Making Sense Of The World, One Map At A Time
The map above presents a very short history of colonialism around the world from 1492-2008 in one simple GIF. Interestingly, it doesn’t limit itself to European colonialism but also includes the colonial empires of the United States, Russia/Soviet Union and Japan.
The map above shows how the African continent was divided in 1914 just before the outbreak of World War I. By this time, European powers controlled 90% of the continent with only Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Liberia retaining independence.