Did You Know?

Did you know that at the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 the European countries divided the independent countries of Africa among themselves?

King Leopold II of Belgium called the conference to set the rules of engagement to exploit the vast resources of the African continent. Leopold had already claimed the Belgian Congo for himself and set about exploiting the riches. By 1890, the only independent countries left in Africa were Liberia and Ethiopia.

The map above shows how the African continent was divided among the
Europeans (click here or the map for a larger view). You can find more
information about the Berlin conference here. In 1957 Ghana
became the first African country to declare independence from it's
colonial powers.

AfricaMaps has hundreds of pre-colonial antique maps showing country names before the European conquest. Please browse our map gallery for excellent examples of these antique maps.