ONE LAND · 6 ATLASES
History of Burkina Faso in maps
Burkina Faso as it appears in 6 interactive history atlases, from 1910 to 2015: Burkina Faso. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.
WW2 is free — every chapter. Try chapters 1–2 of any 2 other atlases (3 with a free account). Opening a new atlas uses one of them. Membership opens all 21 — Join.
Free printable Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution study guide, sent by email ↓
What was Burkina Faso before it was Burkina Faso? Below, every era of this land in the Maps of History atlases — who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed — each line linked to the dated map that shows it. Modern borders stand in as an honest approximation; every atlas says so on the map itself.
Burkina Faso · Industrial Revolution
| Colony or dependency — the opening position | |
| Colony or dependency |
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Burkina Faso · WWI
| Entente-aligned & imperial territories — the opening position |
Burkina Faso · Road to WW2
| Colonial empires & possessions — the opening position |
ROAD TO WW2: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Burkina Faso · Cold War
| NATO & core Western allies — the opening position | |
| Non-aligned & neutral |
COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) · Decolonization of Africa
Upper Volta — renamed Burkina Faso, “land of upright people,” in 1984 — won independence from France in 1960. Poor, landlocked and Sahelian, it endured a long cycle of coups; the most famous brought the radical young Thomas Sankara to power in 1983, before his assassination in 1987. A small state emblematic of the interior colonies’ poverty and instability.
| French-ruled — the opening position | |
| Independent Africa |
DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Burkina Faso · Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution
| Authoritarian, one-party or colonial rule — the opening position | |
| Right won in law | |
| No reform yet / outside this story |
FEMINISM AND THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Related
THE FREE PRINTABLE STUDY GUIDE
Join the Dispatch — a short welcome series, then a letter when a new atlas opens — and a printable atlas study guide of your choice is yours now, free.
NO TRACKING · YOUR ADDRESS IS USED FOR THE DISPATCH AND NOTHING ELSE · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME