During the fifteenth century Albania enjoyed a brief period of independence under the legendary hero, Skanderbeg.
Aside from this exception, the country did not enjoy independence until the twentieth century. After five hundred years of
Ottoman rule, an independent Albania was proclaimed in 1912. The country adopted a republican form of government in 1920. In 1939 the Italians invaded the country.
Because of this event Albania was one of the first countries occupied by the Axis Powers in World War II.
After the war Albania became a communist state known as the Socialist People's Republic of Albania and was ruled by Enver Hoxha until 1985. Albania became a democratic country in 1991 but faced problems throughout the 1990s. In 1996 there were severe economic problems because of the failure of Ponzi schemes in the country. In 1997 there was an armed rebellion and hundreds of thousands of people emigrated to other parts of Europe and North America. In 1999 Albania faced an influx of refugees from Kosovo, Serbia during violence in that province.

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