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Africa in 1870

This map shows the 40 states and peoples the data has for Africa in that year.

Map of Africa in 1870 with 40 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 1870

Largest first, by area on this map.

  • Khedivate of Egypt
  • Ottoman Empire
  • Ottoman Tripolitania
  • Qajar Dynasty
  • Emirate of Nejd
  • Sokoto Caliphate
  • British Cape Colony
  • French Africa
  • Morocco
  • Merina Kingdom
  • South African Republic
  • British Colonial Empire
  • Sultanate of Darfur
  • Wadai Empire
  • Ethiopian Empire
  • Bornu Empire
  • Ashanti Empire
  • Free Orange State
  • Beylik of Tunis
  • Kingdom of Lunda
  • Kingdom of Portugal
  • Republic of Liberia
  • Imamate of Yemen
  • Kingdom of Spain
  • Emirate of Jabal Shammar
  • Majeerteen Sultanate
  • Trucial States
  • Natalia Republic
  • People's Republic of Zanzibar
  • Zululand
  • Kingdom of Italy
  • First Hellenic Republic
  • Spanish Empire
  • Russian Empire
  • Qatar Dynasty
  • Kuwait
  • Napoleonic Batavia Republic
  • Kingdom of Great Britain
  • Kamerun
  • House of Khalifa

New on the map since 1845

Khedivate of Egypt · French Africa · South African Republic · British Colonial Empire · Free Orange State · Republic of Liberia · Majeerteen Sultanate · People's Republic of Zanzibar · Kingdom of Italy · Russian Empire · Kamerun

Gone from the map by 1895

Khedivate of Egypt · British Cape Colony · Sultanate of Darfur · Bornu Empire · Beylik of Tunis · Kingdom of Lunda · Imamate of Yemen · Majeerteen Sultanate · Trucial States · People's Republic of Zanzibar · Spanish Empire · Qatar Dynasty · Kuwait · Napoleonic Batavia Republic · Kamerun · House of Khalifa

Animated maps of this time

Africa in other years

Other regions in 1870

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.