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Colonies of Africa with a Map

Can you name all of the European colonies in Africa in 1913?
Not counting the Tangier International Zone
Based on this map
Quiz by Jiaozira
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Last updated: April 16, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 19, 2018
Times taken35,749
Average score56.9%
Rating4.74
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Belgium
Belgian Congo
Ruanda-Urundi
 
France
Algeria
Comoros
French
Equatorial Africa
French Morocco
French Somaliland
French West Africa
Ivory Coast
Madagascar
Reunion
Tunisia
 
Germany
Kamerun
German East Africa
German
Southwest Africa
Togoland
 
Italy
Eritrea
Italian Somaliland
Libya
Portugal
Angola
Cabinda
Cape Verde
Madeira
Mozambique
Portuguese Guinea
Sao Tome
 
Spain
Canary Islands
Fernando Poo
Rio Muni
Rio de Oro
Spanish Morocco
 
United Kingdom
Basutoland
Bechuanaland
British Somaliland
Egypt
Gambia
Gold Coast
British East Africa
Mauritius
Nigeria
Northern Rhodesia
Nyasaland
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Southern Rhodesia
Sudan
Swaziland
Uganda
Walvis Bay
Zanzibar
skukka
+20
Level 60
Jan 18, 2018
Fantastic quiz!
scambigol
+4
Level 75
Jan 19, 2018
great! when you answer Mauritius, Reunion gets coloured in, too. it would be nice if countries got coloured in according to their group. I have done this in some quizzes by colouring in the map shapes and then covering them with 'yellow' shapes that disappear when you guess the answer (by using the svg-correct tag) - I hope that makes at least some sense!
Jiaozira
+1
Level 69
Jan 26, 2018
I was considering doing that, actually. I like that style of map. The main reason I didn't was because there would be so many colours and it might not look as good in the end. I'm seriously considering that style for when I make a Colonies of the Americas quiz :)
stuffpunk
+4
Level 45
Jan 2, 2020
When is that one out?
KoljiVriVoda
+1
Level 75
Jan 19, 2018
Great one! :)
letzi
+3
Level 73
Jan 20, 2018
Cabinda used to be Portuguese, not British.
mrnafe
+28
Level 81
Jan 26, 2018
Quick shout out to Fernando poo! Solid name that.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 88
Nov 13, 2018
It's what I think of most ABBA songs.
mrnafe
+1
Level 81
Nov 13, 2018
I concur
ChikinNuggit
+1
Level 66
Nov 13, 2018
I got that one by typing "Bamako", for some reason, while trying to guess French West Africa
kalbahamut
+9
Level 83
Jan 8, 2019
Some Spanish sailor takes a dump off the side of his ship and it counts as a colony?
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 64
May 11, 2022
It was named after the guy who discovered it I think...
WolfCam
+9
Level 65
Jan 26, 2018
Yes! Testing my knowledge of things I will never use in life. That's the best kind of knowledge!
Dijko
+1
Level 45
Jan 26, 2018
I said French North Africa, not west africa... oh well

Nice Quiz though:D

stalintime
+1
Level 74
Jan 26, 2018
what about "cape colony" for south africa?
IsleAuHaulte
+8
Level 88
Nov 13, 2018
What about "Iowa" for USA on a quiz looking for the country name?
tshalla
+10
Level 74
Nov 14, 2018
The Union of South Africa had already formed by 1913. It's hardly the same thing as Iowa for the U.S. Cape Colony and Natal had earlier been governed separately, as had the Transvaal and Orange Free State. So, it's more like guessing Newfoundland on a quiz of American colonies in 1950.
RobertoCF
+3
Level 75
Jan 27, 2018
when you answer Mauritius, Reunion gets colored. And Cyprus gets colored when you answer Canary islands
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Nov 12, 2018
This has been fixed
IsleAuHaulte
+10
Level 88
Nov 13, 2018
I think it was a Freudian slip. Cyprus is part of neither Asia or Europe, it's Africa.
kalbahamut
+7
Level 83
Jan 27, 2018
I tried Rhodesia. Didn't realize there were northern and southern parts.
skiesboy
+1
Level 66
Jan 28, 2018
Southern Rhodesia only changed its name in 1965 when it declared UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence), as their argument was that Northern Rhodesia was now Zambia (having got its independence in 1964) so there is no reason to keep the Southern in the name. As Britain saw the whole affair as illegitimate, when Britain took over the colony again between 1979 until independence in 1980, the name was changed back to Southern Rhodesia.
ruftytufty
+1
Level 77
Nov 13, 2018
Not quite - in the brief interlude in79/80 it was called Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
caesaria
+2
Level 77
Jan 29, 2018
I typed in "german east africa" and "german south west africa", but for some reason it wasn't accepted...
Djilas
+1
Level 81
Jan 30, 2018
because "German" is already filled in.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 88
Nov 13, 2018
I only see a map with no words anywhere, no idea where any answers are partly given while taking the test.
Djilas
+1
Level 81
Nov 13, 2018
On mobile maybe? I see the table to the right of the map on PC.
RockmanYoshi
+6
Level 53
Jan 30, 2018
Accept Tanganyika for German East Africa please - also, wasn't Ruanda-Urundi actually German?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Nov 12, 2018
Tanganyika will work now
TarawaAtoll56
+1
Level 43
Jan 8, 2019
Thank you for suggesting this as an alternative option as "Tanganyika" was the first guess I put in.
markasol
+1
Level 75
May 7, 2019
Tanganika was its name under British rule after World War One. If we are talking about 1913 then the only acceptable name is German East Africa
kimad
+7
Level 93
Nov 12, 2018
The Canary Islands are a province of Spain since at least 1833 so they're not a colony.
tschutzer
+7
Level 89
Nov 12, 2018
Wakanda forever!
WT2008
+3
Level 76
Nov 13, 2018
Can't believe I missed Fernando Poo.
luismigas
+5
Level 69
Nov 13, 2018
Madeira was never an African colony
CardinalSin
+3
Level 75
Nov 13, 2018
It's geographically part of Africa
kimad
+4
Level 93
Nov 15, 2018
The quiz is titled "Colonies of Africa". Doesn't matter where geographically is, it wasn't a colony.
Djilas
+3
Level 81
Nov 13, 2018
The source map includes several mistakes, some mentioned already above:

- Cabinda was Portuguese, not British

- Ruanda-Urundi didn't exist in 1913, it was part of German East Africa and first occupied by Belgium only in 1916

- though it doesn't affect the list, Kamerun was bigger in 1913, see Neukamerun

Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Nov 14, 2018
Changed Cabinda. I don't know about the other two. I assume you are probably correct, but it would require hours of work to change. I was a little reluctant to feature this quiz for the reason that it's almost impossible to be 100% accurate and maps are very time consuming.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 66
Jan 8, 2019
Goudkust/goldcoast being british surprised me. I have allways known it to be dutch. Apparently it was. but "only" from 1598 till 1872 So I guess it falls outside of the parameters of this quiz.
tzhg
+1
Level 60
Aug 12, 2020
Djilas is absolutely correct. Another minor mistake: Togoland was also bigger in 1913. It included parts of current-day Ghana.
caribdevist
+4
Level 62
Nov 14, 2018
Boy this is obscene.
FNSpiderMan
+3
Level 72
Feb 19, 2020
Agreed. Divvied up the continent like it was a cake.
Teegthebeeg
+4
Level 55
Aug 28, 2020
yeh, who can imagine an entire continent being carved up between people of European origin with contempt for the people and cultures already there?
RJF
+1
Level 64
Oct 25, 2022
It was more indifference than contempt. And it wasn't exclusive Europeans either; Liberia was a colony of the US, and both the islands of Zanzibar and the Comoros and a significant stretch of the Swahili Coast had been colonised by Arabian states (notably Oman) for centuries.
corlissaar
+1
Level 81
Nov 14, 2018
I have seen "Bechuana" on some old maps, so I didn't enter "Bechuanaland." Could you allow the shorter version as well?
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Nov 14, 2018
Sure. I turned it into a fill-in-the-blank so you won't have to type "land".
Borsuk
+1
Level 81
Jan 8, 2019
Would it be possible to do the same for Nyasaland?
Mrhistory05
+1
Level 45
Dec 30, 2018
Please remove the parenthesis from some of the colonies names. This prevents the quiz from being done
Ferretgod
+1
Level 79
Jan 8, 2019
Walvis bay is a bit of a grey area. By 1913 it was just a part of South Africa. In fact they hung onto it for dear life. Even after Namibia's independence, SA still retained it for a while, mostly to keep strategic access to the areas fishing rights
Antimatter
+2
Level 44
Jan 8, 2019
Great quiz! <3 It’s so interesting seeing how the borders have changed between then and today’s Africa and the country names too, how they often renamed themselves after independence to emphasise their new freedom :)
Sifhraven
+1
Level 66
Jan 8, 2019
Comorros should be accepted, as that is how it is written on the rest of this site (and admitedly how I learned it, cause it was one of the few countries I had never heard of before)
Sifhraven
+1
Level 66
Jan 8, 2019
ok... now that is weird... Apparently it is without any double consonants.. While I was certain it had double vowels ( though could never quite remember if it was commoros or comorros) And this is the only Place I have ever seen the word
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
+1
Level 58
Jan 8, 2019
Hands up everyone who got Fernando Poo because they read Illuminatus!
Teegthebeeg
+1
Level 55
Aug 28, 2020
not me. I got it because I saw its name on an old map and once seen it was impossible to forget.
Vicky
+3
Level 55
Jan 8, 2019
According to Wikipedia, Ruanda-Urundi was part of Belgium in 1922, in 1913 Ruanda-Urundi was part of the German Empire (part of German East Africa)
benjNYC
+2
Level 68
Jan 8, 2019
I believe Malagasy should be acceptable for Madagascar (perhaps even the primary option), since that was the more common name at the time
benjNYC
+2
Level 68
Jan 8, 2019
"Equatorial Guinea" is currently accepted as an alternative for French Equatorial Africa, a massive territory that does NOT include present-day Equatorial Guinea--then separate Rio Muni (mainland) and Fernado Poo (island). Is this a mistake?
Imperato
+4
Level 35
Jan 8, 2019
Madeira is part of Portugal, not a colony in Africa, it's very confusing seeing Madeira in that list, it's like put Sardegna Island as a italian colony, it does't make sense
AVB
+2
Level 70
Jan 9, 2019
Ruanda-Urundi did not exist as a separate colony in 1913. It was part of German East Africa. That part of German East Africa that went to Belgium, rather than the UK or Portugal, after the war was called Ruanda-Urundi.
cwasims
+2
Level 61
Jan 9, 2019
Some type-in issues: You really need to accept just "Swazi" for "Swaziland" given you accept this for all similar answers. I also was not a fan of not being able to type in "Belgian Congo", "Spanish Morocco" given these are the actual names of the colonies. It was somewhat annoying to have to check which words were underlined.

I also believe that Anglo-Egyptian Sudan should be accepted (filling in both Egypt and Sudan) given that the condominium began in 1899, before the date of this quiz.

Fun quiz overall, though.

Algarve
+2
Level 67
Jan 18, 2019
Can't you please accept "Canarias" or "Islas Canarias" for Canary Island? I knew it was there, but I didn't know how it is called in English
GeoDude
+2
Level 48
Mar 7, 2019
Good old Fernando Poo
markasol
+2
Level 75
May 7, 2019
Everyone seems to have their favourite request for modification of this map or request to be lenient in the answers based on their personal preferences and knowledge. But the quiz is titled colonies in Africa in 1913. So only one answer is correct and if you don't know or like it then suck it up and learn something! More modern or common names should be rejected, only the official names at the time. But there is one glaring error, Ruanda-Urundi didn't exist at the time - it was just part of German East Africa. And the borders of Libya and Sudan are all wrong for 1913. I also prefer the terms Portuguese West Africa, Portuguese East Africa and Portuguese Congo instead of Angola, Mozambique and Cabinda...
littleman
+2
Level 58
Sep 1, 2019
Interesting that only Ethiopia and Liberia survived this unbelievable colonization
Jiaozira
+4
Level 69
Sep 1, 2019
Liberia didn't survive. It was bought out by the Americans and colonised by freed slaves after it's abolition. Even to this day English speaking Liberians of American descent tend to be the highest position in society compared to indigenous Liberians. Ethiopia is alone here!
sumguy
+3
Level 83
Sep 29, 2020
Ethiopia didn't survive either. It was incorporated into Italian East Africa in 1936. During World War I, it was liberated by mostly British forces in 1941, but there was still fighting until at least 1943. Ethiopia regained sovereignty with the Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement in December 1944.
Jiaozira
+4
Level 69
Sep 29, 2020
But Ethiopia was not colonised, it was merely invaded. Some other countries lost their sovereignty without having been colonised, such as Bhutan. Liberia, on the other hand, was colonised by the definition, although not by Europeans.
RedLightning
+3
Level 47
Dec 6, 2019
Can you accept Spanish Sahara for Rio de Oro? And the real name of Spanish Morocco is Spanish protectorate in Morocco.
NeilV
+1
Level 51
Jun 25, 2020
Can I make a map quiz of this please?
Jiaozira
+1
Level 69
Jun 25, 2020
Sure, I don't mind.
sumguy
+2
Level 83
Sep 29, 2020
It's been pointed out, but your source map contains errors and shouldn't be used. It lists Cabinda as controlled by the UK (which you've already corrected to Portugal). According to this map and this map, what the source map calls "Belgian East Africa" was part of German East Africa in 1913. Wikipedia doesn't even have an article for "Belgian East Africa". You've correctly called it Ruanda-Urundi, but it wasn't occupied by Belgium until 1916 and awarded to Belgium until 1922.

The borders for Libya are also wrong, but I understand that the would be harder to fix. Ruanda-Urundi should not be part of this quiz, and it's relatively easy to merge it with German East Africa in an SVG editor.

sumguy
+2
Level 83
Sep 29, 2020
There should be a shaded circle around Zanzibar, and probably a circle around Cabinda as well. It's such a tiny map, I didn't notice that I had missed it.
Jiaozira
+1
Level 69
Sep 29, 2020
I don't understand why there are such errors in my map seeing how it's from a site used through many top university programmes. However, the mistakes you've pointed out are correct, and I apologise for not doing more research before creating this quiz. I will get around to fixing it soon, this quiz has had more of a reach than many of my other quizzes and I don't want it to mislead quiztakers. I'm not sure I'll put shaded circles on the map, but I could also add a 'show missing colonies' link at the bottom of the map, seeing how it is now an intergrated part of JetPunk's quiz-making tool. Thanks for the comments.
sumguy
+1
Level 83
Sep 29, 2020
That would be great. Zanzibar and Cabinda are easy to miss otherwise. Thanks.
JonOfKent
+1
Level 55
Nov 6, 2020
Pff... "French West Africa"... talk about making it easy ;-)
JohnnyYeet
+3
Level 56
Mar 15, 2021
I thought Ruanda-Urundi was part of Germany before WWI?
Jiaozira
+1
Level 69
Mar 15, 2021
The map I used for reference has some problems with it, I need to get around to fixing the map. And you are correct that Rwanda-Urundi was one of the German territories that was lost post-WWI :)
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 64
Jun 3, 2021
Couldn't spell Basutoland if my life depended on it I tried so hard maybe add more spelling accepted?
Jiaozira
+1
Level 69
Jun 3, 2021
Can you give me some suggestions? Right now type-ins are pretty lenient but if you give me some ideas I will consider adding more (as long as they aren't too different and all).
cta127
+1
Level 68
May 3, 2023
I tried basutho and basotho. Basutho seems decently close, and the wikipedia page about the Sotho people refers to them primarily as Basotho.
ShievaAndGolly
+3
Level 55
Nov 16, 2021
What did the European powers want Africa for? Bragging rights?
Jiaozira
+3
Level 69
Nov 16, 2021
European leaders did it for money and competition amongst themselves. Italy and Germany had recently unified prior to the Scramble for Africa so this was a way they could compete with established empires such as France, Britain, etc.
Chad
+1
Level 63
Nov 24, 2021
Was Algeria not split into incorporated French Algeria and the French Sahara?
Jiaozira
+1
Level 69
Nov 24, 2021
Were they seperate colonies? I can only find reference to them being administrative divisions within the colony of French Algeria. There are some problems with the source map I used, however.
Chad
+1
Level 63
Dec 24, 2022
I have since discovered that French Algeria and the French Sahara were (probably) united by then (English sources on this barely exist), however Algeria as a whole was an integral part of France in 1913, thus not a colony.
SARVEII
+1
Level 52
Mar 4, 2022
Actually, this map contains errors about german colonies. First of all, until 1919 the Rwanda-Urundi was part of the German East Africa (Deutsche Ostafrika), and not part of the belgian empire. Then, the borders of Togoland and Kamerun are wrong: both these two colonies were bigger than the actuals Togo and Cameroon until WW1.
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 64
Mar 30, 2022
I feel bad for people who had to say they lived in Fernando Poo
JWatson24
+2
Level 71
Apr 15, 2022
Great quiz! Is there any difference between Rio de Oro and the Spanish Sahara though? If not, I'd appreciate if you accepted the latter term as a type-in.
Jiaozira
+2
Level 69
Apr 15, 2022
I have accepted Spanish Sahara. Rio de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra were merged to create Spanish Sahara in 1924, however there is a mistake in the map and the current territory should be split into two. My source map appeared to come from a reputable site but it turned out to have several mistakes.

Thanks for playing and I hope to fix the issues soon!

EconomicSnake
+1
Level 60
Mar 10, 2023
I really felt like "Equatorial Guinea" or "Guinea Ecuatorial" should have worked; I guess the territories that are now Equatorial Guinea (Bioko/Fernando Poo and Rio Muni) weren't "united" as colonies until the 1920s. Great Quiz!
nickelz
+1
Level 57
Apr 24, 2023
Bechuana get 100% on this quiz.
CubeFromBlender
+1
Level 47
May 10, 2023
kamerun map is wrong
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