This page attempts to list the many , Countries , Nation s, lands, or Territories that have ceased to exist as political entities, grouped geographically and by constitutional nature.
States and realms that disappeared in Ancient History .
A number of small states existed in what is now China in the Spring And Autumn Period and Warring States Period . These states were subsumed by either the Qin or those states that were defeated by Qin. The culmination of the Qin conquests was the creation of the first unified Chinese state in 221 BC . These extinct states were:
China was to remain unified until the period of the Three Kingdoms , which came about after the fall of the Han Dynasty in 190 . These states were eventually reunified by the Jin Dynasty in 280 . These were the Kingdom Of Shu , the Kingdom Of Wei and the Kingdom Of Wu . China did not remain unified for long under the Jin dynasty and the period known as the Sixteen Kingdoms ( 304 - 439 ) saw a number of short-lived states emerge in northern China, after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to southern China. These states were:
The early Chinese states had an influence on the surrounding region. A number of now-extinct states formed under Chinese influence along the Silk Road including:
The early history of Korea was as complex as that of neighbouring China. A number of Korean states existed on the peninsula and reached up into Manchuria before the formation of the modern state of Korea. These included:
The Americas have historically been home to a number of indigenous states, civilizations and societies of great complexity. Of those indigenous states which were still in existence by the time of the first permanent European Colonizations from the late Fifteenth Century onwards were soon substantively destroyed and/or absorbed. The below list includes both those which had ceased to exist before this European arrival, and those which ceased to independently function as a result of this impact. Note also that the definition of "state" or "civilization" in this context can be problematic or contested.
In addition, there were a wide variety of Pre-Inca Cultures , few of which developed into organised states.
Following the collapse of the Roman Empire there followed a period where the Romano-British political entity fragmented caused mainly by the Celtic system of dividing a realm between the sons of a king on his death. This situation was made worse after c.449 when Jutish and later Anglo-Saxon began colonising the eastern and southern seaboards and driving inland. Eventually the Romano-Britons (now known to the Anglo-Saxons as "Welsh") were assimilated or driven into the highlands of Cambria (Wales) or Caledonia (Scotland). Wales and Scotland will be considered separately to what once existed in England.
- Dumnonia , a realm named after the Dumnonii in the south west. It later became known as ''Cerniw'' or Cornwall .
- Bryneich , a kingdom in the modern day north east of England.
- Ebrauc , a small kingdom centred on York.
- Defwr , a small kingdom in modern east Yorkshire.
- Astolat , a possible kingdom in the south.
- Ceint , a kingdom named after the Cantiaci in what became Kent .
- Caer Llundein, a kingdom based around London .
- Caer Celemion, a kingdom centred on Calleva Atrebatorum .
- Caer Guintguic, a kingdom centred around Winchester .
- Durotrig a possible kingdom in what is now modern Dorset .
- Caer Gloui, a kingdom centred around the city of Gloucester .
- Calchwynedd , a kingdom in the Chiltern Hills
- Avalon , a possible realm in modern Somerset near Glastonbury .
- Caer Camulod, a probable kingdom around the city of Colchester , possibly called Camelot .
- Elmet , a substantial kingdom in the midlands near Leeds extinguished in 616.
- Rheged , another substantial kingdom, divided into north and south, in the north west of modern England.
- Caer Gwendolau , a kingdom near modern Selkirk in Scotland .
- Caer Luitcoit, a small kingdom in modern Staffordshire .
- Pengwern , a significant kingdom in what is now modern Shropshire .
- Northumbria , formed out of the kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira .
- Mercia , which absorbed the smaller kingdoms of Lindsey and Hwicce .
- East Anglia .
- Kent .
- Sussex , kingdom of the South Saxons .
- Wessex , kingdom of the West Saxons .
- Essex , kingdom of the East Saxons .
- Haestingas , a Saxon tribe in part of Sussex .
- Magonsaete , an Anglian tribe in the hills of Shropshire .
- Hwicce , an Anglian tribe in modern Gloucestershire & Worcestershire .
- Middle Saxons , a Saxon tribe in modern Middlesex and Hertfordshire .
- Suther Ge , the Saxons of modern Surrey .
- Hicca , a small ''Middle Angle'' tribe in modern Cambridgeshire .
- Wreoconsaete , an Anglian tribe in the hills of Shropshire .
- Gyre, a small ''Middle Angle'' tribe in modern Cambridgeshire .
- Witware , the Jutes of the Isle Of Wight .
Wales experienced a similar history during this time, although the Welsh population successfully resisted the influx of Anglo-Saxon settlers into the British Isles. The country was home to a number of princedoms until England's ultimate conquest of the region in the later medieval period.
Ireland during the early medieval period, consisted of a number of small tribal kingdoms. These were nominally unified into a single state, the Lordship Of Ireland , between the Twelfth and Sixteenth centuries. This was followed by a Kingdom Of Ireland , which existed until Ireland's union with the rest of the British Isles in 1800 . The most prominent of the tribal kingdoms were:
- In and around what is now Bulgaria
- ---Third Bulgarian Kingdom (1878-1944)
- --- Principality of Bulgaria (1878-1908)
- Commonwealth Of England - (non-existent)
- In and around what is now Scandinavia - unions were personal, not unitary
- --- Grand Duchy Of Finland
- --- Kalmar Union - (the three Scandinavian kingdoms; dissolved)
- --- Denmark-Norway - (dissolved)
- --- Sweden-Norway - (dissolved)
- In and around what is now Germany
- --- Confederation Of The Rhine
- --- German Confederation
-- North German Confederation
- --- German Empire (1871-1918)
-- Kingdom Of Prussia (1701-1918)
-- Ducal Prussia
- --- Brandenburg-Prussia (1660-1701)
- Baden
- Bavaria
- Bremen etc
- On the island of Ireland
- --- Confederation of Kilkenny/ Confederate Ireland (1642-1649)
- --- Southern Ireland (1922)
- --- Irish Republic (1919-1922)
- Historical States Of Italy
- --- Roman Republic (19th Century)
- --- Tavolara Island
- --- Kingdom Of The Two Sicilies (1815-1860)
- In and around what is now The Netherlands :
- --- Republic Of The Seven United Netherlands ( 1581 - 1795 ) (Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden/Provinciën) Independence from Spain after Eighty Years' War in 1581 , conquered by Napoleon 1795.
- --- Batavian Republic ( 1795 - 1806 ) (Bataafse Republiek) France 's Vassal State .
- --- Kingdom Of Holland ( 1806 - 1810 ) (Koninkrijk Holland/Royaume d'Hollande) Ruled by Louis Bonaparte , Annexed by France 1810.
- In and around what is now Poland
- --- Grand Duchy Of Lithuania
- --- Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795)
- --- Duchy Of Warsaw (1807-1815)
- --- Free City Of Danzig (1807-1815) (1920-1939)
- --- Republic Of Krakow (1815-1846)
- --- Duchy Of Courland (1561-1795)
- Great Colombia (1819-1831), consisting in present-day Colombia , Venezuela , Ecuador and Panama . Its official name was República de Colombia: there never was a state called "Greater Colombia" or "Gran Colombia"; this is an addition by later historians in order to distinguish it from the present-day Republic of Colombia.
Although the literal translation is "Great Colombia", historians have traditionally chosen to translate it as "Greater Colombia".
These were all Colonies , most of which were renamed after their independence.
- Afars And Issas - French territory between 1967 and 1977 , called French Somaliland before that. Became independent as Djibouti .
- Basutoland - Since 1868 a British protectorate, later colony (governed from South Africa ). Became independent as Lesotho in 1966 .
- Bechuanaland - Since 1884 a British protectorate, later colony (governed from South Africa ). Became independent as Botswana in 1966 .
- Belgian Congo - Belgian colony from 1908 until 1960 , when the it became independent as the Democratic Republic Of The Congo .
- British India - became India
- British Guiana - became Guyana
- British Honduras - became Belize
- British North America - Thirteen Of The British Colonies broke away and formed the U.S. while the loyal colonies eventually became Canada
- Congo Free State - Name of the state owned from 1884 by King Léopold II Of Belgium , later mostly annexed by his country in 1908 , then known as Belgian Congo .
- Dahomey - This Africa n kingdom was acquired by France . In 1904 , it was made part of the French West Africa n federation. It became independent in 1960 , changing its name in 1975 to Benin .
- Danish West Indies - Danish colony, sold in 1917 to the United States . Now known as the United States Virgin Islands .
- Dutch Guiana - became Suriname
- French Equatorial Africa - A French federation of colonies, formed in 1910 , containing the colonies of Gabon , Middle Congo , Chad and Ubangi-Shari . Each of these states became independent in 1960.
- French Indochina - French territory until 1949 . Became independent as Cambodia , Laos and Vietnam .
- French Somaliland - became Afars And Issas then independent Djibouti
- French Sudan - A French Colony , part of the French West Africa n federation since 1904 . In 1959 it formed the independent Mali Federation together with Senegal , which fell apart in 1960 , after which the country was renamed Mali .
- French West Africa - dissolved into Mali , Senegal , Côte D'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Niger , Guinea , Dahomey , Mauritania .
- German East Africa - became Tanganyika , now in Tanzania
- German New Guinea - protectorate from 1884 until conquered by Australia in 1914.
- German South-West Africa - A German colony from 1884 to 1915 , after which it became South Africa n held territory until 1990 , when the country became independent as Namibia .
- Gold Coast - A British colony since 1874 , it became independent as Ghana in 1957 .
- Hong Kong - colony of the United Kingdom , sovereignty transferred to the People's Republic Of China on July 1 , 1997 , as a "Special Administrative Region".
- were merged with the successor states of the British Raj in the years after Independence in 1947.
- Italian East Africa - Italian colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland together with occupied Ethiopia .
- Italian North Africa - became Libya
- Macao - colony of Portugal , sovereignty transferred to the People's Republic Of China on December 20 , 1999 , as a "Special Administrative Region".
- Middle Congo - A French colony, previously named French Congo , became independent as the Republic Of The Congo in 1960 .
- Minorca - British colony returned to Spain
- Netherlands East Indies - A collection of Dutch colonies, officially since the end of the Napoleonic Wars , up to 1799 controlled by the Dutch East India Company but occupied and administered by the British in an interregnum during the Napoleonic Wars under the authority of the Kew Letters . Became independent as Indonesia in 1949 .
- Netherlands Guiana - became Suriname
- Netherlands New Guinea - adjacent to the Netherlands East Indies until 1949 , became part of Indonesia in 1969 as Irian Jaya .
- New France was conquered by the United Kingdom; various parts of it later became part of Canada and the United States .
- New Hebrides - An Anglo-French condominium until 1980 . Became independent as Vanuatu .
- New Granada
- New Netherlands - A Dutch colony in the present-day United States , mainly in and around the state of New York . It was conquered by England in 1664.
- New Spain
- Northern Rhodesia - became Zambia in 1964 .
- Nyasaland - British protectorate, previously called British Central Africa , it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907 . It became part of a federation with Rhodesia in 1953 , and became independent as Malawi in 1964 .
- Oubangui-Chari - became Central African Republic
- Panama Canal Zone - US territory until 1979 . Became part of Panama .
- Portuguese East Africa - became Mozambique
- Portuguese Guinea - became Guinea-Bissau
- Portuguese India - became part of India
- Portuguese Timor - The eastern side of the island of Timor was a Portuguese colony until 1975 , when independence was declared as East Timor . Indonesia n troops seized the country, but the country was finally declared independent in 2002 .
- Portuguese West Africa - became Angola
- Rhodesia - name for Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) while unilaterally claiming independence, 1965-1979.
- Rio Muni - Former Spanish colony, then part of territory of Spanish Guinea until 1968 . Became independent as Equatorial Guinea .
- Ruanda-Urundi - UN Trusteeship (Belgian) until 1962 . Became independent as Burundi and Rwanda .
- Protectorate of South Arabia - Federation until 1967 , consisting of British colony of Aden and numerous protectorates. Became independent as People's Republic Of Yemen (from 1970 People's Democratic Republic of Yemen) known as 'South Yemen'.
- South-West Africa - In 1915 , South Africa occupied the German colony of South-West Africa, which it held under mandate until 1922 , after which they remained ruling the territory until its independence in 1990 as Namibia (since 1994 also including Walvisbaai ).
- Southern Rhodesia - British colony, unilaterally declared itself independent as Rhodesia in 1965, renamed Zimbabwe Rhodesia 1979, then gained international recognition as Zimbabwe 1980.
- Spanish Guinea - became Equatorial Guinea . Consisted of two former colonies of Rio Muni and Fernando Po .
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