The Most Complex International Borders in the World - Part 4

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope it was a good one, and all the best for 2024! After more than 6 years since the previous episode, Complex Border has returned with a 4th part. Here are links to the previous episodes if you haven't seen them: Part 1 - https://youtu.be/gtLxZiiuaXs Part 2 - https://youtu.be/3ZdkqqjosCM Part 3 - https://youtu.be/JeaiyZwVC0k For a limited time during this festive period, Nebula is offering a lifetime membership! Pay once, and have access for life. Check it out here: go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=wonderwhy If that's not for you, the annual plan might be a better suit, with a 40% discount using my link: go.nebula.tv/wonderwhy Thanks for watching! See you next year!

Nothing is more complex than WonderWhy’s upload schedule

This series (especially the first episode) was literally a part of my childhood, I used to watch it multiple times and it's a core memory of mine. Now I'm nearly 20, that truly explains WonderWhy's upload schedule

i swear to god this series' release schedule rivals rockstar's. i was 10 years old when part 1 was first uploaded, and here i am now 20 years old with part 4 being released just a few minutes ago. jesus.

Can’t wait for part 5 in 9 years

Every time I think WonderWhy has quit Youtube for good, he surprises us with a new upload and it's an awesome gift each time :D

I swear whenever two countries start to get along with each other, oil gets discovered and then they become worst enemies

Another complex border in Africa is the Congo Pedicle, the piece of the DR Congo that juts into Zambia. Basically when the Congo Free State was drawn, the Belgians and British debated over the southeast Katanga border because of the lack of an obvious geographical feature for the border to follow, as the Congo-Zambezi watershed and the Luapula do not meet as there is a 70-150 km gap between them. The British wanted a southwest to northeast line from the watershed to the Luapula, but the Belgians hoped for access to the Bangweulu Wetlands and pressed for the borders to stick to the river and watershed. The king of Italy was called in, and he drew a longitudinal line through a point on the map where the Luapula was thought to exit from the Lake Bangweulu swamps, which gave birth to the Pedicle At the time the Congo Pedicle wasn't a problem, though it would be a problem for Zambia when it got its independence as the Pedicle cuts off the Luapula Province and the western part of the Northern Province from the Copperbelt which is the country's big industrial hub. For most of the 20th century, there was no road built through it due to lack of resources available and the swampy geography. As well as affecting communication for about one-quarter of the country with the center and west, it potentially exposes a greater part of Zambia to conflict in Katanga.

Two weird enclaves of the US within Canada are Northwest Angle and Point Roberts. Northwest Angle is a part of Minnesota and exists because of a misunderstanding. During the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the border drawn between the US and what was then British territory was designed to cut through the Lake of the Woods area at a northwest angle, but the map they used misrepresented the lake's location. Hence the name! The majority of the land is held in trust by the Red Lake Indian Reservation (Ojibwa). The Northwest Angle heavily relies on walleye fishing as their industry, and when Canadian laws restricted non-resident fishing, this led to a conflict but Canada ended up dropping the fishing laws. Point Roberts exists because of the Oregon Treaty. When the 49th Parallel was defined as the boundary, it cut off Point Roberts from Canada. Point Roberts purchases raw water from the Greater Vancouver Water District. Many of the area's businesses serve weekend and recreational visitors from Greater Vancouver. Many Canadians visited its bars and nightclubs on Sundays until Sunday drinking was legalized in British Columbia in 1986. The local post office and several private companies rent many post office boxes to individuals and businesses from Greater Vancouver, who find it a convenient and fast way to receive mail and parcels from the US without paying for cross-border shipping costs.

An interesting condominium that used to exist is New Hebrides, or what's now Vanuatu. This condominium lasted from 1906 to 1980. The islands were named by Captain James Cook in 1774 and subsequently colonized by both the British and the French. Thus, the two would sign an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium. Under the condominium there were three separate governments, one French, one British, and one joint administration that was partially elected after 1975. The French and British governments were called residencies, each headed by a resident appointed by their main governments. There was an equal number of French and British representatives, bureaucrats and administrators. Local people could choose whether to be tried under the English common law or the French civil law. Nationals of one country could set up corporations under the laws of the other. In addition to these two legal systems, a third Native Court existed to handle cases involving Melanesian customary law. The condominium was not beneficial for Ni-Vanuatu, as they were effectively stateless. Like how to travel abroad, they needed an identifying document signed by both the British and the French resident commissioners. This would lead to discontent and eventually many revolutionary groups advocating for self-government and independence. Today, the use of English or French as the formal language is split along political lines

i remember being 12 and watching part 1 on repeat bc i was fascinated by maps. now i’m 20 and i draw my own complex borders for fun. that’s crazy bro

An interesting island on the US-Canada border is Campobello. The island was originally settled by the Passamaquoddy Nation, who called it Ebaghuit. The first Europeans were from the French expedition of Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain. Following the War of the Spanish Succession, under terms of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, the island became part of the British colony of Nova Scotia. In the 1880s the island was developed as a resort summer colony for wealthy Canadians and Americans. From 1883, the Roosevelt family made Campobello Island their summer home. The island is home to Roosevelt Campobello International Park, and it is an affiliated area of both Parks Canada and of the US National Park Service. The island is Canadian and part of New Brunswick, but it's cut off from Canada in winter. The island's only highway, Route 774, is connected by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge to Lubec, Maine, the easternmost town in the continental United States. The only transportation link with the rest of Canada is a seasonal ferry service to Deer Island. But for those on the island during wintertime, they'd have to drive through Maine to reach Canada.

It's always a good day when you post. I love borders and this has to be one of my favorite series that you have done, glad to see a new episode!

For suggestions, the Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute may be fairly interresting, also Clipperton island has some history.

This definitely takes me back to when WonderWhy did his first Complex International Borders video. I’m glad that we were able to get another one.

Love Lake Malawi/Nyasa. We used to holiday on the Tanzanian shores (Matema) dozens of times

When the world needed him most, he returned, gracing us with the gift of complicated borders.

started watching this series when i was grade 6 and now im 18.cant believe it still had sequel.insane! anyways,really ty 4 ur help to my geographic enlightenment.

Lol You watched my shorts recently didn't you? Love your channel man.

Omg what a delightful holiday surprise indeed! Another excellent entry into this series!