Malawi Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Malawi appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 6 different states, among them Malawi, Nyasaland, Kazembe, Shona, Portuguese East Africa.
MalawiExplore the history of Malawi in the interactive map
Who ruled the land of Malawi, 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 |
|---|---|
| 1650 | Portuguese East Africa 6% |
| 1700 | Portuguese East Africa 6% |
| 1783 | Portuguese East Africa 6% |
| 1800 | Portuguese East Africa 6% |
| 1815 | Kazembe 83% · Portuguese East Africa 4% |
| 1880 | Shona 27% · Mozambique 6% |
| 1900 | Shona 27% · Portuguese East Africa 6% |
| 1914 | Malawi 100% |
| 1920 | Malawi 100% |
| 1930 | Malawi 100% |
| 1938 | Malawi 100% |
| 1945 | Nyasaland 100% |
| 1960 | Malawi 100% |
| 1994 | Malawi 100% |
| 2010 | Malawi 100% |
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Malawi?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Malawi belonged to Malawi, Nyasaland, Kazembe, Shona, Portuguese East Africa, Mozambique.
What was Malawi part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Malawi lay within Shona.
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.