Guinea Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Guinea 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 French West Africa, Guinea, Mali, Futa Jalon, Senegal.
GuineaExplore the history of Guinea in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Guinea as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Guinea, 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 |
|---|---|
| 1300 | Mali 29% |
| 1400 | Mali 29% |
| 1492 | Mali 21% |
| 1500 | Mali 21% |
| 1600 | Senegal 75% |
| 1650 | Mali 27% |
| 1700 | Mali 27% |
| 1783 | Segu 17% · Kaarta 4% |
| 1800 | Segu 17% · Kaarta 4% |
| 1815 | Kaarta 21% |
| 1880 | Futa Jalon 42% · Sierra Leone 4% · Tukular Caliphate 2% |
| 1900 | Futa Jalon 42% · First Samori Empire 31% · Sierra Leone 4% |
| 1914 | French West Africa 100% |
| 1920 | French West Africa 100% |
| 1930 | French West Africa 100% |
| 1938 | French West Africa 100% |
| 1945 | Guinea 100% |
| 1960 | Guinea 100% |
| 1994 | Guinea 100% |
| 2010 | Guinea 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Guinea?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Guinea belonged to French West Africa, Guinea, Mali, Futa Jalon, Senegal, Segu, along with 4 other states.
What was Guinea part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Guinea lay within Mali.
What was Guinea part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Guinea lay within Futa Jalon.
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.