Countries Named After Famous People

By: EjazUlHaqBhat

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Bolivia broke away from Spanish rule in 1825 and is named after independence fighter and former president Simon Bolivar

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Bolivar was a statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia to independence from Spanish Empire

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Colombia's official name is the Republic of Colombia and is derived from the last name of Italian explorer Christopher Columbus

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The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonisation of the islands in the 16th century

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Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is named after Saud bin Muhammad Al Muqrin, the first king of Saudi Arabia and eponymous ancestor of the House of Saud

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America is named after Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer who set forth the then revolutionary concept that the lands that Christopher Columbus sailed to in 1492 were part of a separate continent

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A map created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemuller was the first to depict this new continent with the name "America," a Latinised version of "Amerigo"

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El Salvador is named after Jesus Christ, as "El Salvador" translates to "The Savior" in Spanish, directly referencing Jesus as the savior of the world

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