Addressing What Matters: Addresses Change (Part 3)
The King of Swaziland, Mswati III, had a problem. "Whenever we go abroad", he said, "people refer to us as Switzerland.” So on April 18th 2018, at a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from Britain, the king announced that he was changing Swaziland's name to eSwatini. As an absolute monarch he can behave like a tech billionaire, in fact, with its lower-case "e", the new name might seem to be an attempt to rebrand the country to appear modern and technologically exciting.? But the new name literally means "Land of the Swazis".
Whether many people did in fact confuse Swaziland with Switzerland is unclear. Both are gorgeous mountainous countries with small populations. Both are landlocked and surrounded by bigger neighbors.? But one is among the richest countries in the world and the other is among the poorest.
Nonetheless, the king's decision did have a logic to it. Many other former British colonies in Africa took new names on becoming independent. The Gold Coast became Ghana in 1957; Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia became Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively in 1964 and 1980. Basutoland, a tiny enclave surrounded by South Africa, became Lesotho in 1966.? Swaziland's transformation into eSwatini was much the same story, serving to distance the country from its colonial past, albeit 50 years after the separation.
Whether the country name is changing to distance itself from the evils of colonization or occupation or revolution or whatever, It’s important to show respect follow the requests of the citizens.? People generally feel proud of their country, and getting the country name wrong on their address can feel insulting – so for those involved in international commerce, beware.
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But do country names really change that much I hear you ask??
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Well actually they do.? Some changes are relatively minor.? For instance, in 2022 the Republic of Türkiye (the official long-form name) requested international organizations and states to use Türkiye in official contexts communication not Turkey.? And in 2020 "The Kingdom of the Netherlands" requested it’s official shortening to be Netherlands, not “The Netherlands” nor “Holland”.? In 2019, the Republic of Macedonia became North Macedonia and in 2016 the Czech Republic became Czechia.
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Other changes can be quite significant however:
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And this list is far from exhaustive.?
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When I’ve received large samples of addresses from our clients to review, I’ve spotted old country names being used.? And while it’s always the more recently changed countries, I’m sure it still leaves a bad feeling with the recipients of international parcels and letters that the shippers couldn’t even get their address right.
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Now back to King Mswati III of eSwatini for a moment.? This man has 15 wives and 23 children!? So it seems that changing country / company names and having lots of children go hand in hand. Very strange don't you think.