When was the last time you flicked through an atlas of the world? Open one now, and chances are there will be a multitude of place names that you won’t recognise.

Dozens of cities, counties and countries have disappeared off the map, or been re-branded over the years. Now, in an enchanting new book, author Harry Campbell unearths the often intriguing stories that lie behind this evolution.

There are many reasons why place names change. In the example of Ho Chi Minh City, the place name gives an insight into the political leanings of the country. Some place names are changed or dismissed in order to shed negative connotations from the past. Biafra, for example, conjures up images of civil war and famine to those who are aware of the atrocities that took place in the 1960s, and perhaps as a consequence, it’s now rarely mentioned.

Consider Pleasant Island, or the Republic of Nauru as we know it today. Named in 1798 by Captain John Fearn, it is now unfortunately anything but pleasant, since its main export (and only natural resource) is dried bird droppings (or ‘super-phosphate’) – which has been relentlessly mined, leaving behind little but a pitted moonscape of coral outcrops.

Often, name changes are nothing more than publicity stunts, as in the case of Hot Springs, New Mexico, which took the name ‘Truth or Consequences’ in 1950, after a popular radio programme which dared it to do so. Caney Creek, Kentucky, was renamed ‘Pippa Passes’ after Robert Browning’s poem of the same name. And in 1993, Ismay, Montana, renamed itself ‘Joe, Montana’ after the famous NFL quarterback.

So which is more correct - Burma or Myanmar? Derry or Londonderry? Can there really be a place called Henpeck, and what exactly constitutes ‘North Britain’? Ancient kingdoms, old colonial possessions, remote islands, absurd micro-nations - Whatever Happened to Tanganyika? visits such places as Neutral Moresnet, Leopoldville, Rutland and The Republic of Rose Island. Discover what actually did happen to Tanganyika in this entertaining tribute to the place-names that have ceased to be. 

Whatever Happened to Tanganyika? by Harry Campbell is published by Portico priced £9.99

To find out more, go to www.whateverhappenedtotanganyika.com

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