River, often referred to by its former name, the Hutt River Province, was a micronation in Australia, proclaimed on 21 April 1970 when farmer Leonard Casley declared his farm to be a sovereign state, the "Hutt River Province". He claimed to have seceded from Australia, which occurred during his dispute with the authorities concerning wheat production quotas. A few years later, Casley began styling himself as "Prince Leonard" and granting family members royal titles, although he did not include the word "principality" in the official name until 2006. In 2017, Casley's claim to rulership was taken over by his son Graeme, who dropped the claim to sovereignty on 3 August 2020.
The claimed territory was located 517 km (321 mi) north of Perth, near the town of Northampton in the state of Western Australia. It had an area of 75 square kilometres (29 sq mi), making it larger than several recognised countries. It was not recognised as a country by the Australian Government nor any other national government, and the High Court of Australia and Supreme Court of Western Australia rejected submissions arguing that it was not subject to Australian laws.
Florida participated in the American Civil War as a member of the Confederate States of America. It had been admitted to the United States as a slave state in 1845. In January 1861, Florida became the third Southern state to secede from the Union after the November 1860 presidential election victory of Abraham Lincoln. It was one of the initial seven slave states which formed the Confederacy on February 8, 1861, in advance of the American Civil War.
Florida had by far the smallest population of the Confederate states with about 140,000 residents, nearly half of them enslaved people. Florida sent around 15,000 troops to the Confederate army, the vast majority of which were deployed elsewhere during the war. The state's chief importance was as a source of cattle and other food supplies for the Confederacy, and as an entry and exit location for blockade-runners who used its many bays and small inlets to evade the Union Navy. One thousand and forty-four African Americans from Florida served in the Union Army.