11 disappeared countries that existed some 100 years ago

The world map today looks a little different than a hundred years ago. The reasons? Starting from the collapse of ancient empires to the renaming of exotic places.

● Tibet

Although we associate Tibet with peaceful Buddhist monks and its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, this region to the north-west of India has been troubled for centuries. Tibet was in fact an independent country only from 1912 to 1951, and then became part of China. By the way, the movement for the liberation of Tibet continues today.

● Neutral Moresnet

Surely you never heard of him? This small country, or rather the neutral zone with an area of ​​just over 3 square meters. km, was the result of an agreement between Holland and Prussia in 1816. Neutral Moresnet had its own flag and even minted coins. Later this territory became part of Belgium. However, the current inhabitants of this region still celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Neutral Moresnet.

● Abyssinia

This romantic-sounding word was actually an Arabic and European name for Ethiopia a hundred years ago. In fact, the country was never colonized and was one of the few independent states in Africa. After World War II, Ethiopia became one of the founding countries of the UN.

● Ceylon

You probably heard about this big island south of India, but you know it called Sri Lanka. However, until 1972 it was called Ceylon. This name was given to him by the Europeans, when the island was colonized several centuries ago. In 2011, Sri Lanka finally changed the names of any government agencies where Ceylon was present in order to get rid of any reminders of colonialism.

● Basutoland

Since 1966, the country has been called Lesotho since it gained independence from Great Britain. Basutoland was formed in the XIX century during the reign of King Moshosh I, who turned to the British for help in defending against invaders. Lesotho is one of the three countries in the world (along with the Vatican and San Marino), completely surrounded by another country.

● Sikkim

Have you heard of this tiny mountain region in the Himalayas? Sikkim was a sovereign monarchy from 1642 until it became an Indian protectorate in 1950, and then an Indian state in 1975.

● Persia

This is an ancient Middle Eastern kingdom, one of the oldest civilizations in history. Until 1935 it still retained its old name, but then officially became the state of Iran.

● Siam

This is today’s Thailand, whose new name was adopted in 1939. Siam was never colonized by Europeans and was an absolute monarchy. Now Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. And this country is one of the most popular tourist places.

● Prussia

This country, which occupied lands in central and eastern Europe, including modern Germany and Poland, existed until 1947. Prussia was powerful in the 18th century, but began to lose its territory as early as the 19th century. Prussia continued to exist as part of Germany until the lands were divided, and the name itself was officially abolished after World War II, erasing Prussia forever from the world map.

● Zanzibar

The islands of Zanzibar, an archipelago on the east coast of Africa, were once an important trading center, and in the 19th century an independent sultanate was established here. Although he soon became a British protectorate, the sultan continued to rule until 1964. Zanzibar then merged with mainland Tanganyika and became modern Tanzania.

● Sarawak

Now it is a state in Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The Kingdom of Sarawak was created by the British official James Brooke in the 1840s and was ruled by his descendants until World War II, when the island was occupied by Japan, and then transferred to Britain. In 1963, Sarawak became part of the new country of Malaysia.