Angola Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Angola appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 10 different states, among them Angola, Angola (Portugal), Lunda, Congo, Mbailundu.
AngolaExplore the history of Angola in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Angola as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Angola, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1492 | Ndongo 3% |
| 1500 | Ndongo 3% |
| 1600 | Lunda 22% · Congo 6% |
| 1650 | Lunda 22% · Congo 6% |
| 1700 | Lunda 22% · Congo 6% |
| 1783 | Lunda 22% · Congo 6% |
| 1800 | Lunda 22% · Congo 6% |
| 1815 | Angola 6% · Congo 3% · Imbangala 3% |
| 1880 | Mbailundu 9% · Ovimbundu 6% · Angola (Portugal) 3% |
| 1900 | Mbailundu 9% · Ovimbundu 6% · Angola 3% |
| 1914 | Angola 100% |
| 1920 | Angola 100% |
| 1930 | Angola 100% |
| 1938 | Angola (Portugal) 100% |
| 1945 | Angola (Portugal) 100% |
| 1960 | Angola 100% |
| 1994 | Angola 100% |
| 2010 | Angola 100% |
Battles and historic sites
| Year | Battle or site |
|---|---|
| 1665 | Battle of Mbwila |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Angola?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Angola belonged to Angola, Angola (Portugal), Lunda, Congo, Mbailundu, Ovimbundu, along with 4 other states.
What was Angola part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Angola lay within Ndongo.
What was Angola part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Angola lay within Mbailundu.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.