List of World Map changes

Below is a list of political or geological events, which would alter the appearance of a World Map. Changes usually include the alteration of borders, the creation and fall of nations, as well as the name changes of countries. Through the knowledge of such dates and events, the approximate year and age of a World Map could be calculated and estimated.

=21st century=

2008

*August 26 - Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognised by the Russian Federation as independent. For further details see International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
*February 17 - Kosovo declares independence with only partial recognition

2007

*July 1 - In Russia, the new krai of Kamchatka Krai is created by the unification of Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug

2006

*August 14 - Transfer of Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon, following International Court of Justice ruling
*June 8 - Dissolution of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro into two separate states: Serbia and Montenegro

2003

*February 4 - Federal Republic of Yugoslavia reconstituted into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

2002

*May 20 - Independence of East Timor (Timor-Leste) from Indonesia

=20th century=

1990s

1999

*December 31 - Transfer of the Panama Canal Zone from the United States of America to Panama
*December 20 - Transfer of Macau from Portugal to the People's Republic of China
*April 1 - Nunavut separated from the remainder of the Northwest Territories in northern Canada

1997

*July 1 - Transfer of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China
*May 17 - Zaire renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo

1995

*In India, the city of Bombay is renamed to Mumbai

1994

*March 1 - Walvis Bay is transferred from the South African Republic to Namibia

1993

*May 24 - Independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia
*January 1 - Dissolution of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia

1992

*April 6 - International recognition of the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*January 15 - Independence of Croatia and Slovenia widely recognized

1991

*December 26 - Dissolution of the Soviet Union
*September 8 - The Republic of Macedonia declares independence from Yugoslavia
*August 20 - Independence of Estonia from the Soviet Union
*June 25 - Croatia and Slovenia declare independence from Yugoslavia
*Independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union
*May 18 - Somaliland declares independence from Somalia

1990

*October 3 - Reunification of Germany. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) integrates the German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
*May 22 - Unification of Yemen
*May 4 - Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union
*March 21 - Independence of Namibia (formerly South-West Africa) from South Africa
*March 11 - Lithuania declares independence from the Soviet Union

1980s

1987

*January 1 - In Canada, Northwest Territories, the town of Frobisher Bay is renamed to Iqaluit

1984

*August 4 - Upper Volta is renamed to Burkina Faso

1981

*September 21 - Independence of Belize, which was British Honduras before 1973

1980

*April 18 - Republic of Rhodesia into the Republic of Zimbabwe

1970s

1979

*July 12 - The Gilbert Islands become independent from the United Kingdom and are renamed to Kiribati
*March 26 - Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, Sinai Peninsula is returned to Egypt

1978

*October 1 - Tuvalu becomes an independent republic within the British Commonwealth

1977

*June 27 - Independence of French Territory of the Afars and Issas, becomes Republic of Djibouti

1975

*November 11 - Independence of Angola from Portugal
*June 25 - Independence of Mozambique from Portugal
*May 16 - Sikkim officially becomes the 22nd state of the Indian Union
*South Vietnam reunited with North Vietnam at end of Vietnam War
*Dahomey is renamed to Benin

1973

*June 1 - British Honduras renamed Belize

1972

*February 10 - The Island of Rockall Act formally incorporated the island into the United Kingdom
*January 11 - Bangladesh wins independence from Pakistan, changing name from East Pakistan

1960s

1967

*July 3 - French Somaliland is renamed French Territory of the Afars and Issas
*June 19 - Israel occupies the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights after winning the Six Day War

1964

*October 29 - The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar is renamed to Republic of Tanzania
*October 24 - Northern Rhodesia became independent Zambia
*September 21 - Malta becomes independent from the United Kingdom
*July 6 - British colony Nyasaland becomes independent Malawi
*April 26 - Tanganyika and Zanzibar are united under the name United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
*January 1 - British Honduras became self-governing

1961

*September 28 - Syria leaves the United Arab Republic, returning to the name of Syria

1950s

1959

*August 21 - Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States of America
*January 3 - Alaska becomes the 49th state of the United States of America

1958

*February 1 - Syria and Egypt form the United Arab Republic

1957

*March 6 - British Colony The Gold Coast becomes independent Ghana

1955

*September 18 - Rockall officially claimed by the United Kingdom

1954

*End of the Free Territory of Trieste, divided between Italy and Yugoslavia
*April 27 - Geneva Accords grant independence to Vietnam, provisionally divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

1953

*July 27 - Korean War partitions Korean peninsula.

1940s

1949

*Republic of China established in Taiwan, People's Republic of China established on mainland China
*Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) established in U.S., British, and French occupation zones of Germany
*German Democratic Republic (East Germany) established in Soviet occupation zone of Germany
*June 20 - The 1948 Arab-Israeli War ended, resulting in expanded borders for the state of Israel on former Palestine without an Arab state.

1948

*May 14 - Israel declares independence after the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm]

1947

*August 15 - India becomes independent, adopts the name "Republic of India"
*August 14 - Pakistan became independent from British India
*February 17 - Free Territory of Trieste established including parts of Italy and Yugoslavia

1946

*The city of Königsberg is renamed Kaliningrad in the Soviet Union

1930s

1939

* Soviet Union annexes Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
* Poland partitioned between Germany and Soviet Union

1910s

1918

*November 15 - Serbian military invasion of the short-lived Banat Republic, Banat divided between the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and Romania
*November 1 - Declaration of the short-lived Banat Republic

1914

*August 15 - The first official transit of the Panama Canal. Due to World War I, there was no real official opening ceremony.

1900s

1905

* Union between Sweden and Norway dissolved:June 7 - Norway's parliament declares independence

October 26 - Sweden recognizes Norway as an independent country
* May 15 - In the United States of America, the railway town of Las Vegas, Nevada was founded.

=19th century=

1890s

1880s

1884

*The Greenwich prime meridian becomes the international standard reference for cartographers.

1870s

1878

*July 13 - The Treaty of Berlin recognizes the independence of the principalities of Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia.

1873

*November 17 - The Hungarian cities of Buda, Pest and Óbuda are united as Budapest, the new capital.

1860s

1869

*November 16 - Opening of the Suez Canal

1867

*October 18 - The United States of America purchase Alaska from Russia
*May 29 - The Austrian Empire becomes Austria-Hungary

1850s

1850

*September 9 - California becomes a state of the United States of America.

1840s

1847

*July 26 - Americo-Liberian settlers declared the independence of the Republic of Liberia

1830s

1839

*April 19 - The Treaty of London recognized Belgium as an independent and neutral country.

1833

*January 2 - The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland took over the Falkland Islands from the Argentine Confederation

1830

*October 4 - The Kingdom of Belgium declares independence from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Full recognition will follow in 1839.

1820s

1810s

1819

*August 7 - The Battle of Boyacá leads to the full independence of New Grenada
*Alabama becomes the 22nd state of the Union.

1810

*July 20 - New Grenada (Colombia today) declares independence from Spain. Full recognition will follow in 1819

1800s

=18th century=

1707

*May 1 - The creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain through the Acts of Union

=16th century=

1501

*May 20 - Joao da Nova Castell discovers Ascension Island

=15th century=

1494

*May 3 - Christopher Columbus discovers Xamayca

1492

*Christopher Columbus discovers America

2nd millennium----

=10th century=

1000

*December - King Stephen I of Hungary is crowned and begins the transformation of the early Hungarian state into the Christian Kingdom of Hungary. This is considered to be the official date of foundation of the country.
*Gunnbjörn Ulfsson spots islands off the coast of Greenland. European discovery of the island itself is dated to the 980s, when explorers arrived from Iceland and Norway.

=1st century AD=
*43-47 - The Romans found Londinium, a town that will with time become modern London.

1st millennium AD

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=1st century BCE=The Romans conquer the city of Sirmium, modern Sremska Mitrovica

=2nd century BCE=

=3rd century BCE=

=4th century BCE=

=5th century BCE=

=6th century BCE=

=7th century BCE=

=8th century BCE=

753

*April 21 - The foundation of the city of Rome. The precise date is based on legend, and archaeological evidence suggests Rome did grow to city size from an earlier village in the 8th century BCE.

=9th century BCE=

=10th century BCE=

1st millennium BCE

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=1300 BCE=
*Earliest date given to the arrival of Polynesian settlers to what is today New Zealand

2nd millennium BCE

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3rd millennium BCE

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4th millennium BCE

----=70000 BCE=
*Earliest date given to the arrival of Indigenous Australian settlers to what is today Australia

ee also

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