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Countries of Asia in 1900

Can you name the countries of Asia that existed in the year 1900?
Excludes territories of other countries
Quiz by Jiaozira
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Last updated: July 26, 2019
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First submittedJanuary 29, 2017
Times taken47,275
Average score69.2%
Rating4.43
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Country
Aceh
Aden
Bhutan
Champasak
Jabal Shammar
Country
Japanese Empire
Korea
Nepal
Ottoman Empire
Country
Persia
Qing Empire
Russian Empire
Siam
+12
Level 75
Jan 29, 2017
How about a quiz including all the land area, and having a column for protectorates/external territories like Dutch East Indies? Interesting that Aceh remained a separate country all that time.
+9
Level 67
Feb 7, 2017
Aceh surrendered to the Dutch in 1903
+1
Level 44
Jul 21, 2021
I might know more about Indonesia
+1
Level 62
Feb 9, 2017
What about Cyprus? It wasn't annexed by Britain until 1914. It was pretty independent at 1900
+26
Level 82
Feb 9, 2017
It was Ottoman territory under British administration. Doesn't sound very independent.
+9
Level 65
May 16, 2017
Cyprus is in Europe
+26
Level 58
May 16, 2017
No. Geographically not.
+54
Level 70
Jun 20, 2017
Lets not start this debate
+1
Level 79
Mar 30, 2020
It may be in Europe.
+3
Level 55
Oct 1, 2020
...and it may not
+1
Level 44
Jul 21, 2021
Most people said that Cyprus is in Asia but others said in Europe some even said both continents
+3
Level 64
Aug 8, 2021
It is most definitely in Europe, but it's pointless to argue over it, since it's Jetpunk policy to consider it Asian.
+2
Level 85
Oct 15, 2021
Cyprus is the Schrodinger of countries: It's both European and not European.
+3
Level 81
Feb 9, 2017
Very interesting quiz!
+1
Level 70
Feb 9, 2017
Thanks :)
+6
Level 69
Feb 9, 2017
my first guess was Tibet... Thought Tibet was independant until the Chinese invaded them in the 50s.
+4
Level 69
Feb 10, 2017
Thought so too
+7
Level 76
Feb 16, 2017
They were controlled for quite a while by the Qing dynasty, and before that, the Yuan. The Qing dynasty didn't fall until 1912.
+3
Level 58
May 22, 2017
I think they were de jure part of China, though de facto independent (and together with Persia and Afghanistan a bone of contention between Russia and the UK)
+4
Level 64
Aug 8, 2021
Tibet had some level of autonomy, but they were very much part of the Qing empire. Had history gone slightly different though, it would have been annexed by the British, and today probably been part of India.
+11
Level 77
Nov 17, 2019
Free Tibet!
+3
Level 75
May 13, 2017
Wouldn't Afghanistan be on the list? And Aden was a British colony and protectorate from the 1800s, and the Ottomans had more of Bulgaria in 1900.
+2
Level 71
May 16, 2017
Bulgaria isn't in Asia though.
+6
Level 69
May 16, 2017
it's on the map though
+2
Level 59
May 16, 2017
It might be on the map, but then so is Ethiopia, which was independent. Bulgaria and Ethiopia are not in Asia: the quiz is about Asia, not places in Europe and Africa that happen to appear on the map.
+1
Level 70
May 16, 2017
Bulgaria is in Europe. However, it was partially controlled by the Ototoman Empire, an Asian country.
+2
Level 59
Nov 18, 2019
They are just saying to increase the range of the ottoman empire, not calling out a mistake.
+1
Level 70
May 16, 2017
Afghanistan would be on the list
+1
Level 67
May 16, 2017
Tannu Uriankhai was still under Chinese sovereignty in 1900.
+4
Level 65
Jan 8, 2020
Urukhai?
+1
Level 60
Aug 15, 2021
Uruk Hai! (RIP Boromir)
+2
Level 34
May 16, 2017
Love the quiz and the map makes it even cooler :D
+2
Level 82
May 16, 2017
I was aware that Ha'il, a city in Saudi Arabia, was the most prosperous and significant city in the region in 1900. I knew that the al-Rashidi and Shammari tribes held sway there and still do. But I wasn't sure what to call the Emirate that existed there at the time. Tried a few things and failed.
+6
Level 65
May 16, 2017
You might accept also "Najd" instead of Ha'il. To the extent of my knowledges, it's a more common name referring to the whole region the Saudis started their expansion from.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najd

+1
Level 33
May 17, 2017
Definitely agree. Najd must be accepted.
+1
Level 46
May 21, 2017
My first guess was Najd. I think that's the more common name of not the right name.
+1
Level 74
May 23, 2017
Hey, I tried Najd...
+1
Level ∞
Jul 26, 2019
Changed the displayed answer to Jabal Shammar, and Najd will work now.
+1
Level 70
Nov 17, 2019
Appreciate Najd!
+1
Level 49
Jan 12, 2020
Also make Nejd work too
+4
Level 82
Nov 17, 2019
In Saudi I usually saw it spelled Nejd.
+4
Level 72
May 16, 2017
Personally I think you shouldn't accept the modern names like Thailand and Iran. Those weren't the names of those countries at the time, so it makes it a little too easy.
+1
Level 66
May 16, 2017
They're successor states, though. Not accepting successor states' name changes would be problematic, as it would contravene the acceptance of Burma in place of Myanmar on dozens of quizzes.
+4
Level 82
May 1, 2018
Only in English - locally it was known as Iran.
+2
Level 64
Aug 8, 2021
Not only in English... It was known as Persia (or a variation on that name) in most world languages at the time. Only in Farsi and languages heavily influenced by Farsi was it known as Iran.
+1
Level 32
May 16, 2017
yay 13
+3
Level 33
May 17, 2017
Ummm...... No Afghanistan ???????
+1
Level 58
May 22, 2017
I would have included it, but I guess the makers of the quiz considered it a British protectorate at the time.
+1
Level 67
May 18, 2017
When did Formosa come about?
+2
Level 70
May 18, 2017
Formosa was originally settled by indigenous people of Melanesian descent, before Portugal colonised it. However, it was then taken over by the the expanding Japanese empire, and it was part of Japan in 1900. After the revolution in China, the national party was driven onto the island, now named Taiwan, while the CCP claimed the mainland. In 1900, Taiwan was at the state of control under Japan, as it was one of the earlier territories they acquired, (along with the Okinawa islands).
+6
Level 58
May 22, 2017
It wasn't the Portuguese, but the Dutch who colonized Formosa, from 1622 onward (although there was a Spanish stronghold for some time too). In 1661 it was conquered by Ming loyalists, who lost it to Qing in 1683. Only in 1895 it was annexed by Japan after the first Sino-Japanese war.
+1
Level 44
May 30, 2017
Well... I know Champasak as only Champa
+1
Level 45
Jul 14, 2017
Got all the obvious ones only missed four
+1
Level 45
Jan 3, 2018
Missed Adan and champaska
+1
Level 39
Feb 25, 2018
Why isn't India included?

It existed in 1900

+3
Level 75
Mar 20, 2018
Not as a sovereign state it didn't - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Raj
+1
Level 66
Apr 28, 2018
The Empty Quarter, the land so barren that nobody wanted it.
+2
Level 41
May 28, 2018
The world is so much more simple like this...ah, if only...
+1
Level 79
May 28, 2018
Emirate of Ha'il is also known as Emirate of Jabal Shammar. Both should be accepted in this quiz. I'd also suggest House of Rashid should be accepted for this.
+1
Level 88
Jun 26, 2018
Aceh, Ha'il, Champasak...nope, never guessed.
+1
Level 71
Aug 17, 2018
Should Russia count? Sure they had a lot of land in Asia, but it was still an empire that was ruled from Europe (St Petersburg).
+1
Level 59
Nov 7, 2018
i think some countries are wrong

like hail=nejd

aden= south yemen

russia= ussr

+3
Level 70
Nov 7, 2018
The USSR and South Yemen didn't exist in 1900.
+1
Level 66
Nov 17, 2019
Why did Ceylon, India, Burma, Netherlands East Indies and Cambodia not work?
+2
Level 44
Nov 17, 2019
I love this quiz! I think it was a great idea :)
+1
Level 57
Nov 17, 2019
Can you have "Champa" work for Champasak?
+2
Level 73
Nov 17, 2019
What about the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman? That was an independent country in 1900 I believe.
+1
Level 64
Aug 8, 2021
I was wondering about that too. It lost its African colonies by 1900, but it most definitely was an independent country still.
+1
Level 73
Nov 30, 2019
Without the map would make it much more interesting. Most of the answers are obvious with it.
+1
Level 65
Jan 8, 2020
Yes people found champasak very obvious
+2
Level 28
Dec 10, 2019
wouldn't the UK count, because they owned India, which is on the map and in Asia, also great quiz
+1
Level 70
Dec 10, 2019
Thank you! I've excluded the European powers from this quiz, but in this version of the quiz you can find colonies, too.
+2
Level 40
Apr 21, 2020
thats a really big percent dropoff, 81% to 9%
+2
Level 56
May 7, 2020
I think this is the first time I've ever seen an answer that only 1% of test takers got right on jetpunk.
+1
Level 70
May 7, 2020
Most quizzes don't have such a dramatic mix of obvious answers and obscurities!
+1
Level 65
Jul 6, 2020
Korea was a Japanese colony at the time, not an independent country.
+2
Level 70
Jul 6, 2020
Korea was a sovereign state from 1897 to 1905, and then a Japanese protectorate from 1905 to 1910 when Japan annexed Korea.
+1
Level 63
Sep 19, 2020
Romania and Bulgaria's borders are wrong, the Ottoman Empire owns more of Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary owns part of Romania.
+2
Level 57
Apr 27, 2022
I find it funny how South Sudan shows and how Eritrea is so geometric.
+1
Level 70
Apr 29, 2022
I have no idea what's going on with Eritrea but yeah South Sudan should be combined with Egypt/Sudan haha.
+1
Level 19
Sep 15, 2021
Nepal was much bigger than this. It was called gorkha empire
+1
Level 57
Apr 27, 2022
Not in 1900. The British had already reannexed Kumaon, Sikkim, and Garhwal from the Nepalese well around 100 years prior.
+1
Level 55
Mar 15, 2023
i got chamapsak...... woo!
+1
Level 39
Nov 15, 2023
Johor was still independent in 1900 like Aceh.
+1
Level 73
Feb 12, 2024
I don't get this quiz's rationale for inclusion of some protectorates while not others.

On one hand you have Aden protectorate and Champasak. The former literally is a colonial protectorate created out of multiple existing potentates like Mahra. Should you include Aden, you might as well include other colonial protectorates like Trucial Oman and Malaya (Federated Malay States).

Champasak case is also vague as it was a Siamese vassal state in 1900. Sure there are shenanigans of de factos but it really is inconsistent to keep this de facto* independent state but not the others.

+1
Level 73
Feb 12, 2024
Same goes with Nepal, a semi-independent protectorate whose inclusion means other such cases like Bukhara, Khiva, Tibet and the Mongols should ideally be there.

But what bugged me the most is the exclusion of Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Nepal in this period really are similar in their constrained foreign policy and British resident presence yet only the latter is included here.

And then there are obvious faults like Johor and Kelantan. Not under British protection in 1900 yet, but missing.

All-in-all, I say this quiz needs a revamp. Please do consider where to draw the line (strictly independent states only? or the semi-independent protectorates too? or even the Indian princely states or colonial polities?) and make the list more consistent.

Thank you.