A time-line of black AfricaWorld News | Politics | History | Editor(Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi) |
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1000 BC: the Queen of Sheba visits king Solomon of Israel 300 BC: the city of Axum is founded 50: Axum rules Eritrea 300: Axum conquers southern Arabia 320: the Syrian monk Frumentius converts Ethiopian emperor Ezana to Christianity 500: Axum conquers southern Sudan 525: King Ella Kaleb of Axum annexes Yemen 5xx: Polynesian people settle Madagascar 5xx: the Christian kingdom of Dongola rules over Sudan 6xx: Arabs colonize East African trade towns including Zanzibar 710: Arabs invade Eritrea and destroy the Axumite empire 8xx: the empire of Ghana controls Mali, Mauritania, Guinea and Senegal 982 BC: Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba, becomes Ethiopia's first emperor 1000: Queen Yodit defeats the last Axumite king Del Na'od 1000: Timbuktu is founded in Africa by Muslim traders 1076: Almoravids from Morocco defeat the kingdom of Ghana and seize Mali and Mauritania 10xx: Great Zimbabwe is the capital of a wealthy Shona kingdom that trades with Asia 10xx: the Shona empire forms between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers 1137: the Zagwe Dynasty is founded in Ethiopia and the capital is moved from Axum to Lalibela 1250: Sudan (Dongola) is conquered by the Mamaluks of Egypt 1250: Sundiata Keita founds the empire of Mali 1270: Yekuno Amlak ends the Zagwe dynasty and founds the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia 12xx: the empire of Ghana rules over Mali and Senegal 12xx: the Mali empire expands to Guinea 130x: kingdoms of Kongo, Luba, Kuba, Lunda in the Congo 130x: Mali emperor Mansa Musa hires Arab architects to rebuild Timbuktu and Djenne 13xx: the kingdoms of Ife, Oyo, Benin in Nigeria engage in the slave trade 130x: the empire of Mali expands to the Atlantic 1325: Mansa Musa, the king of Mali, makes his pilgrimage to Mecca carrying 500 slaves and 100 camels 14xx: Bantu people invade the eastern half of South Africa 14xx: Gao raids Mali's capital Niani 1424: prince Henrique the Navigator of Portugal sends the first expedition to Africa 1430: Portugal trades slaves within Africa 1436: Afonso de Baldaya reaches Rio de Oro on behalf of prince Henrique the Navigator of Portugal 1444: the first public sale of African slaves by Europeans takes place at Lagos, Portugal 1464: Gao invades all of Mali 1472: Portugal explores Gabon and Sao Tome 1482: Portugal founds the first European trading post in Africa (Elmina, Gold Coast) 1488: Moroccans invade the African kingdom of Mali 1495: Cape Verde becomes a Portuguese colony 15xx: Portugal establishes a trade post in Mozambique 15xx: Portugal raids Eastern Africa trade towns 15xx: the Shonas found the Rozwi state 15xx: Tutsis from Ethiopia establish a feudal system in the Hutu lands (Rwanda and Burundi) 1500: Portugal "discovers" Madagascar 1506: a Christian, Nzinga Mbemba, becomes king of the Kongo Kingdom 1530: Muslim general Ahmad Gran invades Ethiopia 1542: Portugal helps Ethiopia repel an Arab invasion 1575: Portugal establishes a trade post in Luanda (Angola) to buy slaves for Brazil 1591: the Gao empire collapses 160x: BAntu people invade Namibia 16xx: kingdoms of Kanembornu and Hausa in Niger 1632: Fasiladas founds the modern empire of Ethiopia with capital in Gondar 1637: Holland captures Portugal's main trading post in Africa, Elmina 1641: Holland captures Portugal's trading posts in Sao Tome and Luanda 1648: Portugal recaptures Sao Tome and Luanda 1651: Britain occupies Gambia 1652: Holland establishes a trade post at the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), which develops into a colony of "boers" with its own language (Afrikaans) 1659: France invades Senegal 1660: Portugal defeats the kingdom of Kongo and renames it Zaire 1674: Arabs invade Mauritania 1699: Arabs from Oman invade Zanzibar 17xx: the Ashanti kingdom conquers Ghana with capital at Kumasi, and thrives on the slave trade 17xx: the Muslim kingdoms of Ouadai and Baguirmi (Chad) trade slaves captured in the south 1779: the Boers are defeated by the Xhusa in the first Bantu war (South Africa) 1787: Freed slaves found Sierra Leone, where slaves freed by British forces converge ("krios") 1792: king Andrianampoinimerina of the Merinas invades half of Madagascar and moves his capital to Antananarive 18xx: the Zulus under king Shaka invade nearby kingdoms in South Africa causing mass migrations (difaqane) 1800: 20,000 slaves from central Africa are sold every year in Egypt 1806: Britain annexes the Dutch colony of the Cape (South Africa) 1807: Britain abolishes the slave trade 1810: king Andrianampoinimerina of Merina dies and is succeeded by king Radama I who continues to expand his rule over Madagascar 1820: king Moshoeshoe founds the Sotho kingdom of Basutoland to escape the Zulu expansion 1820: Britain recognizes Madagascar's independence under the Merina king 1821: Mohammed Ali of Egypt conquers northern Sudan 1822: US philanthropists found the state of Liberia for freed slaves 1828: king Radama I of Merina (Madagascar) dies and is succeeded by queen Ranavalona I TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1830: Mzilikazi founds the Ndebele state 1832: Oman moves its capital to the slave trade center of Zanzibar 1834: Britain abolishes slavery in South Africa 1834: Mailikazi of the Nbedele people invades the Rozwi state 1836: Boers migrate ("great trekk") and found the Orange Free State and the Transvaal 1839: king Sabhuza I of Swaziland dies and the boers invade the country 1843: Britain annexes Natal (South Africa) 1843: Swazi, leader of the Barabuza, declares the independence of Swaziland 1847: Liberia becomes independent under Joseph Roberts, which recreates slavery 1849: Libreville is founded as an enclave for freed slaves 1850: Arabs sell into slavery about 100,000 Africans per year 1855: Kasa becomes emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia 1861: queen Ranavalona I of Merina (Madagascar) dies and is succeeded by king Radama II 1863: king Radama II of Merina (Madagascar) dies and is succeeded by queen Rasoherina 1865: 15,000,000 Africans have been deported in the Americas since the slave trade began, and 30-40 million have died before reaching the Americas (17 million have been deported by Arab traders to the Muslim world) 1866: diamond deposits are discovered at Kimberley, South Africa 1867: Diamonds are discovered in South Africa 1868: Lij Kasa conquers Amhara, Gojjam, Tigray and Shoa in Ethiopia 1868: Basutoland becomes a British colony 1868: Tewodros of Ethiopia is defeated by the British and commits suicide 1869: Italy buys land in Eritrea 1870: the Ndebele relocate their capital to Bulawayo 1870: Guinea Bissau becomes a separate Portuguese colony from Cape Verde 1872: the chieftain Tigrayan becomes emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia 1874: Britain defeats the Ashanti kingdom (Ghana) 1884: German explorer Carl Peters begins to colonize Tanganyika 1884: Cameroon becomes a German protectorate 1885: France colonizes Central Africa 1885: Britain establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1885: Kongo/Zaire becomes a colony of Belgium (Congo Free State), headed by king Leopold, which begins a brutal repression of the natives 1885: Britain is defeated in Sudan by the Mahdists 1886: Britain establishes a protectorate over Zanzibar 1886: Gold is discovered in South Africa 1889: Yohannes IV of Ethiopia dies in battle and is succeeded by emperor Menelik II, who founds Addis Abeba as Ethiopia's new capital 1889: Cecil John Rhodes begins to colonize the Southern African regions (Rhodesia, South Africa) for the British 1889: Italy invades Eritrea 1890: Rhodes conquers the Ndebele state (which becomes known as Rhodesia) and founds Salisbury (Harare) 1890: Namibia becomes a German colony 1890: the Tutsi kingdom of Rwanda and Burundi becomes the German colony Ruanda-Urundi 1891: Nyasaland becomes a British protectorate 1891: France invades the kingdoms of Niger and Guinea 1893: Swaziland becomes a British protectorate 1894: Uganda and Kenya become British colonies 1894: the Merina queen abdicates and Madagascar becomes a French colony 1894: Togo becomes a German protectorate 1894: the kingdom of Dahomey is annexed by French West Africa 1894: Belgium conquers eastern Congo from the Arabs 1895: Italy invades Ethiopia but is defeated and only Eritrea becomes an Italian colony 1896: France conquers southern Chad and Mauritania 1896: France occupies Ouagagougou (Upper Volta) 1897: Somaliland is divided between Italy and Britain 1898: Britain conquers Sudan from the Mahdists 1898: France conquests French Sudan (Mali) 1899: 26,000 Boer civilians die in concentration camps during the war between Britain and the Boers 1901: British Ghana incorporates northern territories 1902: Lourenco Marques becomes the capital of Mozambique 1902: Britain defeats the Boers 1903: France imposes a "head tax" on Cote d'Avoir's population 1904: 12,000 British settlers live in Rhodesia 1904: German troops massacre 65,000 members of the Herero tribe in Namibia 1904: Brazzaville becomes the capital of French Central Africa 1905: France occupies all of Madagascar 1906: Guinea becomes part of French West Africa 1908: at the end of the Congo war, the native population has decline by 10-20 million (at least 3 million were killed) 1910: Britain assembles its colonies in the Union of South Africa 1910: Gabon (Libreville) is separated from Congo (Brazzaville) but remains a French colony in central Africa 1910: Middle Congo (Zaire) becomes a colony of French Equatorial Africa 1912: the African National Congress is founded to promote the rights of blacks in South Africa 1913: Menelik of Ethiopia dies and is succeeded by Lij Iyasu 1914: Togo is occupied by Britain and France 1915: South Africa inherits Namibia from Germany 1916: Britain conquers Tanganyika from Germany 1916: France conquers northern Chad (kingdoms of Ouadai and Baguirmi) 1916: Lij Iyasu of Ethiopia is deposed and is succeeded by Menelik's daughter, Zawditu 1916: Belgium conquers Rwanda and Burundi from Germany 1918: France and Britain conquer Cameroon 1919: Upper Volta becomes a separate territory of French West Africa 1922: the British settlers of Rhodesia vote to secede from South Africa 1926: Andre Matswa forms the liberation movement of French Congo 1930: Zawditu of Ethiopia dies and is succeeded by Ras Tafari Makonnen, who becomes emperor Haile Selassie I 1930: USA and Britain cut off diplomatic relations with Liberia, which still practices slavery 1930: France completes the railway in the Congo that cost the lives of 17,000 African workers 1934: racial laws forbid blacks from running any business in Rhodesia 1936: Italy invades Ethiopia 1941: Britain liberates Ethiopia 1943: William Tubman becomes president of Liberia, a state in which only 3% of the population is free 1944: Felix Houphouet-Boigny founds the Syndicat Agricole Africain in Cote d'Avoire 1945: Eritrea becomes a British protectorate 1947: France kills thousands of demonstrators in Madagascar 1947: Jomo Kenyatta leads the liberation movement of Kenya 1948: the white government of South Africa creates apartheid to segregate blacks from whites 1948: Kwame Nkrumah founds the Convention People's Party in Ghana 1952: Eritrea and Ethiopia are federated in one country under Haile Selassie 1952: the Mau Mau guerrillas pledge to drive white people out of Kenya 1953: Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland are united in a federation 1954: Julius Nyerere founds the Tanganyka African National Union 1956: British Togo votes to be annexed to Ghana 1956: Amilcar Cabral founds an independence movement in Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde 1956: The Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA) is founded 1956: Sudan becomes independent but the Christian south rebels against the Muslim rulers 1957: Ghana, under Nkrumah, is the first African country to win independence from a European colonizer 1958: Guinea becomes independent under Sekow Toure, who creates a Maoist one-party state and carries out widespread "purges" TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1958: Kenneth Kaunda forms a liberation movement in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1958: Liberia outlaws racial discrimination 1958: Patrice Lumumba founds the liberation movement of Congo 1959: Tutsis kill Hutu leaders, starting riots that will kill 100,000 Tutsis 1959: end of the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya (13,000 Kenyans and 100 Europeans dead) 1960: British and Italian Somaliland gain independence and merge to form Somalia 1960: Mali becomes independent under Modibo Keita 1960: Senegal becomes independent under Leopold Senghor 1960: Central Africa becomes independent under David Dacko 1960: Mauritania becomes independent under Mokhtar Ould Daddah 1960: Gabon becomes independent under Mba and enjoys an economic boom 1960: Benin becomes independent 1960: Chad becomes independent under dictator Francois Tombalbaye 1960: Niger becomes independent under Hamani Diori 1960: Nigeria becomes independent 1960: Belgian Congo (Zaire) becomes independent, with Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president, whil the province of Katanga declares its independence under Moise Tshombe 1960: Herman Toivo Ya Toivo form the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), the Namibia liberation movement 1960: the white police of South Africa kills 67 blacks during anti-apartheid demonstrations in Sharpeville 1960: Madagascar becomes independent under Philibert Tsiranana 1960: French Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent under Fulbert Youlou 1960: Nigeria becomes independent under Abubakar Tafawa Balewa 1960: the African National Congress is banned in South Africa and Nelson Mandela launches armed resistance against the white regime 1960: Cote d'Avoire becomes independent under Houphouet-Boigny and enjoys an economic boom 1960: Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) becomes independent under Maurice Yameogo 1960: French Togo becomes independent under Sylvanus Olympio 1961: Tanganyika becomes independent under Julius Nyerere 1961: Lumumba is assassinated in Congo (Zaire) 1961: Cameroon becomes independent under Ahmadou Ahidjo 1961: Anti-Portuguese riots and guerrilla in Angola by the Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA), sponsored by the communists, and the Uniao Nacional paraa a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA), sponsored by South Africa June 1962: The Frente de Libertacao do Mocambique (Frelimo), led by Eduardo Mondlane, starts a liberation war against Portugal in Mozambique 1962: Ethiopian emperor Haile Sellassie dissolves the Eritrean parliament and annexes the country, while Eritreans begin an independence war 1962: Nelson Mandela is arrested in South Africa 1962: Milton Obote leads Uganda to independence but establishes a brutal dictatorship 1962: Rwanda becomes independent under Gregoire Kayitanda, a Hutu, while Tutsis start a guerrilla war 1962: Burundi becomes independent under Tutsi king Mwambutsa IV 1962: Christians in the south of Sudan begin a civil war 1963: the first conference of the Organisation of African Unity is held in Addis Ababa 1963: Chad's government outlaws all opposition parties, triggering civil war with Frolinat 1963: Olympio overthrown and killed in Togo 1963: Alphonse Massamba-Debat seizes power in Congo Brazzaville and steers the country towards socialism 1963: the federation of the Rhodesias dissolves 1963: Katanga accepts integration in the Congo (Zaire) and president Joseph Kasavubu appoints Moise Tshombe prime minister 1963: Tuaregs of the Sahara stage a failed insurrection in Mali 1964: Nothern Rhodesia becomes independent and is renamed Zambia 1964: Nyasaland becomes independent and is renamed Malawi under Hastings Banda who declares himself president for life 1963: Zanzibar becomes an independent sultanate 1963: Kenya becomes independent under Kenyatta 1964: Kenyatta outlaws all parties but his own 1964: the sultanate of Zanzibar is overthrown and Zanzibar is united to Tanganyika to become Tanzania 1964: Pierre Mulele leads the Simba rebellion in Congo 1964: Samora Machel leads Frelimo's first military attacks against the Portuguese in Mozambique 1965: Joseph Mobutu Sese Seko seizes power in Congo and renames it Zaire 1965: Gambia becomes independent under Dawda Jawara 1965: Riots in Nigeria 1965: Hutus win the elections in Burundi but Tutsi king Mwambutsa IV refuses to appoint a Hutu prime minister 1965: white leader Ian Smith declares the independence of (Southern) Rhodesia 1966: Yameogo of Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) is deposed by Maurice Lamizana 1966: Mobutu of Congo hangs former prime minister Evariste Kimba and cabinet members in front of a large crowd 1965: Seretse Khama wins the first national elections and becomes prime minister of Bechunaland 1966: Bechuanaland becomes independent under Seretse Khama and changes name to Botswana 1966: Ntare V deposes his father Mwambutsa IV in Burundi but is overthrown by Michel Micombero in a military coup 1966: SWAPO of Namibia launches guerrilla attacks against the occupying troops of South Africa 1966: Jean-Bedel Bokassa ousts Dacko in Central Africa and installs a brutal dictatorship with help from France 1966: Balewa is overthrown and killed in a failed military coup, and is succeeded by Yakubu Gowon 1966: Basutoland declares independence and changes name to Lesotho 1966: Kwame Nkrumah is overthrown in Ghana by the army 1967: Ojukow declares Biafra independent from Nigeria, following massacres of Ibos and sparking a civil war 1967: the two factions involved in the Nigerian civil war agree to a 48-hour ceasefire so they can watch Pele play an exhibition game in Lagos 1967: Mba dies and El Hadj Omar Bongo seizes power in Gabon with help from Morocco, turning the richest African country into a one-party corrupt mess 1967: Nyere turns Tanzania into a Maoist state, thereby destroying the economy and turning Tanzania into one of the poorest countries in the world 1967: Gnassingbe Eyadema seizes power in Togo 1968: Swaziland becomes independent 1968: Samora Machel proclaims Marxism-Leninism as the ideology of Frelimo in Mozambique 1968: Pierre Mulele is arrested in Congo, tortured and killed (his limbs amputated one by one) 1960: Keita of Mali is deposed by a coup led by Moussa Traore 1968: Sierra Leone becomes independent under Siaka Stevens 1968: the United Nations imposes economic sanctions on the racial government of Rhodesia, while Joshua Nkomo, Abel Muzorewa, Ndabaningi Sithule, and Robert Mugabe start guerrilla warfare 1968: France saves Tombalbaye of Chad from Muslim rebels 1968: Massamba-Debat is ousted in a coup by Marien Ngouabi 1968: Moussa Treore seizes power in Mali 1968: Mauritius gains independence from Britain 1969: minister Tom Mboya is assassinated in Kenya 1969: Eduardo Mondlane, leader of Frelimo in Mozambique, is assassinated 1969: Idi Amin stages a coup in Uganda (300,000 people will die in 8 years of political violence and starvation) October 1969: Muhammad Siad Barre seizes power in Somalia and turns Somalia into a communist dictatorship 1969: Jaafar Nimeiri seizes power in Sudan 1969: Francisco Macias Nguema seizes power in Equatorial Guinea 1970: Nigeria re-annexes Biafra after one million people died 1971: Mobutu renames Congo as Zaire 1971: Tubman of Liberia dies and is succeeded by William Tolbert 1972: Gabriel Ramanantsoa seizes power in Madagascar and steers the country towards socialism 1972: Mathieu Kerekou seizes power in Dahomey and turns it into a socialist state 1972: Madagascar's president Philibert Tsiranana resigns and is succeeded by Gabriel Ramantsoa 1972: Kaunda outlaws all opposition parties, introduces socialism and turns Zambia into one of the poorest countries in the world 1972: Libya occupies northern Chad in cahoots with Chad's dictator Tombalbaye 1972: 1,000 Tutsis (including king Ntare V) are massacred in Burundi, and in retaliation the Burundi government kills 150,000 Hutus 1972: general Juvenbal Habyarimana stages a coup in Rwanda 1973: France sends troops to help quell Chad's revolt 1973: El-Ouali leads a group of Sahrawi (Western Saharan) students to form the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro", or Polisario, fighting for independence from Spain 1974: 200,000 people die of famine in Ethiopia 1974: Mali and Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) fight a border war September 1974: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed in coup while Mengistu Haile Mariam seize power and turns the country into a communist state (end of the empire of Ethiopia) 1974: Guinea Bissau gains independence from Portugal under president Luis de Almeida Cabral 1974: Hundreds of people die of starvation in Somalia 1974: Seyni Kountche seizes power in Niger 1975: Didier Ratsiraka seizes power in Madagascar and establishes a socialist state 1975: Cape Verde gains independence from Portugal 1975: Tombalbaye of Chad is deposed by Felix Malloum 1975: Spain withdraws from Western Sahara, Morocco invades Western Sahara and the Polisario proclaims the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and begins an independence war against Morocco 1975: Mozambique becomes independent under Samora Machel of Frelimo, who creates a socialist state, but 600,000 people die of starvation in the next ten years TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1975: Nigerian leader Gowon is overthrown by Murtala Ramat Mohammed, who moves the capital to Abuja January 1975: Angola becomes independent but civil war erupts between UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi, and MPLA, led by Agostinho Neto, who becomes Angola's first president March 1975: Cuba and the Soviet Union send "advisors" to the MPLA in Angola October 1975: South Africa intervenes on the side of UNITA in Angola 1975: The Comoros gain independence from France 1976: Lourenco Marques is renamed Maputo 1976: the Ebola virus is first identified in western Sudan and in a region of Congo 1976: white police massacres 600 blacks during an anti-apartheid uprising in Soweto, South Africa 1976: colonel Jean Baptiste Bagaza, a Tutsi, seizes power in Burundi October 1976: Mengitsu of Ethiopia orders the execution of 100,000 dissidents over four years of "red terror" 1976: Renamo is formed by white Rhodesian officers to fight the government of Mozambique February 1977: Mengitsu of Ethiopia liquidates his political rivals and assumes absolute power July 1977: Somalia invades the Ogaden region of Ethiopia August 1977: Mengitsu of Ethiopia declares "total war" against the Eritrean secessionists 1977: Bokassa, known for cannibalism, appoints himself emperor of Central Africa in a ceremony, sponsored by France, that costs the equivalent of the country's entire gross national product 1977: France, Belgium and Morocco help Mobutu repel an Angolan attack on Zaire 1977: Ngouabi of Congo Brazzaville is assassinated in a coup and Massamba-Debat (instigator of the coup) is executed, while Joachim Yhombi-Opango becomes the new president 1977: Riots in Guinea against Toure's communist government 1978: the Soviet Union and Cuba send troops to support Mengitsu's regime March 1978: Ethiopia regains the Ogaden from Somalia 1978: Daddah of Mauritania is deposed by Mohammed Khouna Haidallah 1978: Agostinho Neto dies and Jose Eduardo dos Santos succeeds him as president of communist Angola 1978: Kenyatta of Kenya dies and is succeeded by Daniel Arap Moi, who establishes an even more brutal dictatorship 1978: Abel Muzorewa succeeds Ian Smith in Rhodesia 1978: France attacks the Polisario to defend Mauritania's president 1979: Alhaji Shehu Shagari wins the elections in Nigeria September 1979: Angola's president Agostinho Neto dies and is succeeded by Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of the MPLA 1979: Francisco Macias Nguema is overthrown in Equatorial Guinea (50,000 have died) by his nephew Teodoro Obiang 1979: Jerry Rawlings leads the revolution in Ghana against corrupt officers 1979: Goukouni Oueddei seizes power in Chad, the first Muslim leader of the country, with help from Libya 1979: France overthrows Bokassa (after it is revealed that he ordered the massacre of 100 children) and re-installs Dacko as president of Central Africa 1979: Uganda attacks Tanzania, but Tanzania defeats Uganda and ousts president Amin 1979: Denis Sassou Nguesso, supported by Angolan troops, seizes power in Congo Brazzaville 1980: Rhodesia becomes independent under Robert Mugabe 1980: A coup deposes Guinea Bissau's president Luis de Almeida Cabral and installs general Joao Bernardo Vieira 1980: Seretse Khama dies and vice-president Ketumile Masire succeeds him as the new president of Botswana 1980: Senghor resigns and Abdou Diouf is elected president of Senegal 1980: Mauritania recognizes the Polisario 1980: Samuel Doe overthrows and kills Tolbert in Liberia (the native population runs the country for the first time in its history) 1980: Obote wins rigged elections in Uganda and Yoweri Museveni starts a guerrilla war 1980: Lamizana of Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) is deposed 1980: Mugabe wins the first free elections in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and creates a one-party socialist state 1980: Libya sends troops to support Chad against the French-backed rebels of Hissene Habre (thousands of civilians die) 1982: North Korean troops help Rhodesia crush a rebellion led by Joshua Nkomo that leaves thousands dead 1982: South Africa builds a nuclear weapon 1982: Moi declares a one-party socialist dictatorship in Kenya 1981: Hissene Habre seizes power in Chad 1981: Andre Kolingba ousts Dacko in Central Africa 1982: Swaziland king Sobhuza II dies, leaving 600 children to contend the throne 1982: Ahidja retires and Paul Biya becomes president of Cameroon 1983: Thomas Sankara seizes power in Upper Volta and changes its name to Burkina Faso 1983: Nimeiri imposes shariah over Sudan 1983: Renamo (supported by Rhodesia and South Africa) starts guerrilla war against Frelimo in Mozambique 1983: Nkomo starts guerrilla warfare against Mugabe, and Mugabe retaliates with mass executions 1983: Christian leader John Garang leads the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) in a new civil war against the Sudanese government 1983: Shagari overthrown in Nigeria 1984: 900,000 people die in Ethiopia of famine 1984: Haidallah of Mauritania is overthrown by Maaouya Ould Taya 1984: Sekou Toure of Guinea dies and Lansana Conte succeeds him 1984: France sponsors a coup against Cameroon's Biya that fails but kills hundreds 1984: Famine in Mozambique kills 100,000 people 1985: Ibrahim Babangida seizes power in Nigeria 1985: after mass graves of dissidents are discovered, Obote of Uganda is removed in a military coup led by Tito Okello 1985: Nyere of Tanzania retires and is succeeded by Ali Mwinyi 1985: Nimeiri is deposed in Sudan 1986: Machel of Mozambique dies in an airplane crash and is succeeded by Joaquim Chissano 1986: Botswana posts the second highest growth rate in the world 1986: Joseph Momoth succeeds Siaka Stevens in Sierra Leone 1986: Museveni's guerrillas conquer Uganda's capital 1986: Dacko creates a one-party state in Central Africa 1986: riots in Zambia stemming from poverty 1986: a successor to king Sobhuza II is chosen in Swaziland, Mswati II 1987: Ndura Waruinge and Maina Njenga found Mungiki, a religious sect that promotes traditional moral values and the Mau Mau view of African nationalism 1987: Seyni Kountche of Niger dies and Ali Seybou succeeds him 1987: South African troops invade Angola to support Savimbi's rebels 1987: major Pierre Buyoya seizes power in Burundi 1987: Sankara of Burkina Faso is overthrown and executed by Blaise Campaore 1987: Mugabe and Nkomo reach an agreement that ends the civil war in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) 1987: the Mungiki sect in Kenya has more than a million members 1987: France expels Libya from Chad 1988: 20,000 Hutus are massacred by Tutsis in Burundi 1988: civil war erupts in Somalia between Barre and the Isaqs (Somaliland) December 1988: South African and Cuban troops withdraw from Angola 1989: DeKlerk wins national elections in South Africa on a democratic program 1989: Hassan al-Turabi seizes power with a coup and becomes Sudan's Islamist philospher and dictator, intent on building a pure Islamic society 1989: riots erupt in Mauritania between Arabs and blacks, and thousands of blacks are expelled to Senegal 1989: a ceasefire is signed between Morocco and the Polisario 1989: Charles Taylor leads rebels against Doe's government of Liberia 1989: SWAPO wins the first free elections in Namibia 1989: people riot against Didier Ratsiraka's economic policies in Madagascar 1989: Joseph Kony founds the Christian terrorist movement the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) 1990: Namibia becomes independent under president Sam Nujoma July 1990: The MPLA converts Angola to a market economy 1990: pro-democracy riots in Cote d'Avoire 1990: civil war in Senegal 1990: the Tuaregs of Niger rebel against the government 1990: Tutsi rebels helped by Uganda invade Rwanda but are repelled by Zaire, Belgium and France 1990: Mugabe wins rigged elections in Zimbabwe against Edgar Tekere's pro-capitalist and democratic party 1990: king Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho is deposed by her son Letsie III 1990: Habre of Chad (responsible for the death of 40,000 dissidents) is overthrown by Idriss Deby with help from Libya 1990: Tuaregs revolt against Mali 1990: Nelson Mandela is released from jail in South Africa 1990: Frelimo in Mozambique abandons socialism in favor of capitalism May 1991: the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, led by Meles Zenawi, removes Mengitsu from power 1991: Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro wins elections in Cape Verde 1991: Barre is deposed in Somalia but civil war erupts among the Somali clans, while Somaliland declares independence under president Mohamed Ibrahim Egal 1991: Seybou is deposed in Niger 1991: Mugabe liberalizes the Zimbabwe economy, after the socialist experience and requisition of white land caused a depression 1991: Eritrean rebels conquer Eritrea under Isaias Afwerke 1991: the brutal dictatorship of Mobutu causes riots in Zaire 1991: South Africa repeals the apartheid laws 1991: Traore of Mali is deposed by Amadou Toure 1991: Frederick Chiluba wins the first free elections in Zambia 1991: Foday Sankoh leads an invasion of Sierra Leone by Sierra Leonean dissidents, mercenaries and forces of Liberia's rebel Charles Taylor TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1992: Chissano of Mozambique and Renamo leader Alfonso Dhaklama sign a peace agreement that ends the civil war (900,000 people have been killed) 1992: Valentine Strasser deposes Joseph Momoh and seizes power in Sierra Leone 1992: the United Nation sends troops (led by the USA) in Somalia to stop fighting by clans that has claimed 300.000 lives, but local warlords led by Muhammad Aideed expel them 1992: Albert Zafy wins the first free elections in Madagascar 1992: Biya wins rigged elections in Cameroon 1992: Alpha Konare wins the first free elections in Mali 1992: Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of the MPLA wins the first free elections in Angola, but Savimbi refuses to recognize the result and resumes the civil war 1992: Pascal Lissouba wins the first free elections in Congo Brazzaville 1992: Jerry Rawlings wins the first democratic elections in Ghana 1993: Eritreans vote to become independent 1993: Houphouet-Boigny dies after ruling Cote d'Avoire for 33 years, and is succeeded by Henri Konan Bedie 1993: Bongo barely wins the first free elections in Gabon 1993: end of the civil war in Senegal 1993: Felix Patassie wins the first free elections in Central Africa 1993: Moi wins the first democratic elections in Kenya, despite having destroyed its economy 1993: Mahamane Ousmane wins the first free elections in Niger 1993: Melchior Ndadaye wins the elections in Burundi and becomes the first Hutu president, but is assassinated by Tutsis in a coup that leaves thousands dead and starts a civil war that would kill 200.000 people 1993: Moshood Abiola wins the elections but general Sani Abacha seizes power in Nigeria 1994: Nelson Mandela wins the first free elections in South Africa and becomes its first black president 1994: Yahya JAmmeh deposes Jawara in Gambia 1994: a moderate Hutu, Cyprien Ntaryamira, is appointed president of Burundi, but is assassinated by Hutu extremists with the president of Rwanda, Juvenbal Habyarimana 1994: Jean Kambanda leads the government of Rwanda and Theoneste Bagosora defines its strategy while 800,000 Tutsis are slaughtered by Hutus 1994: Tutsi rebels conquer Rwanda, led by Paul Kagame 1994: Banda is defeated in Malawi's first free elections and Bakili Muluzi becomes president 1994: South Africa has the highest rate of murders in the world (67 per 100,000 people) 1995: Benjamin Mkapa wins the first free elections in Tanzania 1995: Meles Zenawi wins elections in Ethiopia 1995: Konare's government of Mali signs a peace agreement with the Tuareg rebels 1995: Abacha executes oppposition leaders in Nigeria 1995: the Ebola virus kills entire villages in Congo (Zaire) 1995: white palaeontologist Richard Leakey leads the opposition in Kenya 1996: a meningitis epidemics kills thousands of people in Burkina Faso 1996: Ahmed Tejan Kabbah wins elections in Sierra Leone, but is deposed by general Johnny Paul Koroma 1996: warlord Muhammad Aideed of Somalia dies and is succeeded by his son Hussein 1996: Zafy is deposed and Didier Ratsiraka wins the new elections in Madagascar 1996: Rwanda invades Zaire to fight Hutu militias 1996: Mugabe wins rigged elections in Zimbabwe after all other candidates withdraw 1996: colonel Ibrahim Mainassara seizes power in Niger 1996: a ferry sinks in Lake Victoria killing about 600 people 1996: Museveni wins the first free elections in Uganda 1996: Pierre Buyoya seizes power again in Burundi, while Hutu rebels conduct a guerrilla war that kills 100,000 people 1997: Charles Taylor wins the elections in Liberia 1997: Kofi Annan of Ghana becomes the secretary general of the United Nations 1997: the government of Niger and the Tuareg rebels sign a peace treaty 1997: Somali factions sign a peace treaty 1997: Laurent-Desire Kabila, helped by Rwanda, wins Zaire's civil war while Mobutu is abroad, and JeanPierre Bemba and other Mobutu officials flee the capital 1997: Rwandan troops, pursuing Hutu militias, invade Congo (Zaire) 1997: Denis Sassou-Nguesso becomes president of Congo Brazzaville after military confrontation 1998: Ethiopia and Eritrean fight a border war 1998: Masire retires and vice-president Festus Gontebanye succeeds him as president of Botswana 1998: Nigerian troops restore president Tejan Kabbah in Sierra Leone, but Foday Sankoh continues the civil war 1998: an oil pipeline explodes in Nigeria killing more than 500 people 1998: Civil war in Chad between the forces of president Deby and the rebels led by Youssouf Togoimi 1998: Jean Kambanda of Rwanda is convicted of genocide by the United Nations tribunal 1998: Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe send troops to the Congo to support Laurent Kabila against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda 1998: Nigerian dictator Abacha dies 1998: the U.S.A. bombs Sudan for helping terrorists and Afghanistan's camps where Osama bin Laden trains his militants 1998: two truck bombs destroyed the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 213 people in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania 1999: Olusegun Obasanjo wins democratic elections in Nigeria 1999: A coup deposes Guinea Bissau's dictator Joao Bernardo Vieira 1999: Umar al-Bashir has Turabi arrested in Sudan 1999: general Robert Guei seizes power in Cote d'Avoire (Ivory Coast) 1999: Liberia supports rebels of Sierra Leone led by Sam Bockarie, a deputy of Foday Sankoh 1999: Mainassara of Niger is assassinated and succeeded by Daouda Wanke 1999: Thabo Mbeki wins the elections in South Africa and succeeds Mandela as president 1999: Tandja Mamadou wins elections in Niger 2000: 2,000 people are killed in fighting between Muslims and Christians in the Nigerian city of Kanduna 2000: mass killing in Kanungu, Uganda, is carried out by members of Joseph Kibwetere's Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (more than 700 dead) 2001: John Kufuor wins the elections in Ghana and becomes its new president, while Rawlings retires peacefully 2001: Pedro Pires wins elections in Cape Verde 2000: Abdoulaye Wade wins the first free elections in Senegal and replaces Diouf 2000: rebel Foday Sankoh is captured in Sierra Leone, but civil war continues 2000: the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), supported by Guinea, is formed by Liberian refugees and exiles to fight Charles Taylor's government 2000: Squatters seize hundreds of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe 2000: Islamic law ("sharia") is introduced in several states of Nigeria 2000: Laurent Gbagbo wins rigged elections in Cote d'Avoire (Ivory Coast) 2000: peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea 2000: the USA approves a law (AGOA) to eliminate tariffs on hundreds of items for African countries 2001: Marc Ravalomanana wins the elections in Madagascar 2001: the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) dissolves and is replaced by the African Union 2001: Riots in Nairobi's slums 2001: Laurent Kabila of Zaire (Congo) is killed by a bodyguard and succeeded by his son Joseph Kabila 2001: the Sudanese government arrests several leaders of the Islamist party (Popular National Congress), including its leader Hassan al-Turabi 2001: Nigerian army soldiers kill 200 civilians in retaliation for the murder of soldiers in Benue state 2001: an Ebola epidemic spreads in Congo Brazzaville and Gabon 2001: the party of Mauritania's president Maaouiya Ould Taya, the Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), wins democratic elections 2001: African nations launch the "New Plan for Africa's Development" (Nepad) to foster progress and democracy 2002: 100 people are killed in the Nigerian city of Lagos during riots between Muslims and Christians 2002: Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of Somaliland dies and is succeeded by Dahir Riyale Kahin 2002: Ivory Coast's president Laurent Gbagbo accepts to share power with Alassane Ouattara, leader of the opposition, but soldiers mutiny, form three rebel groups and start a civil war, splitting the country between the Muslim north (rebels) and the Christian south (government) 2002: France sends "peacekeeping" troops to Ivory Coast 2002: Somali factions sign a truce deal after decades of civil war 2002: almost 2,000 people die in Senegal when a ferry capsizes 2002: Togoimi and Deby sign a peace deal, ending the civil war in Chad 2002: Alpha Konare steps down as president of Mali and Amadou Toumani Toure wins the new elections 2002: Jonas Savimbi, leader of UNITA, is killed and the Angolan civil war ends 2002: Levy Mwanawasa wins elections in Zambia and becomes the new president 2002: 90 Somalis die on a boat from Somalia to Aden 2002: 200 people are killed in the Nigerian city of Kanduna by Islamic fanatics protesting against a Miss World pageant 2002: Mugabe loses national elections in Zimbabwe but declares himself the winner and approves the "acquisition" of thousands of white farms 2002: France sends troops to restore order in Cote d'Avoir, following an armed uprising 2002: "Ninja" rebels, led by Pastor Ntumi, stage a rebellion against government of Congo Brazzaville 2002: the Burundi government and the Hutu rebels sign a ceasefire agreement TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 2002: the Sudanese government and the Christian rebels of the SPLA sign a ceasefire agreement 2002: Francois Bozize leads a rebellion against Patasse in Central Africa, and Libya sends troops to defend the government 2002: the Congolese Liberation Movement carries out cannibalism, rape, torture and murder in the Congo province of Ituri 2003: Mwai Kibaki wins the elections in Kenya and replaces Moi 2003: Mungiki cult members kill 23 people in Kenya 2003: Francois Bozize captures the capital of Central Africa and deposes Patasse 2003: Hundreds of people are killed during ethnic fights in the oil-producing region of the Niger Delta in Nigeria 2003: fierce battles between the army of Burundi and rebels of the Forces for the Defense of Democracy 2003: both Sam Bockarie and Johnny Paul Koroma flee from Sierra Leone to Liberia 2003: Hutu politician Dominitien Ndayizeye becomes the new leader of Burundi while Hutu rebels of the Forces for National Democracy (FNL) attack the capital killing hundreds of people 2003: 1,000 people die in fierce tribal fighting in eastern Congo (Zaire) as Ugandan troops pull out of Congo 2003: Charles Taylor of Liberia is indicted for war crimes by a United Nations court, while LURD soldiers close in on the capital, and is forced to step down by USA pressure and take asylum in Nigeria 2003: Isaias Samakuva is elected leader of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA 2003: A transitional government of national reconciliation is created in Congo/Zaire (president Joseph Kabila, Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi for the old Kinshasa government, Azarias Ruberwa for the Rwandan-backed RCD-Goma, the largest rebel group, Jean-Pierre Bemba for the Ugandan-backed Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), the second largest rebel group, and Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma for the Kinshasa political opposition). 2003: rebel Foday Sankoh of Sierra Leone dies in jail 2003: the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, responsible for abducting thousands of children during the civil war, kills about 60 people in Uganda 2003: more than 250 people die when a boat capsizes in the Democratic Republic of Congo 2003: Domitien Ndayizeye is appointed president of Burundi by a coalition government in an effort to end the civil war 2003: former Madagascar prime minister Tantely Andrianarivo is sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for abuse of office 2003: 20,000 murders are committed in South Africa in one year, the second highest rate in the world after Colombia 2004: the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) kills 192 people in Uganda (february) 2004: a woman, Tanzania's Getrude Mangella, is elected president of the Pan African parliamen 2004: the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) kills 42 people in Uganda (may) 2004: hundreds of Muslims are massacred by Christians in Yelwa, Nigeria 2004: Arab militias carry out massive atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region 2004: Sudan and John Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) sign a peace deal, ending a civil war that cost the lives of two million people 2004: Hutu rebels massacre 156 Congolese Tutsi refugees in Burundi 2004: France sends peacekeeping troops to separate government and rebel troops fighting for control of Ivory Coast 2004: France detroys the entire airforce of Ivory Coast, guilty of accidentally killing a few of its soldiers 2004: 39.4 million people have AIDS worldwide 2004: The government and the rebels of Senegal make peace 2005: Namibia president Sam Nujama retires and is succeeded by Hifikepunye Pohamba 2005: Former dictator Joao Bernardo Vieira wins elections in Guinea Bissau 2005: Gnassingbe Eyadema dies and his son Faure Gnassingbe but is forced by international pressures to resign 2005: A deadly ebola-like virus kills 174 people in two weeks in Angola 2005: More than one million people are left homeless in Zimbabwe after police destroys their illegal homes 2005: Burundi's former Hutu rebel group FDD, led by Pierre Nkurunziza, win the first free parliamentary elections in Burundi 2005: bandits raid the village of Turbi in Kenya killing 76 people 2005: a miiltary council overthrows Mauritania's president Maaouiya Ould Taya 2005: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf wins the first democratic elections in Liberia and becomes the first woman elected head of state in Africa 2005: Rebels supported by Sudan kill more than 100 people in Chad 2005: Jakaya Kikwete wins presidential elections in Tanzania 2006: Government troops carry out ethnic cleansing in the north of the Central African Republic 2006: former dictator Charles Taylor is returned by Nigeria to Liberia where he is wanted for war crimes 2006: Nigeria pays off its foreign debt, the first African nation to do so 2006: Islamists of the Union of Islamic Courts led by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed take control of Somalia's capital for a few months, but Ethiopia helps the Somali government of Mohamad Ghedi regain control of it and the USA bombs the Islamists 2006: Chad repels an attack by Janjaweed rebels on its capital, N'Djamena 2006: First democratic elections are held in Congo Zaire, won by president Joseph Kabila 2006: The Ugandan government signs a truce with the Lord's Resistance Army 2006: A pipeline blast kills 260 in Nigeria 2007: The government of Ivory Coast and the rebels sign a peace accord 2007: Ernest Koroma wins democratic elections and becomes president of Sierra Leone 2007: Inflation reaches 1,594% in Zimbabwe 2007: Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi wins the first democratic elections in Mauritania 2007: Africa's economy grows 5.7% yearly 2007: Battles between Ethiopian soldiers and Islamists kill more than 1,000 people in Somalia 2007: Janjaweed rebels kill 400 civilians of Chad near the border with Sudan 2007: a French judge accuses Paul Kagame of having plotted the killing of former president Juvenbal Habyarimana that sparked the genocide of 1994 2007: Umaru Yar'Adua wins elections in Nigeria 2007: 74 people are killed in Ethiopia by the Ogaden National Liberation Front 2007: Kenyan police kill 21 members of the banned Mungiki sect 2007: Riots erupt between Shhites and sunnis in Sokoto, Nigeria 2007: Ebola outbreak in Congo Zaire 2007: Tuareg rebels of Niger begin military operations under the name Niger Movement for Justice 2007: Southern Africa's largest shopping mall opens in Soweto, South Africa 2007: Gnassingbe Eyadema dies and Togo holds its first democratic elections 2007: Laurent Nkunda leads a rebellion in eastern Congo to protect Tutsi tribes from Hutu bandits 2007: riots erupt in Kenya after rigged elections get Mwai Kibaki reelected as president of Kenya over opposition leader Raila Odinga (1,500 people die) 2007: 5.4 million people have died in Congo since 1998 due to war, famine and disease 2008: Kenya's president Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga form a coalition government with the latter joining as prime minister 2008: Mugabe loses national elections again in Zimbabwe, while unemployment reaches 80% and inflation 100,000% 2008: The Ugandan government signs a peace treaty with the Lord's Resistance Army 2008: Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party loses parliamentary elections for the first time in 28 years but Mugabe intimidates opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from the presidential run-off 2008: The USA bombs Somalia to kill an Al Qaeda leader, Aden Hashi Ayro 2008: Zimbabwean inflation hits 2.2 million per cent 2008: A roadside bomb kills more than 20 people in Somalia's capital Mogadishu 2008: A military coup led by general Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz ousts Mauritania's democratically elected president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi 2008: Zambia's president Levy Mwanawasa dies and is succeeded by vice-president Rupiah Banda 2008: Zimbabwe's inflation hits 11,250,000% 2008: The ruling Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA) wins parliamentary elections in Angola 2008: Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai sign a power-sharing deal September 2008: Islamic extremists kill 12 soldiers in Mauritania September 2008: South Africa's president Mbeki resigns following a scandal and is succeeded by Kgalema Motlanthe |
| (Copyright © 1999 Piero Scaruffi) |