Though free movement between some countries continued into the independence period, in many cases neighbouring countries reinforced borders and people could not cross easily.
The result, in Africa, was 50+ countries stuck with colonial boundaries often drawn right through the middle of ethnic nations that had never been divided.
2 - Africa's international boundaries were mostly superimposed by Europeans without input from Africans Superimposed boundaries are perhaps the worst offenders in the latter case.Įuropean colonialism established territorial boundaries without consulting affected local people.įig. You've probably already realized that the different categories of boundaries are not exclusive of each other and that they can all end up being conflictive. However, you can easily find relict boundaries at the scale of cities (in many parts of the world, these had defensive walls) or individual properties. You are unlikely to find a true relict boundary of an ancient empire unless a defensive wall was built, or it followed a natural feature that still exists. This is the case in western US states, where certain boundaries from the time that they were US or Mexican territories were retained as state or county boundaries.Īrtificial boundary lines at the scale of sovereign states were quite uncommon until modern times. In many cases, ancient boundaries are recycled or still in use. The Great Wall of China is a famous example of a relict boundary because it is no longer a border between two distinct regions. Boundaries are shifted to transfer territory from one country to the other, often without the say-so of the people who inhabit the area. In Europe, many subsequent boundaries have been imposed based on high-level treaties that end wars. Subsequent boundaries exist where the cultural landscape predates the drawing or redrawing of boundaries. This happened when boundaries were drawn in Australia, Siberia, the Sahara, the Amazon Rainforest, and elsewhere. Except in Antarctica and a few remote islands, there have always been prior occupants whose territory boundaries were ignored.
Indeed, in most cases, "antecedent boundaries" refer to no prior settlements of colonizers and land takers. The US Public Land Survey System didn't take into account Native American territories. Were 1800s US frontier land parcels really based on antecedent boundaries, though? In reality, they were superimposed (see below). The resultant Township and Range system was based on square-mile townships. The US Public Land Survey System, beginning after the Revolutionary War, surveyed unoccupied lands in all new territories where prior survey systems didn't exist.
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