Old maps of Africa
Maps of Africa from the 16th century to the 1920s: the whole continent as European mapmakers drew it, the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Colony, Egypt and the Nile, and the maps of the colonial partition.
Why they are free to use: Most were published more than a century ago, so their copyright has expired. Each map's page shows its own licence basis and a credit line.
The continent
Search “old map of Africa” for more, or ask Claude for it
1600s map of Africa
1600 · Wikimedia Commons
A map of Africa; title in arch on stone at bottom left; illustration to Hervey's Naval History. c.1779 Engraving with etching
c. 1779 · Wikimedia Commons
Zoomable full resolution image available at davidrumsey.com. This image //www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/view/search?q=list_no=%221585.051%22 1585.051 is a part of image group 1585.000. American edi
1585 · Africa
1:30,000,000; Relief shown by shading.
1830–1839 · Wikimedia Commons
Afrique connue des Anciens.
1927 · Wikimedia Commons
1:31,000,000; Relief shown by hachures.
1840–1849 · Wikimedia Commons
Africa, or Greater Libya
1679 · Wikimedia Commons
Africa. By Sidney Hall. London, published by Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, Paternoster Row, Feby. 1, 1829.
1829 · Wikimedia Commons
The Cape of Good Hope
Search “old map of the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Colony” for more, or ask Claude for it
Cape of Good Hope. Drawn by A. Arrowsmith. Engraved by Sidy. Hall. Published, 1817, by A. Constable & Co. Edinburgh.
1817 · Wikimedia Commons
Colony of the Cape of Good Hope
1802 · Wikimedia Commons
South Africa, 1834 1
1834 · Wikimedia Commons
Cape of Good Hope.
1842 · Library of Congress
South Africa, 1834 0
1834 · Wikimedia Commons
Colony of the Cape of Good Hope
1810–1819 · Wikimedia Commons
A Map of the Southern Extremity of the Continent of Africa comprehending the CAPE of GOOD HOPE the DUTCH Colonies & the HOTTENTOT Settlements.
1794 · Wikimedia Commons
Caerte vande Cabo de Bona ESPERANCA En haer gelegenheyt daer omtrent
1682 · Wikimedia Commons
Egypt and the Nile
Search “old map of Egypt and the Nile” for more, or ask Claude for it
Aegypti recentior descriptio
1570 · Wikimedia Commons
Pinkerton's extraordinary 1818 map of Egypt. Covers the region centered on the Nile River from its delta along the Mediterranean south to the Island of Philae and the city of Aswan. Notes numerous cit
1818 · Wikimedia Commons
Ægypti recentior descriptio:Ægyptis & Jurcis Elchibith; Arabibus Mesre & Misri, Hebræis Mitsraim. Relief shown pictorially. Map oriented with north to the right. Includes decorative title cartouche wi
1650 · Wikimedia Commons
1705 map of Egypt from Nekrokedeia by Thomas Greenhill
1705 · Wikimedia Commons
1:9,000,000; Oriented to west.
1688 · Wikimedia Commons
Nile River
1584 · Wikimedia Commons
Pictoral relief of Egypt, detached from La geografia di Claudio Tolomeo Alessandrino, and based on a 1548 edition by Giacomo Gastaldi. (Source: North West University Library
1561 · Wikimedia Commons
Aegypti recentior descriptio, Aegyptis et Turcis.
1700–1799 · Wikimedia Commons
The colonial partition
Search “map of Africa showing European colonies 1890s 1910s” for more, or ask Claude for it
Map showing European colonial territories in Africa
1898 · Wikimedia Commons
Shows European colonies and independent countries in Africa ca. 1908. Differs from other manuscript. G8200 1908.W4, in coloration. In lower left corner: The Wells Missionary Map Co., 3612 Prairie Aven
1908 · Library of Congress
Shows European colonies and independent countries in Africa ca. 1908. Differs from other manuscript, G8200 1908.W41, in coloration. In lower left corner: The Wells Missionary Map Co., 3612 Prairie Ave
1908 · Library of Congress
Map of southern Africa 1904
February 18, 1904 · Wikimedia Commons
West-Coast of Africa showing European Dependencies
1894 · Wikimedia Commons
Southern Africa 1890s Political
1897 · Wikimedia Commons
Map of the Africa continent published in 1909
1909–2011 · Wikimedia Commons
AFR V4 D111 African territory annexed and claimed by Europeans by 1888
June 12, 1893 · Wikimedia Commons
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