Spain actually had a big influence in North Africa at that time.
They couldnt have any coloinies in africa due to the Tordesillas agreement with Portugal(an imaginary line in the Atlantic divided the world in 2, so Portugal had 1 half and Spain another half...thats why u speak portuguese in Brasil and Spanish in the rest of SA )
Back to Africa, Spain didnt have the so called colonies but it was dominant in north africa.Having the outposts like Melilla or Ceuta they make sure they could have a tremendous influence in all that area, not only commercial but also in the constant dispupts against Arab forces.
About the ottoman it makes sense to be in this map, as it played a big part in that area and had great influence in Europes disputes and religious conflicts.
Industrial Helix wrote:Well, if you're going for a historical map I'd highly recommend not fudging history. Spain didn't have much by way of African colonies due to a focus on both Americas, so cut it out.
One options for the mideast would be to make Turkey a colonial power and have its arabian areas as colonies. And I'm pretty sure Egypt went to the British around the 1870s, so if the theme is 1800s, you can pull it off.
The other major player missing from the map is the Netherlands, whos colonial efforts in South Africa have had effects lasting to this day.
What might be a more viable solution would be to portray Africa before the "scramble for Africa" took place. You could have various independent kingdoms in Africa, such as Morocco, Ethiopia, Zululand, Ashantiland, Tripoli, somewhat Egypt depending on how you look at it. Then you could have the Colonizers such as Britain, Portugal, Ottomans and France. Maybe throw Germany and Italy in there too. Then let the gameplay of the map determine how the scramble for Africa plays out, do the Africa natives hold their own, does Turkey meet with success in the Horn of Africa?