former colonies

Former colonies, possessions, protectorates and territories

These were all colonies, most of which were renamed after their independence.

Afars and Issas[?] - French territory between 1967 and 1977, called French Somaliland[?] before that. Became independent as Djibouti.
Basutoland - Since 1868 a British protectorate, later colony (governed from South Africa). Became independent as Lesotho in 1966.
Bechuanaland - Since 1884 a British protectorate, later colony (governed from South Africa). Became independent as Botswana in 1966.
Belgian Congo - Belgian colony from 1908 until 1960, when the it became independent as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
British Guiana - became Guyana
British Honduras - became Belize
Congo Free State - Name of the state owned from 1884 by King Leopold II of Belgium, later mostly annexed by his country in 1908, then known as Belgian Congo.
Dahomey - This African kingdom was acquired by France. In 1904, it was made part of the French West African[?] federation. It became independent in 1960, changing its name in 1975 to Benin.
Danish West Indies - Danish colony, sold in 1917 to the United States. Now known as the United States Virgin Islands.
French Equatorial Africa - A French federation of colonies, formed in 1910, containing the colonies of Gabon, Middle Congo, Chad and Ubangi-Shari[?]. The territories became autonomous parts of France in 1958, and the federation was dissolved.
French Somaliland[?] - became Afars and Issas[?] then independent Djibouti
French Sudan[?] - A French colony, part of the French West African[?] federation since 1904. In 1959 it formed the independent Mali Federation[?] together with Senegal, which fell apart in 1960, after which the country was renamed Mali.
French West Africa[?] - dissolved into Mali, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Upper Volta, Niger, Guinea, Dahomey, and Togo
German East Africa - became Tanganyika, now in Tanzania
German South-West Africa - A German colony from 1884 to 1915, after which it became South African held territory until 1990, when the country became independent as Namibia.
Gold Coast - A British colony since 1874, it became independent as Ghana in 1957.
Indo-China - French territory until 1949. Became independent as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Italian East Africa - Italian colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland[?] together with occupied Ethiopia.
Italian North Africa[?] - became Libya
Middle Congo - A French colony, previously named French Congo[?], became independent as the Republic of the Congo in 1960.
Netherlands East Indies - A Dutch colony, officially since 1799, up to then controlled by the Dutch East India Company. Became independent as Indonesia in 1949.
Netherlands Guiana[?] - became Suriname
Netherlands New Guinea - adjacent to the Netherlands East Indies until 1949, became part of Indonesia in 1969 as Irian Jaya.
New France was conquered by Britain; various parts of it later became part of Canada and the United States.
New Hebrides - Condominium until 1980. Became independent as Vanuatu.
Northern Rhodesia[?] - became Zambia in 1964.
Nyasaland - British protectorate, previously called British Central Africa[?], it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. It became part of a federation with Rhodesia in 1953, and became independent as Malawi in 1964.
Oubangui-Chari[?] - became Central African Republic
Panama Canal Zone[?] - US territory until 1979. Became part of Panama.
Portuguese East Africa - became Mozambique
Portuguese Guinea[?] - became Guinea-Bissau
Portuguese India[?] - became part of India
Portuguese Timor - The eastern side of the island of Timor was a Portuguese colony until 1975, when independence was declared as East Timor. Indonesian troops seized the country, but the country was finally declared independent in 2002.
Portuguese West Africa - became Angola
Rhodesia - name for Southern Rhodesia[?] (now Zimbabwe) while unilaterally claiming independence, 1965-1979.
Rio Muni[?] - Former Spanish colony, then part of territory of Spanish Guinea[?] until 1968. Became independent as Equatorial Guinea.
Ruanda-Urundi[?] - UN Trusteeship until 1962. Became independent as Burundi and Rwanda.
South Arabia[?] - Federation until 1967, consisting of British colony of Aden and numerous protectorates. Became independent as People's Republic of Southern Yemen[?] (from 1970 People's Democratic Republic of Yemen).
South-West Africa - In 1915, South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa, which it held under mandate until 1922, after which they remained ruling the territory until its independence in 1990 as Namibia.
Southern Rhodesia[?] - British colony, unilaterally declared itself independent as Rhodesia in 1965, renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia[?] 1979, then gained international recognition as Zimbabwe 1980.
Spanish Guinea[?] - became Equatorial Guinea. Consisted of two former colonies of Rio Muni[?] and Fernando Po.
Spanish Sahara[?] - now generally known as Western Sahara, but claimed by and divided between Morocco and Mauritania in 1976, later entirely by Morocco.
The Straits Settlements - British colony until 1946. Became independent as Malaya and Singapore.
Tanganyika - British territory until 1961. From then independent until 1964, when it became part of Tanzania.
The colonies of Vancouver Island, New Caledonia, Upper Canada and Lower Canada (later, the Province of Canada), Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland spent much time reorganizing themselves into various patterns; they all eventually became part of Canada.