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Africa in 1530

This map shows the 17 states and peoples the data has for Africa in that year.

Map of Africa in 1530 with 17 states and peoples
Borders: Cliopatria, Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coarse outlines: check and adjust them for your story.

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States and peoples in Africa in 1530

Largest first, by area on this map.

  • Ottoman Empire
  • Safavid Dynasty
  • Songhai Empire
  • Funj Sultanate
  • Wattasid dynasty
  • Ethiopian Empire
  • Mali Empire
  • Hafsid Dynasty
  • Bornu Empire
  • Adal Sultanate
  • Zayyanid dynasty
  • Kingdom of Kongo
  • Kingdom of Spain
  • Kingdom of Portugal
  • Portuguese Africa
  • Republic of Venice
  • Spanish Empire

New on the map since 1505

Funj Sultanate · Kingdom of Spain · Portuguese Africa · Spanish Empire

Gone from the map by 1555

Adal Sultanate

Animated maps of this time

Africa in other years

Other regions in 1530

The outlines are coarse and follow the Cliopatria dataset: borders before modern surveys are estimates, and a blank area means the data has no state on record there, not that nobody lived there. A state that changed hands during the year can appear together with its successor.