3 ms·

I've never wondered why some border are straight lines actually. Care to elaborate?

• allendoerfer 10y ago
  Colonialism.
• DougBTX 10y ago
  http://everything2.com/title/Never+Trust+a+Straight+Line+on+a+Map http://everything2.com/title/Never+Trust+a+Straight+Line+on+... tl;dr, straight lines on maps are drawn for the convenience of the map maker, not as a representation of culture on the ground. Africa may be better off ignoring straight lines drawn by colonialists.
  • deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  • umanwizard 10y ago
    Looking at the map linked from that page[1], practically none of the lines are straight (except for in the unpopulated desert in the north). Even countries that are specifically called out as examples in the text (like Nigeria) don't have straight-line borders. What am I missing? [1]: http://www.africaguide.com/images/africa_map.gif http://www.africaguide.com/images/africa_map.gif
• quonn 10y ago
  They are straight, because 19th century colonialism created them.