The History Of North American Rule In One Amazing GIF

It's easy to forget how young North American nations are compared to the rest of the world, but this GIF is a cool look at the overseas nations that ruled the continent for decades before the United States, Mexico, and Canada established independence.

Wikipedia user Esemono created a series of maps that show which parts of North America were controlled by which countries before they declared independence. (We first saw the map on Reddit.)

The United Kingdom, France, and Spain were the major players in North America until the late 1700s, when United States independence was recognized. Canada and Mexico were established later in the 1800s. (The maps don't include Native American rule.)

Check it out:

Pilgrims who came to North America from England established the first permanent New England colony in 1620. American colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776. French leader Napoleon Bonaparte obtained the Louisiana province from Spain in 1800, but the Lousiana Purchase in 1803 put the territory under American rule.

The frame-by-frame look at the GIF is available on Wikipedia.