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| Former countries in Africa | |
|---|---|
| Name | Former countries in Africa |
| Region | Africa |
| Status | Historical polities |
| Era | Antiquity–20th century |
| Notable examples | Kingdom of Aksum, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Sokoto Caliphate, Zulu Kingdom, Austro-Hungarian Egypt |
Former countries in Africa are political entities, kingdoms, empires, protectorates, colonies, republics, and federations that once exercised sovereignty, territorial control, or recognized administration within the geographic bounds of Africa. These entities range from antiquity through the precolonial, colonial, and immediate postcolonial eras and include states dissolved by conquest, annexation, partition, international treaties, decolonization, or internal collapse. The study of these former polities intersects with subjects such as Kingdom of Aksum, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, and Sokoto Caliphate.
Scholarly definitions of "former country" draw on criteria found in works on statehood by Montevideo Convention framings and on diplomatic recognition cases like German Empire successor disputes and Treaty of Lausanne. Historical examples include precolonial polities such as the Kingdom of Kush and the Meroë state, medieval empires like the Mali Empire and Songhai Empire, early modern kingdoms such as the Ashanti Empire and Benin Empire (historical), colonial-era formations including French West Africa, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Italian East Africa, and short-lived postwar entities like the United Arab Republic's African implications and the Senegambia Confederation.
Ancient dissolution patterns are visible in the fall of Carthage after the Third Punic War and in the collapse of Aksum linked to shifts in Red Sea trade and the rise of Islamic Caliphate networks. Precolonial fragmentation often followed dynastic failure, as in the decline of the Ghana Empire and the breakup of the Kanem–Bornu Empire. Early modern transformations involved European contact and slave trade pressures, illustrated by interactions between the Kingdom of Kongo and Kingdom of Ndongo with Kingdom of Portugal and Dutch merchants. Colonial-era dissolutions resulted from Scramble for Africa decisions at the Berlin Conference (1884–85), imperial annexation like British South Africa Company charters, and settler colonial projects exemplified by Rhodesia. Decolonization produced new borders and abolished colonial entities via instruments such as the United Nations Trusteeship Council oversight, leading to the end of entities like French Algeria and the transfer of Tanganyika into the United Republic of Tanzania union with Zanzibar Revolution consequences. Post-independence dissolutions include secessionist wars such as the Biafran War and state reorganizations like the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
- North Africa: Carthage, Numidia, Byzantine North Africa, French Algeria, Eyalet of Egypt, Sultanate of Morocco premodern polities and the Kingdom of Libya under Idris of Libya before the 1969 Libyan coup d'état. - West Africa: Ghana Empire, Mali Empire, Songhai Empire, Ashanti Empire, Kong Empire, Wolof states, Senegambia Confederation. - Central Africa: Kingdom of Kongo, Lunda Empire, Luba Empire, Congo Free State. - East Africa: Kingdom of Aksum, Sultanate of Ifat, Zanzibar Sultanate, Abyssinian Empire transitions, Italian East Africa. - Southern Africa: Zulu Kingdom, Sotho-Tswana states, Boer Republics such as South African Republic (Transvaal), Orange Free State, and colonial constructs like Bechuanaland Protectorate and Rhodesia.
- Kingdom of Aksum: As a trading empire tied to Red Sea and Indian Ocean commerce, Aksum engaged with Roman Empire merchants and later faced decline amid Rise of Islam and changing trade routes. - Mali Empire: The reigns of rulers such as Sundiata Keita and Mansa Musa illustrate trans-Saharan trade networks linked to Timbuktu scholarship, later undone by internal fragmentation and the Songhai Empire expansion. - Congo Free State: The personal rule of King Leopold II of Belgium produced international campaigns led by activists like E. D. Morel and legal interventions informing the transition to the Belgian Congo colonial administration. - Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland: A mid-20th-century federal experiment that collapsed under nationalist movements led by figures like Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda, producing states including Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe precursors. - Biafra: The Republic of Biafra's secession during the Nigerian Civil War highlights humanitarian crises, international diplomacy, and postwar reintegration policies under leaders such as Yakubu Gowon.
Treaties and legal instruments, including the Berlin Conference agreements, the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, and the Treaty of Versailles-era mandates, shaped successor state claims and minority protections echoed in International Court of Justice jurisprudence and United Nations decolonization committees. Succession issues from the dissolution of entities like the Congo Free State raised precedents for state responsibility and reparations debates referenced in contemporary litigation and diplomatic negotiation frameworks.
Cartographic records from Ptolemy through Mercator and 19th-century surveys such as those by David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley document shifting frontiers. Colonial boundary demarcations—borne of agreements like Anglo-French accords and the Treaty of Wuchale—produced modern borders contested in cases like the Eritrea–Ethiopia border conflict and the status of Western Sahara after the end of Spanish Sahara.
Former polities influence contemporary identities via linguistic legacies (e.g., Swahili and Arabic zones), religious histories linked to Islam and Christianity missionary networks, and legal systems derived from colonial codes like the Napoleonic Code in francophone states. Postcolonial nationalisms led by figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Patrice Lumumba, and Ahmed Sékou Touré invoked precolonial and anti-colonial precedents to craft state narratives while dealing with territorial disputes originating in former entities.
Category: History of Africa