• Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
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    19 hours ago

    This map is the gift that keeps giving:

    • Obodo Oyibo Belfast, Polar Obodo Oyibo — Obodo oyibo is “white man land” in Igbo. See RL Niger and Nigeria.
    • Big Wota — colonisers often picked some random word/expression the locals mention and assumed it was the name of the place. See RL Yucatán, probably from Maya ma’anaatik ka t’ann (I don’t understand you)
    • Baris, Rom, Nedelan, Phrans, Deutshland, Doisrikondre, Caucasia — Paris, Rome, Netherlands, France, Germany [Deutschland], Germany (again) Caucasus. It’s all somewhere there anyway.
    • Cabo Cinza — geographical feature + adjective. See RL Cabo Verde (Green Cape).
    • Duckstan — it’s basically “place of the ducks”; most of the time you see -(i)stan being associated with a local people but that isn’t obligatory, see Persian ⟨گلستان⟩ (gulistān “rose garden”). See RL Lagoa dos Patos (Ducks Lagoon).
    • Lithium Coast, Cheese Coast — after some local resource. See RL Argentina, Brazil, Ivory Coast
    • Qhadafia — after some random political big shot. (From the colonising side, of course.) See: RL Philippines, Victoria
    • Kemetic Ocean — Kemet is the old name of Egypt, both the pre-Roman kingdom and the region around the Nile. I think it’s being modelled after the RL Atlantic Ocean vs. Atlas.

    Surprised to not see any place being called “Big River” or “Day of Arafah Island”.

    • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
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      17 hours ago

      Thanks for this, as it explains a lot.

      Also, wouldn’t Qhadafia be better explained through Rhodesia?

      • Lvxferre [he/him]@mander.xyz
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        7 hours ago

        It could be too. It depends if the Qhadaf in question was the one founding it (like Cecil Rhodes), or simply some noble the discovered was trying to please, while fighting the local tribals who were “refusing to be civilised”. Either way, it’s some name that feels completely out-of-place from Europe, much like all three we mentioned.