In my feed today, a picture of a c. 1950s globe, just as Africa was transitioning from colonial holdings to independent countries. Here we are 75 years later…
Today’s Francophone Africa is mostly still French West Africa and the Belgian Congo. Ghana gained independence in 1957, but here is still the British Empire’s “Gold Coast”.
Over on the other side of the continent, Ethiopia encompasses Somalia, but not Somaliland, which was part of the British Empire, as was everything from Sudan down to Rhodesia except for Mozambique, which along with Angola were still Portugese colonies.
Quite a lot of name changes too. North Rhodesia is now Zambia. South Rhodesia is Zimababwe, Nyasaland is Malawi, Bechuanaland is Botswana, Southwest Africa is Namibia. Plus upon independence Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar and adopted the portmanteau Tanzania.
All these changes a bit beyond my lifetime, but since my parents were teenagers!