I am an artist from Sweden who has worked with precolonial Africa as a theme in my art for over a year.

I have, as a thought experiment, made a map of what Africa could have looked like, in the mid 19th century if Europe had never become a colonizing world power.

In order to do this I have tried to construct an alternative historical time-line in which Europe was much harder struck by the plague in the 1350’s and never recovered. Therefore African nations would have gotten the opportunity to flourish unhindered.

Map and text by Swedish artist Nikolaj Cyon via Cyon. Make sure to click on the image for a zoomed in version; note that it is based on genuine state polity and cultural units, albeit attenuated over several centuries.