Historical world map · 1904
World map in 1904
A CShapes frame of independent states, colonies, and dependent territories in a year when borders changed. On 1 July, CShapes counts 55 independent states and 94 colonies and dependent territories. This sourced reconstruction contains 149 mapped geometries with source labels representing 149 distinct names.
- Mapped geometries
- 149
- Labeled geometries
- 149
- Distinct labels
- 149
- Data source
- CShapes 2.1 borders
World map preview and interactive explorer for 1904
Static map preview for 1904
Load the interactive view only when you want place search, year comparison, point history, or detailed border inspection.
Border changes
What changed on the world map in 1904
Independence, new states, transfers between rulers, and border changes recorded in CShapes during 1904. The map above shows borders as of 1 July.
- French West Africa ceases to exist as a separate entity; its capital passes to France.
- Mauritania appears as a territory of France.
- Cambodia gains about 18,715 km² of territory.
- Thailand loses about 18,715 km² of territory.
- Northern Nigeria loses about 66,684 km² of territory.
- Mauritania loses about 28,689 km² of territory.
- Morocco loses about 24,107 km² of territory.
Named in the source
Countries, territories, and regions mapped in 1904
Usable source labels can mix states, empires, dependencies, cultural regions, and other mapped entities. Wording follows the dataset rather than forcing every shape into a modern-country category.
- Distinct named labels
- 149
- Unlabeled geometries
- 0
Independent states (55)
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria-Hungary
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Iran (Persia)
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea (until 1945)
- Liberia
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- Oman
- Orange Free State
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Transvaal
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Colonies and dependent territories (94)
- United Kingdom (46)
- Afghanistan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, British Somaliland, Brunei, Cape Colony, Egypt, Federated Malay States, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lagos, Lesotho, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Natal, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Northeastern Rhodesia, Northern Nigeria, North-Western Rhodesia, Territory of Papua, North Borneo, Sarawak, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Southern Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Straits Settlements, Sudan, Eswatini, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Unfederated Malay States, United Arab Emirates, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe
- France (21)
- Algeria, Benin, Cambodia, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Laos, Madagascar, Martinique, Mauritania, New Caledonia and Dependencies, Reunion, Senegal, Tunisia, Vietnam
- Portugal (5)
- Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique
- United States (4)
- Alaska, Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico
- Austria-Hungary (2)
- Bosnia, Herzegovina
- Russia (2)
- Bokhara, Khiva
- Spain (2)
- Equatorial Guinea, Spanish West Africa
- Belgium (1)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Japan (1)
- Taiwan
Precision in the source
Not every border deserves the same confidence
Precision is inherited from the dataset when available. It describes how the line was encoded, not the overall certainty of every historical claim inside the polygon.
- Determined by international law
- 149
These precision categories cover all mapped geometries. Label coverage is reported separately above, so the two sets of counts should not be added together.
Source, license, and download
Sovereign-border dataset of independent states and colonies, dated to the day. It fills every year since 1886 in which state borders changed and covers 2011 through 2023 annually. It does not code wartime occupation. Coverage: Independent states and dependent territories, 1886–2023; each frame shows borders on 1 July
Reuse terms: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Check the original project for full attribution and reuse requirements.