Old Countries

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Bangladesh    was formerly known as    East Pakistan Before it separated itself from Pakistan in 1971, after a bloody civil war.

Belarus    was formerly known as    Belorussia Belarus was named Belorussia in the days of Imperial Russia, and the Russian tsar was usually styled Tsar of All the Russias—Great, Little, and White. The name Belarus derives from the term White Rus. The first known use of White Russia to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th C.

Belarus    was formerly known as    White Russia . The name Belarus derives from the term White Rus. The name Belarus derives from the term White Rus, which first appeared in German and Latin medieval literature. The Latin term for the area was Russia Alba. Historically, the country was referred to in English as White Ruthenia. The first known use of White Russia to refer to Belarus was in the late-16th C.

Belize    was formerly known as    British Honduras British Honduras was the former name of what is now the independent nation of Belize and was a British colony on the east coast of Central America, southeast of Mexico. First colonised by Spaniards in the seventeenth century, it became a British crown colony from 1862 through 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became fully independent from the United Kingdom in 1981. It was renamed Belize in 1973.

Benin    was formerly known as    Dahomey Prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. Dahomey was the name of a country in west Africa now called the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state founded in the seventeenth century which survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey existed from 1960-1975. In 1975, the country was re-named "The People's Republic of Benin" after the Bight of Benin

Botswana    was formerly known as    Bechuanaland Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966.

Burkina Faso    was formerly known as    Upper Volta French Upper Volta was a colony of French West Africa established in 1919 from territories that had been part of the colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger and the Côte d'Ivoire. The colony was dissolved in 1932 with parts being administered by the Côte d’Ivoire, French Sudan and Niger. In 1947 the colony was revived as a part of the French Union, with its previous boundaries. In 1958, it was reconstituted as the self-governing Republic of Upper Volta within the French Community, and two years later in 1960 it attained full independence. In 1984, the name was changed to Burkina Faso.

Cambodia    was formerly known as    Kampuchea 1975 - 1991. The Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. The regime, led by Pol Pot, changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea

Colombia    was formerly known as    New Granada The New Kingdom of Granada was the name given to a group of 16th C Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the Audiencia of Bogotá, an area corresponding mainly to modern Colombia. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, it became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada first in 1717 and permanently in 1739. It ceased to exist altogether with the Viceroyalty's end in 1819 and the establishment of an independent Republic of Colombia.

Czech Republic    was formerly known as    Bohemia Until 1918. A historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic. In a broader meaning, it often refers to the entire Czech territory, including Moravia and Czech Silesia, especially in historical contexts, such as the Kingdom of Bohemia.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo    was formerly known as    Belgian Congo Before 1971. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly, in turn, the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire

The Democratic Republic of the Congo    was formerly known as    Congo Free State The Congo Free State was a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization, the Association Internationale Africaine. The state included the entire area of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo and existed from 1885 to 1908, when it was annexed by the government of Belgium.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo    was formerly known as    Zaire Between 1971 and 1997; The Democratic Republic of the Congo was formerly, in turn, the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo-Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zaire

Djibouti    was formerly known as    French Somaliland

East Timor    was formerly known as    Portuguese Timor Until 1975. Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia. Since independence in 2002 also known as Timor-Leste

Equatorial Guinea    was formerly known as    Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea was an African colony of Spain that became the independent nation of Equatorial Guinea in 1968.

Ethiopia    was formerly known as    Abyssinia

Ghana    was formerly known as    The Gold Coast Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.

Guinea-Bissau    was formerly known as    Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (also Guinea or the Overseas Province of Guinea) was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.

Guyana    was formerly known as    British Guiana Until 1966. British Guiana was a British colony, now the independent nation of Guyana. The area was originally settled by the Dutch as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice. These three colonies were captured by the British in 1796, officially ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814, and consolidated into a single colony in 1831.

Indonesia    was formerly known as    Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia in 1945 following World War II.

Indonesia    was formerly known as    Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia in 1945 following World War II.

Iran    was formerly known as    Persia

Iraq    was formerly known as    Mesopotamia

Kiribati    was formerly known as    The Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands are a chain of 16 atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. In 1979, the Gilberts opted for independence, becoming the independent nation of Kiribati.

Lesotho    was formerly known as    Basutoland

Madagascar    was formerly known as    Malagasy Republic

Malawi    was formerly known as    Nyasaland Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964.

Mali    was formerly known as    French Sudan French Sudan was a colony in French West Africa that had two separate periods of existence, first from 1890 to 1899, then from 1920 to 1960, when the territory became the independent nation of Mali.

Myanmar    was formerly known as    Burma In the Burmese language, Burma is known as either Myanmah or Bama. Since British colonial rule, the country was known in English as "Burma". In 1989, the military government officially changed the English version of the country's name from "Burma" to "Myanmar". The renaming proved to be politically controversial. Opposition groups continue to use the name "Burma", because they do not recognize the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country in English.

Namibia    was formerly known as    South-West Africa 1915-1990

Netherlands Antilles    was formerly known as    Curacao

Samoa    was formerly known as    Western Samoa Samoa officially the Independent State of Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa) was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was known as Navigators Islands before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.

Sri Lanka    was formerly known as    Ceylon

Sri Lanka    was formerly known as    Serendib

Suriname    was formerly known as    Dutch Guiana

Taiwan    was formerly known as    Formosa

Tajikistan    was formerly known as    Tajik SSR 1991. The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as the Tajik SSR for short, was one of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union. Tajik SSR was created in 1929 within the Soviet Union. It succeeded the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik ASSR), which had been created on 14 October 1924 as a part of the predominantly Turkic Uzbek SSR in the process of national delimitation in Soviet Central Asia. In 1991, Tajik SSR declared independence from the Soviet Union and was renamed the Republic of Tajikistan.

Thailand    was formerly known as    Siam The country's official name was Siam until June 23, 1939, when it was changed to Thailand. It was renamed Siam from 1945 to May 11, 1949, after which it was again renamed Thailand.

Turkey    was formerly known as    The Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey was an empire that lasted from 1299–1923. It was succeeded by the Republic of Turkey,[3] which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923.

Turkmenistan    was formerly known as    Turkmen SSR The Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as the Turkmen SSR for short, was one of republics of the Soviet Union. It was initially established in 1921 as the Turkmen Oblast of the Turkestan ASSR. In 1925 it was transformed into Turkmen SSR and became a separate republic of the USSR. In 1991, the Turkmen SSR became independent and was renamed Turkmenistan.

Tuvalu    was formerly known as    Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate from 1892 and colony from 1916 until 1976 when the islands were divided into two different colonies which became independent nations shortly after. The Gilbert Islands have been the major part of the nation of Kiribati since 1979, and the Ellice Islands became Tuvalu in 1978.

United Arab Emirates    was formerly known as    Trucial Oman

Uruguay    was formerly known as    The Cisplatine Province

Vanuatu    was formerly known as    New Hebrides The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th C. The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium, which lasted from 1906 until 1980, when the New Hebrides gained their independence as Vanuatu.

Zambia    was formerly known as    Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. Although it had features of a charter colony the territory's treaties and charter gave it protectorate status. From 1924 it was administered by the United Kingdom government as an official British protectorate. Northern Rhodesia became independent in 1964 as Zambia.

Zimbabwe    was formerly known as    Southern Rhodesia Formerly Southern Rhodesia, the Republic of Rhodesia and Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent in 11 1965. The name was also used with the establishment of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979. After a brief return to colonial status as Southern Rhodesia from 1979 to 1980, the country became the independent nation of Zimbabwe in April 1980.

Facts contributed by:

LMSmouse

pythondave

timothy333

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