The world in 1890

On 1 July 1890, IntMap’s historical map draws 202 names across the world. The borders for this date come from CShapes 2.0 (day by day), then OpenHistoricalMap (day by day), then Cliopatria, Seshat Global History Databank (by year) — each drawn only where the records before it are silent. It also draws 2 outlines whose name the record does not give for this date.

World map on 1 July 1890: the borders IntMap’s historical map draws on that date, from CShapes 2.0 (day by day), then OpenHistoricalMap (day by day), then Cliopatria, Seshat Global History Databank (by year) — each drawn only where the records before it are silent.
Drawn when the site is built from the same records and the same code the map uses, on 1 July 1890, in the Equal Earth projection. The picture is simplified for display only: each outline is reduced to about one pixel at this size, and outlines smaller than a pixel are left out of the picture — the map itself draws every one of them in full. Grey is land on which no record states a polity on this date (today’s coastline, Natural Earth 1:110m).

Why this year has a page

Among the largest year-to-year changes in the records the map dates by year or by day: 23 names begin or stop being drawn between 1 July 1889 and 1 July 1890.

Names on the map

As the map labels them, largest first by the area of the outline drawn. Areas are of the drawn outline, rounded, and approximate. The record column says which record draws the outline; a Wikidata item is given where the record links one.

NameRecordDrawn area (km²)
Russian EmpireCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q3426622,000,000
Qing EmpireCShapes 2.011,100,000
CanadaCShapes 2.09,530,000
BrazilCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q1558,350,000
United StatesCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q307,940,000
British Raj (British India)CShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q1292864,910,000
Ottoman EmpireCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap · Cliopatria Q12560 Q15292613,210,000
ArgentinaCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q4142,810,000
Western AustraliaCShapes 2.02,530,000
DenmarkCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q352,360,000
Congo Free StateCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q760482,340,000
South AustraliaCShapes 2.02,320,000
Mahdist StateCliopatria Q31253682,230,000
MexicoCShapes 2.01,970,000
Dutch East IndiesCShapes 2.01,900,000
QueenslandCShapes 2.01,750,000
French RepublicOpenHistoricalMap Q708021,660,000
PersiaCShapes 2.01,620,000
Alaska (USA)CShapes 2.01,500,000
BoliviaCShapes 2.01,330,000
PeruCShapes 2.01,280,000
French SudanOpenHistoricalMap Q5080141,260,000
ColombiaCShapes 2.01,170,000
Egypt (UK)CShapes 2.01,170,000
Ethiopian EmpireCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap Q2075211,110,000
German East AfricaOpenHistoricalMap Q1539631,000,000
VenezuelaCShapes 2.0916,000
German South-West AfricaCShapes 2.0827,000
AfghanistanCShapes 2.0809,000
French Third RepublicCShapes 2.0 · Cliopatria Q70802802,000
New South WalesCShapes 2.0801,000
SiamCShapes 2.0782,000
SwedenCShapes 2.0766,000
ChileCShapes 2.0752,000
Sokoto CaliphateOpenHistoricalMap · Cliopatria Q600524694,000
Algeria (France)CShapes 2.0656,000
Mozambique (Portugal)CShapes 2.0637,000
Austria-HungaryCShapes 2.0622,000
Portuguese AngolaOpenHistoricalMap Q2826232612,000
Cape ColonyCShapes 2.0602,000
Madagascar (France)CShapes 2.0596,000
Bechuanaland (UK)CShapes 2.0578,000
German EmpireCShapes 2.0 · Cliopatria Q43287566,000
BarotzilandOpenHistoricalMap513,000
KamerunCShapes 2.0513,000
SpainCShapes 2.0507,000
British East Africa (UK)CShapes 2.0472,000
Angola (Portugal)CShapes 2.0412,000
NewfoundlandCShapes 2.0400,000
Empire of JapanCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap393,000
All 202 names
NameRecordDrawn area (km²)
Southern Rhodesia (UK)CShapes 2.0391,000
Vietnam (France)CShapes 2.0382,000
Emirate of Jabal ShammarCliopatria Q5362837376,000
MoroccoCShapes 2.0375,000
Italian SomalilandCShapes 2.0373,000
French Congo (France)CShapes 2.0346,000
EcuadorCShapes 2.0344,000
Cote d'Ivoire (France)CShapes 2.0323,000
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandCShapes 2.0316,000
Muscat and OmanCShapes 2.0310,000
TransvaalCShapes 2.0302,000
Philippines (Spain)CShapes 2.0299,000
ParaguayCShapes 2.0294,000
Kingdom of ItalyCShapes 2.0286,000
Wadai EmpireCliopatria Q1132786281,000
French CongoOpenHistoricalMap Q265319271,000
New ZealandCShapes 2.0271,000
French AfricaCliopatria270,000
Gabon (France)CShapes 2.0263,000
Aden ProtectorateOpenHistoricalMap Q1865132247,000
VictoriaCShapes 2.0238,000
German New GuineaCShapes 2.0 · OpenHistoricalMap233,000
Papua (UK)CShapes 2.0226,000
JoseonCShapes 2.0221,000
British Guiana (UK)CShapes 2.0212,000
Senegal (France)CShapes 2.0197,000
Emirate of BukharaCShapes 2.0194,000
UruguayCShapes 2.0178,000
Bornu EmpireCliopatria Q1139762178,000
Spanish West AfricaCShapes 2.0177,000
British Somaliland (UK)CShapes 2.0173,000
Tunisia (France)CShapes 2.0156,000
Imperial British East Africa CompanyOpenHistoricalMap Q926921148,000
NepalCShapes 2.0147,000
Dutch Guiana (Netherlands)CShapes 2.0146,000
Province of MozambiqueOpenHistoricalMap141,000
Oil Rivers Protectorate (UK)CShapes 2.0131,000
Cambodia (France)CShapes 2.0131,000
Orange Free StateCShapes 2.0130,000
Kingdom of PortugalCShapes 2.0 · Cliopatria Q45670129,000
NicaraguaCShapes 2.0129,000
Gold Coast (UK)CShapes 2.0129,000
RomaniaCShapes 2.0128,000
SarawakCShapes 2.0125,000
Kingdom of SpainCliopatria Q29123,000
Spanish EmpireCliopatria Q80702123,000
Eritrea (Italy)CShapes 2.0122,000
British BechuanalandCShapes 2.0117,000
HondurasCShapes 2.0113,000
Emirate of NejdCliopatria Q146862112,000
CubaCShapes 2.0111,000
GuatemalaCShapes 2.0109,000
Iceland (Denmark)CShapes 2.0103,000
North-Western RhodesiaOpenHistoricalMap Q2400545102,000
Khanate of KhivaCShapes 2.0101,000
Sultanate of Dar al KutiOpenHistoricalMap Q21590889100,000
LiberiaCShapes 2.096,500
BulgariaCShapes 2.093,000
French Guiana (France)CShapes 2.084,200
Trucial StatesOpenHistoricalMap Q185234580,900
North Borneo (UK)CShapes 2.073,300
Sierra Leone (UK)CShapes 2.072,900
Lagos Colony (UK)CShapes 2.072,000
TasmaniaCShapes 2.068,800
Ceylon (UK)CShapes 2.066,800
GreeceCShapes 2.065,000
German TogolandCShapes 2.053,600
SerbiaCShapes 2.052,400
Costa RicaCShapes 2.051,600
Establishments in OceaniaOpenHistoricalMap Q3097149,800
Dominican RepublicCShapes 2.048,700
British EmpireCliopatria Q868048,100
NatalCShapes 2.043,700
SwitzerlandCShapes 2.041,400
Bosnia (Austria-Hungary)CShapes 2.041,400
BhutanCShapes 2.039,900
Portuguese EmpireCliopatria Q20046437,000
PahangCShapes 2.036,500
NetherlandsCShapes 2.035,000
Portuguese Guinea (Portugal)CShapes 2.033,600
Maldives ProtectorateOpenHistoricalMap Q107466931,300
Basutoland (UK)CShapes 2.030,600
BelgiumCShapes 2.030,500
Togoland ProtectorateOpenHistoricalMap Q16106229,700
Hawaiian KingdomOpenHistoricalMap Q15641828,600
HaitiCShapes 2.027,500
Spanish Guinea (Spain)CShapes 2.027,200
German Protectorate of the Marshall IslandsOpenHistoricalMap Q3320352926,600
New Caledonia (France)CShapes 2.024,000
British Honduras (UK)CShapes 2.022,300
French Somaliland (France)CShapes 2.021,600
Sultanate of HobyoOpenHistoricalMap Q86240421,400
El SalvadorCShapes 2.020,700
Kingdom of DahomeyOpenHistoricalMap Q46881420,400
Unfederated Malay StatesCShapes 2.019,300
Fiji (UK)CShapes 2.018,500
PerakCShapes 2.018,200
ZululandCliopatria18,000
New HebridesCliopatria Q75243117,400
SwazilandCliopatria17,200
German Solomon IslandsCShapes 2.017,100
Portuguese Timor (Portugal)CShapes 2.015,300
German CameroonOpenHistoricalMap Q66829414,800
Bahamas (UK)CShapes 2.012,800
Jamaica (UK)CShapes 2.011,200
Gambia (UK)CShapes 2.010,900
Brazilian RepublicCliopatria Q15510,700
Herzegovina (Austria-Hungary)CShapes 2.010,100
MontenegroCShapes 2.09,990
South African RepublicCliopatria Q5503749,690
Puerto Rico (Spain)CShapes 2.09,310
Kingdom of TongaOpenHistoricalMap Q6788,310
British Colonial EmpireCliopatria Q86808,180
Negri Sembilan ProtectorateOpenHistoricalMap Q2138936,960
SelangoreCShapes 2.06,900
British GuianaOpenHistoricalMap Q17965516,900
Lagos ColonyOpenHistoricalMap Q4721466,020
Sultanate of LahejOpenHistoricalMap Q4047745,980
Mayotte and DependenciesOpenHistoricalMap Q165409045,870
Zanzibar ProtectorateOpenHistoricalMap Q35747825,780
Brunei (UK)CShapes 2.05,770
Trinidad and Tobago (UK)CShapes 2.05,240
British Windward IslandsOpenHistoricalMap Q26607744,870
Colony of GuadelupeOpenHistoricalMap Q170124,740
Cape VerdeCShapes 2.04,040
La RéunionOpenHistoricalMap Q170703,930
Straits SettlementsCShapes 2.03,700
Reunion (France)CShapes 2.02,650
Sultanate of ZanzibarCShapes 2.02,600
LuxembourgCShapes 2.02,570
Portuguese São Tomé and PríncipeOpenHistoricalMap Q72326922,560
Protectorate of BahrainOpenHistoricalMap Q3982,180
Negeri SembilanCliopatria Q2138932,170
Mauritius (UK)CShapes 2.02,160
Danish West IndiesOpenHistoricalMap Q8296551,890
Guadeloupe (France)CShapes 2.01,660
Cayman IslandsOpenHistoricalMap Q57851,520
Isle of ManOpenHistoricalMap Q96761,350
Sultanate of NdzuwaniOpenHistoricalMap1,260
Martinique (France)CShapes 2.01,200
Saint Pierre and MiquelonOpenHistoricalMap Q346171,100
Tokelau Islands ProtectorateOpenHistoricalMap Q368231,010
JerseyOpenHistoricalMap Q785986
Sultanate of MwaliOpenHistoricalMap924
GuernseyOpenHistoricalMap Q25230909
French Settlements in IndiaOpenHistoricalMap Q646374727
Pitcairn IslandsOpenHistoricalMap Q35672691
Colony of BermudaOpenHistoricalMap Q23635557
Saint Helena Crown ColonyOpenHistoricalMap Q192184507
Barbados (UK)CShapes 2.0457
MaltaCShapes 2.0292
Maldives (UK)CShapes 2.027.8

What changed since 1885

Names counted are those the records date to the year or the day (CShapes, OpenHistoricalMap, Cliopatria). Outlines filled from the nearest historical-basemaps sheet are counted only when both years are years that sheet was drawn for — otherwise the change would be the switch between two sheets, not a change in the world. Names are compared as written, so a polity a record names differently in the two years (Carthaginian Empire, then Carthage) is in both lists.

Now drawn (109)

Qing Empire, Canada, Brazil, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Alaska (USA), French Sudan, Egypt (UK), Venezuela, Afghanistan, New South Wales, Sweden, Algeria (France), Mozambique (Portugal), Portuguese Angola, Madagascar (France), Bechuanaland (UK), German Empire, Barotziland, Kamerun, British East Africa (UK), Angola (Portugal), Newfoundland, Empire of Japan, Southern Rhodesia (UK), Vietnam (France), Morocco, Italian Somaliland, French Congo (France), Cote d'Ivoire (France), Muscat and Oman, Transvaal, Philippines (Spain), New Zealand, Gabon (France), Victoria, Papua (UK), British Guiana (UK), Senegal (France), Spanish West Africa, British Somaliland (UK), Tunisia (France), Imperial British East Africa Company, Dutch Guiana (Netherlands), Oil Rivers Protectorate (UK), Cambodia (France), Gold Coast (UK), Romania, Sarawak, Eritrea (Italy), British Bechuanaland, Cuba, Iceland (Denmark), North-Western Rhodesia, Khanate of Khiva, Bulgaria, French Guiana (France), North Borneo (UK), Sierra Leone (UK), Lagos Colony (UK), Tasmania, Ceylon (UK), Greece, German Togoland, Serbia, Establishments in Oceania, Natal, Bosnia (Austria-Hungary), Pahang, Netherlands, Portuguese Guinea (Portugal), Maldives Protectorate, Basutoland (UK), Haiti, Spanish Guinea (Spain), German Protectorate of the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia (France), British Honduras (UK), French Somaliland (France), Unfederated Malay States, Fiji (UK), Perak, New Hebrides, German Solomon Islands, Portuguese Timor (Portugal), Bahamas (UK), Jamaica (UK), Gambia (UK), Brazilian Republic, Herzegovina (Austria-Hungary), Montenegro, Puerto Rico (Spain), Selangore, Zanzibar Protectorate, Brunei (UK), Trinidad and Tobago (UK), Cape Verde, Straits Settlements, Reunion (France), Negeri Sembilan, Mauritius (UK), Guadeloupe (France), Martinique (France), Tokelau Islands Protectorate, French Settlements in India, Barbados (UK), Malta, Maldives (UK)

No longer drawn (121)

Qing, Dominion of Canada, Empire of Brazil, Colony of Western Australia, Colony of South Australia, Colony of Queensland, British Africa, Upper River, United States of Venezuela, Sweden–Norway, Colony of New South Wales, Emirate of Afghanistan, Protectorate of Afghanistan, Kingdom of Imerina, German Reich, Empire of Japan (1879-1895), Alawi Sultanate, Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish Philippines, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Colony of New Zealand, French Gabon, Colony of Victoria, Crown Colony of Newfoundland, Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Spain (1865-1899), French protectorate of Tunisia, British Somaliland, Captaincy General of Cuba, Kingdom of Romania, Colony of the Rio de Oro, French Tonkin, French Protectorate of Annam, Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, Majeerteen Sultanate, Oil Rivers Protectorate, Ashanti Empire, Kingdom of Greece, Sultanate of Qishn and Socotra, Colony of Tasmania, North Borneo, Colony of French Guiana, Sultanate of Oman, Kingdom of Lunda, Kingdom of Sarawak, Colony of Sierra Leone, British Ceylon, Colony of Cochinchina, Gold Coast Colony, Sultanate of Maguindanao, Rattanakosin Kingdom, Portuguese Guinea, British Western Pacific Territories, Kingdom of Serbia, Colony of the Bahamas, Colony of Natal, Colony of Fiji, Pahang Sultanate, Kingdom of Rwanda, Khanate of Khiva (1873-1920), New Caledonia, Republic of Haiti, J'rai, British Honduras Colony, Kingdom of Luang Phrabang, Sultanate of the Maldive Islands, Colony of Basutoland, Mosquito Reserve, Kingdom of Burundi, Obock and Protectorates of the Somali Coast and Dankils Countries, Johore Protectorate, Manipur State, Perak Protectorate, Chan Santa Cruz, Kingdom of Jolof, Portuguese Timor, Colony of Jamaica, Bundu, Sultanate of Sulu, British Mauritius, Sultanate of Terengganu, Kingdom of Cayor, Captaincy General of Puerto Rico, Cyprus Protectorate, Sultanate of Brunei, Gambia Colony and Protectorate, Kingdom of Niani, Nieuwe Republiek, Selangor Protectorate, Sultanate of Kedah, British Gold Coast, Principality of Montenegro, Spanish Posessions on the Gulf of Guinea, Kelantan, Protectorate of Wituland, Colony of Trinidad, Protectorate of Cabinda, Colony of the Straits Settlement, Kingdom of Kakongo, Kingdom of Wuli, People's Republic of Zanzibar, Kingdom of Ngoyo, Tahiti Colony, Kingdom of Sine, Confederate States of Lanao, Territory of Ifni, Haushabi Sultanate, French Nosy Be, Colony of Barbados, Crown Colony of Malta, Nosy Boraha, French India, Portuguese India, Colony of Labuan, Alawi Sheikhdom, Andorra, British Hong Kong, Heligoland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco

Events dated to 1890

Every record of IntMap’s one index of dated events whose date falls in this year: what the border record (CShapes 2.0) states about its own outlines, IntMap’s war record, and the world events Wikidata dates — each with its source and the precision of its date.

  1. 1890

    The map begins drawing Sultanate of Zanzibar; new borders for Bechuanaland (UK)

    the border record (CShapes 2.0) · 1890-07-01

    On this day →
  2. 1890

    New borders for Angola (Portugal)

    the border record (CShapes 2.0) · 1890-08-20

    On this day →

Sources and method

Borders and names: CShapes 2.0 (Schvitz et al. 2022, icr.ethz.ch/data/cshapes) · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 + OpenHistoricalMap (openhistoricalmap.org) · CC0 1.0 · adapted by IntMap: the admin_level=2 relations in force from 1886, less the ground CShapes states on its own dates + Cliopatria v0.2.1 (Seshat Global History Databank, github.com/Seshat-Global-History-Databank/cliopatria) · CC BY 4.0 · adapted by IntMap: simplified, BC years made astronomical, and the ground OpenHistoricalMap (1689–1885, and from 1886 where CShapes is silent) and CShapes (1886–2019) state removed on their own dates.

Which years have a page is worked out when the site is built, from three rules applied to the records themselves: every year the historical-basemaps atlas drew a world sheet for; every year whose change from the year before (names the dated records begin or stop drawing) is in the top 5% of all such year-to-year changes since the dated records begin, leaving out the years where one record hands over to another; and every year of a geopolitical, war or revolution event in the dated events index, up to the last year the border records cover (2019).

On each year the map is read on 1 July, the instant the app’s own year links open on. Names are the source’s own, translated where the source or IntMap’s name table has a translation. A name is what a record draws there, not a verdict of history.

World map in 1890 — the map, with the years it stays the same Historical maps by region Countries On this day

All data sources →

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