Question

If the independent clause ends in quotation marks, does the semicolon belong inside or outside of the quotation marks?

Answer 1

Outside.

Explanation:

If I'm interpreting this correctly, you're asking in which of the following two sentences is the semicolon placed correctly:

He considered the lands to be "misappropriated"; they considered them to have been "conquered."

He considered the lands to be "misappropriated;" they considered them to have been "conquered."

I believe that the correct usage would be the first one because, though I've never seen this specific case addressed, English grammar always puts semicolons (and question marks and exclamation points) outside of the quotation marks unless the semicolon is included in the quote.