Google Doodle celebrated March 20th with a nod Tunisian National Dayas the search engine’s logo for users in that country includes an image of its red and white flag flying high in the sky.

On this day in 1956 Africais the northernmost country officially won independence and ended for decades French Colonial protectorate.

To To celebrate the day, parades usually take place in the state capital, TunisAnd Government Officials and citizens participate in wreath-laying ceremonies to honor those who fought for their nation’s freedom. Google Doodle wrote.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has sent his congratulations on behalf of the USA as Tunisia celebrates its national day.

Tunisia and the United States have enjoyed a friendship dating back more than 200 years and remain strategic partners today, Blinken said.

“We We will continue to stand firmly with the Tunisian people in their efforts for inclusive economic development,” the statement said. “The United States remains committed to working with the Tunisian people to achieve these shared goals of prosperity, security, and respect for fundamental freedoms.”

The French military occupied Tunisia in 1881, following which the Treaty of Bardo was signed by the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad III. as-Sadiq and the French Republic to establish control over the protectorate.

Tunisian nationalists then fought for around 75 years until they finally prevailed and gained sovereignty for their country in 1956.

Following the initial occupation, unrest, political violence and conflict occurred, resulting in the deaths of both Tunisian citizens and French government officials. Around 100,000 Tunisians also fled the country during the first occupation. By 1882, the French military had gained the upper hand and in 1883 a convention was signed that formally established the French protectorate and took control of international diplomacy away from Tunisia.

Over the next few decades, Tunisia’s nationalist movements grew in strength, political parties were founded, and riots, boycotts, and demonstrations against French occupation broke out across the country. In 1934, after decades of unrest and ongoing French repression, a new group, the Neo-Destour Party, split from the established liberal Destour Party and adopted a more radical nationalist stance under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba.

However, unrest reached its peak in 1952, when violence escalated to the point where the UN General Assembly called for peaceful negotiations between the nationalists and the ruling French.

In 1955, French Prime Minister Edgar Faure and Habib Bourguiba signed an autonomy agreement in Paris, and on March 20, 1956, Tunisia finally gained independence from France, with Bourguiba assuming the role of the country’s first president.

Estimated at this point 3,000 people had died during three quarters of a century of conflict.