Capitals That Moved
In the 1900s, a dozen countries packed up their governments and moved them somewhere new, some to purpose-built cities carved out of the bush or the savanna. Can you match 12 former capitals to the cities that took over the title?
About this quiz
A capital city can feel permanent, but the twentieth century proved otherwise. Revolutions, independence, reunification and grand nation-building plans all led countries to move their seat of government. Some chose an existing city with a better location or a stronger symbolic meaning. Others built a brand-new capital from scratch, laid out by planners and architects in the middle of the country, far from the crowded coast.
This quiz lists twelve former capitals and asks you to match each one to the city that replaced it, shown with its country. Every move here happened between 1900 and 1999, and the cases span five continents. Some of the former capitals are still the largest and best-known cities in their countries, which is part of what makes the switch surprising. After checking your answers, each pair shows the year the change took place.
To play, click a former capital and then a current one, or drag a line between them. Clicking a connected item undoes it, and the right-hand column is shuffled each time. You have three minutes. If you get stuck, think about geography: many new capitals were chosen to sit closer to the middle of the country than the old ones.
Geography · 12 pairs · medium · 3 minutes to play
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