ONE LAND · 5 ATLASES
History of Western Sahara in maps
Western Sahara as it appears in 5 interactive history atlases, from 1890 to 2015: Western Sahara. Each era below lists who ruled the land and when control changed, linked to the dated map that shows it.
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What was Western Sahara before it was Western Sahara? 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.
Western Sahara · Industrial Revolution
| Colony or dependency — the opening position | |
| Colony or dependency |
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Western Sahara · WWI
Western Sahara · Cold War
COLD WAR: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Western Sahara · Decolonization of Africa
| Portuguese, Belgian, Spanish & Italian-ruled — the opening position | |
| Independent Africa |
DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
Western Sahara (Spanish until 1975, then Moroccan) · Feminism and the Tunisian Revolution
| Authoritarian, one-party or colonial rule — the opening position | |
| No reform yet / outside this story |
FEMINISM AND THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION: EVERY CHAPTER AND MAP →
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