events-Africa

Benin (Dahomey) � see Appendix 3 below

Botswana � see Appendix 4 below

Burkina Faso - see Appendix 4a below

Burundi � see Appendix 4b below

Cape Verde � see Appendix 6 below

Central African Republic � see Appendix 8 below

Congo-Brazzaville � see Appendix 9a below

Djibouti � see Appendix 10a below

Equatorial Guinea � see Appendix 10b below

Gabon � see Appendix 10c below

(Gambia) � see Senegal

Guinea � see Appendix 11a below

Guinea-Bissau � see Appendix 11b below

Lesotho � see Appendix 12a below

Liberia � see Appendix 13 below

Libya � see Appendix 14 below

Mauritania � see Appendix 17 below

Mauritius � see Appendix 18 below

Niger � see Appendix 21 below

Rwanda � see Appendix 22 below

Sao Tome � see Appendic 23 below

Senegal & Gambia � see Appendix 24 below

Seychelles � see Appendix 25 below

Sierra Leone � see Appendix 26 below

Somalia � see Appendix 27 below

Swaziland � see Appendix 28a below

Togo � see Appendix 29a below

Western Sahara � see Appendix 32 below

See also Internatiional Unions for pan-African organisations

For 2014 Ebola crisis see Medical

Africa � General

2 July 2006, One year on from the Live 8 concerts, U2 frontman Bono accused world leaders of not making good on their promises to Africa

11 April 1996, A treaty establishing Africa as a nuclear-free zone was signed in Cairo.

25 May 1986. Bob Geldof�s Race Against Time had 30 million people worldwide running for Sport Aid to raise money for the starving in Africa.

13 July 1985, Live Aid pop concerts in Britain and America raised over �50 million for famine victims in Africa. Bob Geldof performed at Wembley.

23 April 1976, Henry Kissinger began a tour of Africa. He stated that his top priority was an end to the maverick status of Southern Rhodesia. He promised Mozambique aid because of the trade losses it had suffered in closing its border with Rhodesia.

28 May 1975,The Treaty of Lagos was signed, creating ECOWAS as a means of continental integration. Borders were to be open to travel and trade.

28 February 1975. The Lome Convention was signed in Lome, capital of Togo, between the EC and 46 developing nations.� The agreement provided for free access for the export of these 46 countries into the EC, also for aid and investment.� It laid the foundation for the post imperialistic (colonial) relations between Europe and Africa.

1 October 1972, The archaeologist and anthropologist David Leakey died. He had worked on human fossils in Africa to trace the history of mankind.

10 November 1952, 77-year-old doctor and philosopher Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Prize for his humanitarian work in Africa.

30 January 1944, The Brazzaville Conference; French colonial governors met in Brazzaville, capital� of French Equatorial Africa, to set out post-war relations between France and her African colonies. Further intergration between France and the colonies was anticipated, rather than eventual independence.

10 May 1904, Sir Henry Morton Stanley, British explorer in Africa and journalist, died in London.

27 September 1902, A British Crown ordinance authorised White settlement of the east African uplands.

Fashoda Incident

21 March 1899, Britain and France reached agreement on the Fashoda Incident, see 17 July 1898.

17 July 1898. The Frenchman Captain J Marchand reached Fashoda (now Kodok) in the Nile Valley in an attempt to build a continuous belt of French colonial territory from west to east across Africa. However the British similarly wanted a contiguous territory from north to south. Lord Kitchener, advancing south from Egypt to fight the Mahdi from Sudan, conquered the Sudanese on 2 September 1898 and then learned of �white men flying a strange flag at Fashoda�. The British reached Fashoda on 19 September 1898, under General Kitchener. War between France and Britain seemed imminent, neither side being willing to give way until Lord Salisbury was able to announce on 4 November 1898 that the French would back down. On 21 March 1899 a declaration was made that united all French territories in north, west, and central Africa into one unit whilst giving Fashoda to the British.

6 June 1896, Frenchman Captain J Marchand, who explored the River Niger from sea to source, this day began an expedition to claim French possession of southern Sudan.

5 May 1897, James Bent, explorer of Africa, died in London (born near Leeds 30 March 1852)

2 August 1895, Joseph Thomson, Scottish explorer of Africa, died in London (born 14 February 1858 in Dumfriesshire)

1894, Britain and France disputed the frontier between the French colony of Dahomey (now Togo) and the British colony of Nigeria. The British had previously signed a treaty with the Chief of the Bussa, who occupied Borgu region, but the French claimed that the Bussa were subordinate to the Chief of Nikki region. Britain and France raced to sign a treaty with Nikki, a race which Britain won by 5 days.

12 May 1894, The Congo Treaty, between Britain and Belgium, gave Britain a lease on a corridor between Lakes Tangynika and Albert. In return Belgium was given a lease on lands west of the upper Nile and north of the Congo-Nile link. This alarmed both France and Germany. Germany interrupted the British aim of a contiguous territorial belt from Cairo to the Cape, and France forced Belgium to cede the lands in the northern area of their lease.

24 March 1894, Verney Cameron, English explorer of Africa and author (born 1 July 1844) died.

30 December 1893, Sir Samuel Baker, explorer of Africa, died in Sandford Orleigh (born in London 8 June 1821).

13 February 1892, Wilhelm Junker, German explorer of Africa, died (born 6 April 1840).

11 February 1892, James Grant, Scottish explorer of eastern Africa in the 1860s, died (born 11 April 1827).

31 July 1891, Britain claimed African territory north of the Zambezi, up to the Congo basin, to be in its sphere of influence.

26 May 1887, The Imperial British East Africa Company received a charter to colonise Kenya and Uganda.

11 September 1886, Edward Flegel, German explorer of Africa,died (born 1 October 1855)

20 April 1885, Gustav Nachtigal, German explorer of central Africa, died.

26 February 1885, A meeting of 15 nations in Berlin hosted by Bismark divided up east and central Africa amongst European countries.

1884, The German explorer, Dr Karl Peters, formed the Deutsche Kolonialverein, a society to promote German colonisation of Africa.

15 July 1882, John Petherick, Welsh explorer of Africa, died in London (born 1813 in Glamorganshire)

1877, Henry Stanley explored the course of the River Zaire.

31 July 1874, Charles Beke, explorer of Africa and the Bible Lands, died in Bromley, Kent (born in Stepney, London, 10 October 1800).

18 April 1874, David Livingstone�s remains were interred in Westminster Abbey. He died in Africa on 1 May 1873.

30 April 1873, The Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone died of malaria near Lake Bangweulu in Zambia, aged 60. He was found dead at Chitambo, kneeling in prayer by his bed. He had worked from age 10 to 24 in a cotton factory, and when aged 27 was ordained under the London Missionary Society. He discovered Victoria Falls when aged 41 and Lake Nyasa aged 46. He was buried on 18 April 1874 in Westminster Abbey.

10 November 1871. Historic meeting of explorer and missionary David Livingstone (born 19 March 1813, in Blantyre, Lanarkshire) with Sir Henry Morton Stanley at Ujiji (now in Tanzania). Livingstone died on 1 May 1873.

1 August 1869, Alexandrine Tinne, Dutch explorer of Africa, died in Africa (born 17 October 1839 in The Hague)

25 November 1865, Heinrich Barth, German explorer of Africa, died in Berlin (born in Hamburg 16 February 1821).

30 November 1864, William Baikie, explorer of Africa, died in Sierra Leone,(born 21 August 1824 in Kirkwall, Orkney).

18 September 1864, English explorer John Hanning Speke died after a shooting accident aged 37.

15 September 1864, John Speke, English explorer in Africa who discovered Lake Victoria, accidentally shot himself whilst partridge shooting.

14 March 1864, Lake Albert in Africa was discovered and named by Sir Samuel Baker.

23 February 1863, British explorers John Speke and J A Grant announced they have discovered Lake Victoria to be the source of the Nile.

9 January 1861, MacGregor Laird, pioneer of British trade on the River Niger, died.

16 September 1859, Lake Nyasa was discovered by David Livingstone.

3 August 1858, John Speke, 31, English explorer, discovered Lake Victoria, source of the Nile.

13 February 1858, Explorers John Hanning Speke and Richard Francis Burton became the first Europeans to see Lake Tangynika.

27 September 1856, Karl Peters, German explorer of Africa, was born in Neuhaus.

17 November 1855, Scottish explorer David Livingstone discovered, on the River Zambezi, a large waterfall. He called it the Victoria Falls.

1 October 1855, Edward Flegel, German explorer of Africa, was born (died 11 September 1886)

5 July 1853, The colonial administrator Cecil Rhodes was born at Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, the 7^th of 11 children..� His father was a vicar.

30 March 1852, James Bent, explorer of Africa, was born near Leeds (died in London 5 May 1897).

6 April 1840, Wilhelm Junker, German explorer of Africa, was born (died 13 February 1892).

28 March 1840, Eduard Schnitzer (Emin Pasha), German explorer of Africa, was born (died October 1892)

17 October 1839, Alexandrine Tinne, Dutch explorer of Africa, was born in The Hague (died 1 august 1869 in Africa)

31 July 1835, Paul du Chaillu, explorer of Africa, was born (died 29 April 1903).

6 February 1834, Richard Lander, explorer of the Niger valley, Africa, died.

14 April 1831, Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs, German explorer of the Sahara, was born near Bremen (died 2 June 1896 near Bonn)

7 March 1829, Eduard Vogel, German explorer of central Africa, was born in Krefeled (died 1856)

4 May 1827, John Manning Speke, English explorer who was the first European to see Lake Victoria, and later identified as the source of the Nile, was born.

13 April 1827, Hugh Clapperton, Scottish explorer of west-central Africa, died (born 1788)

19 December 1824, Hercules Rosmead, British colonial administrator in Africa, was born (died 28 October 1897 in London)

21 August 1824, William Baikie, explorer of Africa, was born in Kirkwall, Orkney (died in Sierra Leone, 30 November 1864).

10 January 1824, Thomas Bowditch, English explorer of west Africa, died in Bathurst (born 1790).

8 June 1821, Sir Samuel Baker, explorer of Africa, was born in London (died in Sandford Orleigh 30 December 1893).

16 February 1821, Heinrich Barth, German explorer of Africa, was born in Hamburg (died in Berlin 25 November 1865).

19 March 1813, The explorer and missionary David Livingstone, first White man to see the Victoria Falls, was born at 9 Shuttle Row, Blantyre, East Kilbride, Scotland.

10 October 1800, Charles Beke, explorer of Africa and the Bible Lands, was born in Stepney, London (died in Bromley, Kent, 31 July 1874).

21 June 1795, Scottish esplorer Mungo Park began to trace the course of the River Niger in west Africa.

22 May 1795, The Scottish explorer Mungo Park set sail on his first voyage to Africa,

27 April 1794, James Bruce, Scottish explorer of Africa, died (born 14 December 1730).

27 December 1793, Alexander Laing, Scottish explorer of Africa, the first recorded European to reach Timbuktu, was born (died 26 September 1826).

9 June 1788, In London the Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa was founded. Members researched scientific and medical topivcs, and also sought to end slavery.

1 January 1786, Dixon Denham, English explorer of Africa, was born (died 8 May 1828).

10 September 1771, Birth of the surgeon and west African explorer Mungo Park, at Foulshiels near Selkirk. He charted the course of the River Niger.

14 November 1770, British explorer James Bruce discovered the source of the Blue Nile, at Lake Tana.

14 December 1730, James Bruce, Scottish explorer of Africa, was born (died 27 April 1794).

10 January 1663, King Charles II of Englamnd granted a Charter to the Royal Africa Company.

4 August 1578, Sebastian, King of Portugal, was killed in the Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir.

1570, Kanem-Bornu became a major power in the region.

9 February 1513, The Portuguese explorer Pedro Mascarenhas discovered the island of Reunion. (near Madagascar)

14 April 1498, Vasco da Gama arrived at the trading city of Malindi, east Africa, after putting in at Kilwa and Monbasa.

1482, The Portuguese constructed a fort at Sao Jorge da Mina,Gold Coast (now Elmina, Ghana) for securing the Portuguese monopoly in the west African gold trade. By the early 1500s, some 680kg of gold a year was being shipped to Portugal from this fort.

4 September 1479, The Treaty of Alcovas between Portugal and Spain confirmed Castile�s claim on the Canary Islands, and Portugal�s claim on the Azores and Madeira, also Portuguese rights in west Africa.

1473, Portuguese� ships first reached the Congo River.

1473, Portuguese� ships first crossed the Equator.

1472, The Portuguese discovered the island of Fernando Po off west Africa.

1469, The Portuguese King, Alfonso V agreed that,in return for an annual fee, merchant explorer Fernao Gomes would be allowed to continue to push Portuguese exploration efforts further down the west African coast. Ultimately this also opened the way for Portuguese penetration into Brazil.

1460, Death of Henry the Navigator. This might have halted further Portuguese exploration of the west African coast, but see 1469.

22 March 1455, Alvise Ca�da Mosto, a Venetian in the employment of the Portuguese, set sail to explore the coast of Africa. He discovered the Cape Verde Islands, also visited the Senegal and Gambia Rivers.

1415, Prince Henry the Navigator led a Portuguese expedition to capture the port of Ceuta from the Moors. On finding treasure from Senegal, which had been brought by caravan across the Sahara, he decided to try and reach Senegal by sea. However his sailors feared sailing too far south, in case they fell off the edge of the (flat) earth, and they also believed the hot sun would scorch� them black, like the Africans.

980, In east Africa, the Zanj Empire was founded by Ali ibn Hasan, succeeding the Kilwa Empire.

450 BCE, Earliest evidence of metallurgy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Iron was smelted by the Nok Culture in furnaces at Taruga.

3000 BCE, The Sahara began to turn from grassland into desert.

Appendix 3 � Benin (Dahomey)

1996, Kerekou was re-elected, amidst allegations of fraud.

1991, In multi-Party elections, President Kerekou was defeated by Nicephore Soglo, and the result was honoured.

30 November 1975, Dahomey was renamed Benin.

1972, Dahomey adopted Marxist-Leninism as official doctrine, This was dropped in 1989.

1 August 1960, Benin (Dahomey) became independent from France.

23 July 1897, Germany and France agreed the border between their colonies of Togo and Dahomey (now Benin).

22 June 1894, Dahomey (Benin) became a French colony.

3 December 1892. The French imposed a protectorate on Dahomey (Benin) after they captured its capital, Abomey.

17 November 1892, Behanzin, King of Dahomey,faced by greatly superior French forces, set fire to his capital Abomey then abandoned it to the French.

1892, Behanzin continued to make slave raids into neighbouring territories, although slavery was supposed to be abolished in the area; he also attacked a French gunboat. This provoked a French attack on Behanzin.

1890, France agreed a treaty with King Behanzin of Dahomey that France would lease the cities of Cotonou and Porto Novo in return for an annual payment to Behanzin.

1889, Britain and France agreed between them that France would colonise Cotonou, on the Dahomey (Benin) coast. Indigenous Dahomeyans fiercely resusted the French.

1863, Porto Novo became a French colony.

1850s, After slavery was abolished, palm oil became the main export commodity.

1670, The French established a trading post at Offa, on the coast of Dahomey (Benin).

1620, The Fon, indigenous slave traders, founded the Kingdom of Dahomey.

1400s, the Kingdom of Benin was established by the Obas.

Appendix 4 � Botswana

Map of Botswana

2001, Botswana recorded the world�s highest HIV infection rate of 38.3% of the population.

1998, Vice President Festus Mogae succeeded Masire as President.

1992, Strikes and a corruption scandal hit Botswana. Senior Botswana Democratic Party officials forced to resign.

1980, Vice President Quett (later known as Ketumile) succeeded the late Seretse Khama as President.

1967, Diamonds were discovered at Orapa, Botswana.

30 September 1966. Botswana became independent. It had formerly been called Bechuenaland.� Sir Setese Khama was its first President.

13 July 1980, Sir Seretse Khama, President of Botswana since 1966, died in a London hospital.

1965, Gaborone was designated as the capital of Botswana. The Botswana Democratic Party won the elections, and Seretse Khama became Prime Minister.

3 March 1965, Bechuanaland (now Botswana) became self-governing, with Seretse Khama (Bechuenaland Democratic Party) as Prime Minister.

1962, Seretse Khama founded the Botswana Democratic Party.

1961, In Botswana, Seretse Khama was appointed to the Executive Council.

1959, Copper mining began in Botswana.

1950, In Botswana, the British deposed and exiled Seretse Khama, Chief of the Ngwato.

1948, A possible merger between Botswana and South Africa was ruled out when the National Party came to power there. However South Africa continued to dominate the Botswana economy, which was effectively merely a labour resource for South African mines and farms.

1903, The city of Serowe was founded by Chief Khama.

11 September 1895, Three African Chiefs, Khama of the Ngwato tribe, Bathoen of the Ngwaketse and Sebele of the Kwena,� from Bechuanaland (now Botswana) met with the British Prime Minister, Joseph Chamberlain, Their mission was to obtain British protection from the exploitative colonisation of Cecil Rhodes, who was then establishing White economic domination over African lands across much of southern Africa. In fact Rhodes was then preparing for the disastrous Jameson Raid See South Africa, 1896 against Chamberlain�s wishes. This made Chamberlain more sympathetic to the African Chiefs, and British Royal protection was granted to the existing tribal rule in Bechuanaland.

8 October 1885, Britain claimed the Bechuenaland Protectorate (now Botswana).

1867, Gold mining began in Botswana; gold had been discovered at Tati in 1864. Gold mining began at Madibi in 1906.

1813, The London Missionary Society established a permnanent mission in Bechuenaland.

1801, First European exploration of Botswana began.

Appendix 4a � Burkina Faso

Map of Burkina Faso

2005, Compaore won a straight third term in office.

15/101987, The authoritarian and absolute rule of Thomas Sankora led to a rebellion mounted by Blaise Compaore. Sankara was shot and Compaore gained power.

3 August 1984, The Republic of Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso.

1983, Thomas Sankara became President of Upper Volta. He abjured luxury and was proud to be totally against all corruption. He was assassinated in 1987.

5 August 1960, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) became independent from France.

11 December 1958, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) gained autonomy from France.

1920, Upper Volta was created a separate colony from French Sudan.

1890s, French forces conquered the region from the Mossi people.

1300s, Arrival of Islam.

1000s, Rise of the Mossi Kingdom.

Appendix 4b � Burundi

Click here for map of Burundi

14 August 2004, Hutu men armed with guns and machetes massacred v156 people, at a camp in Burundi for Congolese Tutsi refugees.

2000, The Arusha Peace Accord between Hutus and Tutsis was signed, agreeing to power-sharing.

25 July 1996, A coup by the Burundian Army, led by Pierre Buyoya, a Tutsi, deposed the moderate Hutu President, Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who fled to the UN Ambassador�s residence for safety. Pierre Buyoya was installed as President in his place.

4 April 1995, In Burundi, Tutsi soldiers massacred 400 Hutu women and children (see 9 March 1995).

9 March 1995, Hutu leader Ernest Kabushemeye was assassinated in Burundi. There were immediate reports of genocide and a refugee crisis, amidst fears of a repeat of the violence in 1994 in Rwanda. See 4 April 1995.

1993, Ndadaye, the first Hutu President, was killed in a Tutsi-led army coup.

3 September 1987, Coup in Burundi. The Military Committee for National Redemption was founded.

1984, Burundi held �elections� in which Bagaza was the only candidate.

1981, Burundi adopted a new Constitution. The only Party allowed� was UPRONA, the Union for National Progress.

1976, Micombero was deposed in an army coup led by Colonel Jean Baptiste Bagaza. Bagaza bedcame President, and in 1977 announced reforms including a return to civilian rule and a five-year plan to eliminate corruption. Some senior Government posts were to go to Hutus.

1973, Micombero became President, and made Burundi a One Party State, under UPRONA.

1972, The deposed King Ntare V was killed, allegedly by Hutus. This gave the Tutsi an excuse to massavre 150,000 Hutus.

1966, King Mwambutsa IV was deposed by his son, Charles, who became King Ntare V. However later in 1966 Ntare V was himself deposed by his Prime Minister, a Tutsi, Captain Michel Micombero, who declared Burundi a Republic.

15 January 1965, Pierre Ngendandumwe, Prime Minister of Burundi since 111 January 1965, was assassinated.

1959, Burundi was split from Rwanda, and became independent from Belgium in 1962.

1922, Belgium took over administration of Burundi following German defeat in World War One.

1897, Burundi was incorporated into German East Africa. It was formerly known as Urundi, and ruled by a Tutsi monarch.

1450, The Tutsi arrived in Burundi.

1250, Burundi, initially home to the Twa people, now saw in influx of Hutu.

Appendix 6 � Cape Verde

17 February 1991, The Cape Verdean Presidential election, Cape Verde's first multiparty presidential election since 1975, was won by Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro (born 16 February 1944)/

5 July 1975, Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal after nearly 500 years of colonial rule.

1869, Emancipation of the slaves in the Cape Verde region.

1831-33, Major famine hit Cape Verde.

1730-33, Major famine hit Cape Verde.

1600, Ribiera Grande became a major centre of the slave trade.

1462, The Portuguese established, on the Cape Verde Islands, the colonial city of Ribiera Grande (now called Cidade Velha). This was the first European city on the Tropics, with a cathedral, fortress, walls and slave market.

1456, Alvise Cadamosto, a venetian captain working for the Portuguese, visited the Cape Verde archipelago.

1441, The Portuguese discovered the Cape Verde Islands.

Appendix 8 � Central African Republic

Click here for map

2005, Unrest in the north caused thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad.

12 June 1987, In the Central African Republic, Bokassa was found guilty of treason and murder, but acquitted of cannibalism. He was sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to life in prison. Six years later, President Andre Kolingba freed him in an amnesty; he died of a heart attack shortly afterwards.

16 December 1986, Bokassa was, to his surprise, deported from France to face trial in the Central African Republic.

1981, Dacko was ousted by General Kolingba.

20 September 1979, �Emperor� Bokassa was deposed in Central Africa, with French help, and a Republic restored under his cousin, David Dacko. Dacko had been President until Bokassa, then an army colonel, overthrew him in a coup in 1965. Bokassa now fled to France, amid accusations of child cannibalism, and that he had wasted money on extravagant living.

4 December 1977. In the Central African Republic, Jean Bedel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor.

4 December 1976, The military ruler of the Central African Republic, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, declared the country a Parliamentary monarchy, the Central African Empire, with himself as monarch, Emperor Bokassa I.

1 January 1966. Bokassa took over as leader of the Central African Republic, overthrowing President Dacko.. In 1977 he organised a lavish coronation ceremony., appointing himself �Emperor�, which cost US$20million, a quarter of his country�s annual income.

13 August 1960, The Central African Republic became independent.

29 March 1959, Barthelemy Boganda, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, was born.

1958, Central Africa was granted self-government.

22 February 1921, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Republic, was born.

1889, The French established a colony at Bangui.

Appendix 9a � Congo-Brazzaville

Geographical changes map click here

10/1997, Angolan forces intervened in Congo-Brazzaville in support of Sassou-Nguessou. Lissouba fled to Burkina Faso, and Sassou-Nguesso became President.

5 July 1997, A truce mediated by Gabon ended the worst of the fighting in Congo-Brazzaville but sporadic conflict continued.

6/1997, Army units loyal to General Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of Congo-Brazzaville 1979-92, rebelled against President Pascal Lissouba. Lissouba had been attempting to reduce the control of French oil company Elf Acquitanine, on his country�s oil industry since his election in 1992. Over 2,000 died in fighting and looting in the capital, Brazzaville, which was largely destroyed over the next four months.

1990, Marxism-Leninism was abandoned.

18 March 1977, President Mgoubi of Congo-Brazzaville was assassinated.

12/1968, President Ngouabi of the Congo (Brazzaville) changed the country�s name to the People�s Republic of the Congo and declared it Africa�s only Marxist-Leninist State. He founded the Congolese Worker�s Party as the only legitimate Party.

15 August 1960. The Congo (Brazzaville) became independent from France.

1940, The French Governor of Congo, General Felix Eboue, chose to support de Gaulle and rejected the French Vichy Government.

4 September 1905, Pierre Paul Brazza, French explorer of Africa and founder of the French Congo (Brazzaville), died (born 26 January 1852).

1891, France founded the colony of Congo, on the north bank of the River Zaire.

1880, French explorer Count Savorgnan visited the Congo region. He made a treaty with Makoko, chief of Teke, which he later claimed gave France rights over the area.

26 January 1852, Pierre Paul Brazza, French explorer of Africa and founder of the French Congo (Brazzaville), was born (died 4 September 1905).

Appendix 10a � Djibouti

2002, President Ismail Guelleh �won� elections, as the sole candidate. Multi-Party elections were subsequently held in 2003.

2002, US forces set up a base in Djibouti as part of the �War on Terror�.

2000, Civil war in Djibouti ceased.

1997, Dissident FRUD members attacked Djiboutian Government troops oin the north of the country.

26 December 1994, Djibouti signed a peace agreement with FRUD (Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy). FRUD was an Afar guerrilla group.

1993, Gouled was re-elected in the first contested elections.

1992, Competing political parties now allowed in Djibouti.

11/1991. The Afar-dominated FRUD began an insurrection against the Isar-dominated Government of Djibouti.

1981, RPP (People�s Progress Assembly) became the only legal political Party.

2 June 1977, Djibouti became independent, after over 100 years of French rule.

19 March 1967, French Somaliland (now Djibouti) rejected independence in a� referendum.

1862, French colonists took control of the port of Obock, in northern Djibouti.

Appendix 10b � Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea map

2004, Simon Mann and 66 other mercenaries were arrested (in Zimbabwe) en-route to Equatorial Guinea to overthrow the President, Teodoro Obiang. Mann was extradited to equatorial Guinea in 2008 where he was enstenced to 34 years; however he was released in 2009 after his family paid �250,000.

1996, Oil was discovered in waters off Equatorial Guinea.

3 August 1979, Francis Macias Nguema, pro-Soviet President of Equatorial Guinea, was deposed by his nephew Lt-Colonel Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. He was then found guilty of genocide and corruption, and was executed.

12 October 1968. Equatorial Guinea became independent from Spain. Francisco Macias Nguema was elected President; he then established a One Party State and abrogated parts of the Constitution. He ruled until 1979.

1900, The Treaty of Paris confiormed Rio Muni as a Spanish colony.

1858, Spain occupied Bioko, developing cocoa plantations there.

1778, Portugal ceded control of Fernando Po (Bioko) and tye Annobon Islands to Spain, under thre Treaty of El Pardo.

Appendix 10c � Gabon

Gabon Map

2005, Bongo was re-elected President.

1990, First multi-Party elections since 1964. However there were widespread allegations of fraud.

1989, Coup against Bongo failed.

1973, Bongo was re-elected; he converted to Islam and changed his first name to Omar.

1968, Gabon became a One-Party State.

1967, Albert-Bernard (later, Omar Bongo) became President.

1964, Attempted military coup; the French intervened to reinstate M�ba.

17 August 1960, Gabon became an independent nation, from France. Leon M�ba was the forst President.

30 December 1935, Omar Bongo, President of Gabon, was born.

1889, Gabon became part of the French Congo.

1880, French explorer Count Savorgnan de Brazza claimed that a treaty he signed with King Makoko of the Tete gave France rights to colonise large areas of central Africa. In fact much of this area was not under Makoko�s control.

1849, Libreville was founded by Vili slaves who had been freed by the French.

1472, First visit by Europeans; Portuguese trading ships called at what is now Gabon.

(Gambia � see Senegal)

Appendix 11a � Guinea

5/92021, President Alpha Conde was deposed in a military coup.

1998, Conde re-elected President.

1993, Conde was narrowly re-elected.

1992, Multi-Party democracy introduced.

1985, Attempted coup against Conde, foiled by loyalist soldiers.

1984, Sekou Toure died, The Army staged a bloodless coup, and dissolved the National Assembly. Colonel Lansana Conde became leader.

1980, Toure was returned, unopposed, for a 4^th term.

1977, Strong opposition to Toure�s Marxist policies forced him to accept a mixed economy.

2 October 1958, Guinea was proclaimed an independent republic. Sekou Toure was elected President.

1947, The Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) was formed by Ahmed Sekou Toure.

1904, Guinea became part of the French West African Federation.

1898, French forces defeated Samori, and established a colony.

1892, The French invaded Futa Djallon.

1891, War began between France and Samori. Samori offered to cede his empire to Britain.

1870s, Almamy Samori Toure consolidated his Mandinka Wassulu Empire as a bulwark against French colonial expansiob. His capital was at Bisandugu. He captured KIankari in 1879.

1700s, Islam thrived in the region under the Fula people.

1600s, British, French and Portuguese traders were engaging in the slave trade in the region.

1460s, Portuguese sailors explored the region.

1200s, The gold mines of Wangara were contributing to the wealth of the Islamic Mali Empire.

Appendix 11b � Guinea Bissau

2003, Yalla was overthrown in an army coup.

2000, Mane was kiulled in a coup attempt. Kumba Yalla became President.

1993, Guinea Bissau abolished the death penalty for all offences.

1999, The opposition Party for Social Renewal (PRS) defeated the African Party for the Independence of Guinea Bussau and Cape Verde (PAIGC).

1998, Army rebellion against the government by Ansumane Mane led to international intervention by other West African States.

1994, First multi-Party elections won by the PAIGC.

1984, A new constitution established Marxism-Leninism in Guinea Bissau.

1980, Military coup, sparked by resentment at the domination of Cape-Verdeans in the government,

1974, Luis de Almaeida Cabral, brother of the assassinated Amilcar, became President of Guinea Bissau.

10 September 1974, Guinea Bissau became independent from Portugal.

1973, Amilcar Cabreal was assassinated in Conakry. By now the PAIGC controlled two thirds of Guinea-Bissau.

1962, Guerrilla attacks began on Portuguese army posts and police stations. Many areas wree soon cleared of tye Portugiuese.

1959, Striking dock workers aewer massacred in Bissau.

1956, Amilcar Cabril ((1921-73) founded the African Party for the Independence of Guoinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).

1879, Bissau and Cacheu were united as Portuguese Guinea.

1616, Portugal built a fortress at Cacheu to control the slave trade.

1446, Portuguese explorer Nuno Tristao visited the region.

1000s, Four main ethnic groups, the Balante, Fulani, Manydyako and Molinke, lived in the region.

Appendix 12a Lesotho

2007, General Strike called by the Opposition.

2004, After a three-year drought, Prime Minister Mosisili appeaqled for food aid.

1998, The New Lesotho Congress for Democracy won the elections. South Africa intervened after a coup attempt in Lesotho.

1996, King King Moshoeshoe II killed in a car crash. King Letsie III acceded.

1994, Return of King Moshoeshoe II.

1993, Military rule ended; free elections.

30 April 1991, In Lesotho, Major-General Justin Lekhanya, military leader, was deposed by Colonel Elias Ramaema.

1990, Exile of King Moshoeshoe II; his son was installed as King Letsie III.

1986, South Africa imposed a border blockade, thereby obtaining the extradition of 60 African National Congress members.

4 October 1966. Lesotho became independent. It had been formerly known as Basutoland, and had been a British Protectorate since 1868.

30 April 1965, Lesotho (then known as Basutoland) achieved self rule.

2 May 1938, King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho was born.

1884, Lesotho became the British colony of Basutoland.

Appendix 13 � Liberia

Map of Liberia

4 June 2007, At The Hague, the war crimes trial of Charles Taylor, former Liberian President, began.

23 November 2005, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected as first female President of Liberia.

11 August 2003, Charles Taylor stepped down as President of Liberia and fled to Nigeria. He had been accused of war crimes and of backing rebel forces.

4/1999, Civil war restarted in Liberia; conflict continued until 2003.

19 July 1997, Charles Taylor was elected President of Liberia. He was backed by Libya.

6 June 1993. In Liberia, 270 civilians were massacred when rebel forces of the Patriotic National Front attacked a rubber plantation near Monrovia.

10 September 1990, Liberian President Samual Doe died after being captured by rebels. Prince Johnson took over government.

7 June 1990. Civil war continued in Liberia, as rebels from the National Patriotic Front, led by Charles Taylor, advanced on the capital Monrovia. Fughting had started in December 1989.

24 December 1989, Rebel forces led by Charles Taylor, a descendant of the freed American slaves, entered Liberia from Cote D�Ivoire, with the objective of deposing the dictatorial Liberian President Samuel Doe. A civil war began, which ended in 9/1990 with the torture and execution of Doe by another rebel group. Another civil war began, with Taylor now pillaging the country.

12 April 1980, A rebellion led by Master Sergeant Samuel K Doe overthrew the government of William Tolbert, who was assassinated (a descendant of the freed slaves who returned to Liberia). These former slaves, arriving in 1847, had come to oppress the indigenous inhabitants of the country. Doe was an ethnic Krahn, one of these indigenous peoples; Doe became the first indigenous ruler of Liberia. Doe promoted himself to General, then commenced pillaging the country.

23 July 1971, W V S Tubman, President of Liberia, died aged 75. He was succeeded by William Tolbert.

1944, Tubman became President.

29 October 1938, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia, was born.

1926, The US company, Firestone Tyre and Rubber, established operations in Liberia.

11 December 1900, William D. Coleman, the President of Liberia since 1896, resigned under pressure after failing to extend government control further away from the capial. Coleman, frrom Fayette County, Kentucky, was replaced by Secretary of State Garretson W. Gibson.

29 November 1895, William Tubman, President of Liberia, was born.

20 March 1882, Britain demanded from the USA that the territory of Liberia be ceded to Sierra Leone, a Briitsh colony.

26 July 1847, Liberia became the first African colony to attain independence.

22 January 1824, The Ashanti army heavily defeated the British in the Gold Coast.

Appendix 14 � Libya

11 September 2012, Islamists attacked the US diplomatic compound in� Benghazi, Libya. The US Ambassador and three other US diplomats were killed.

17 July 2012, In Libya, the General National Congress came to power. However it could not maintain stability in the country.

7 July 2012, Libya held its first post Ghaddaffi elections; the country was still politically unstable.

22 January 2012, The head of the Transitional Council of Liberation in Libya resigned in protest over the slow pace of improvements in Libya.

Ghaddaffi era 1969-2011

20 October 2011, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in Sirte, as National Transitional Council forces took control of the country.

20 August 2011, In Libya, Arab Spring rebels began to take over the capital, Tripoli.

30 April 2011, NATO strikes in Libya killed Gadhafi�s youngest son.

21 March 2011, British MPs voted 557 to 13 in favour of airstrikes against Gaddafi.

19 March 2011, Arab Spring: civil war continued in Libya. NATO intervened to help the rebels.

17 March 2011, The UN Security Council authorised a no-fly zone over Libya. This effectively authorised French and UK airstrikes against Gaddafi.

15 February 2011, Arab Spring protests in Libya.

11 October 2004, The EU lifted its 180-year embargo on arms sales to Libya after the country renounced weapons of mass destruction.

26 February 2004, The US lifted a travel ban on visiting Libya, ending restrictions that had been in force for 26 years.

19 December 2003, Libya announced it would disclose and dismantle its plans to develop nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction; this was a victory for US foreign policy.

2000, Gaddafi proposed a United States of Africa.

5 April 1999, Two Libyans suspected of the bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in 1988 were handed over to the Scottish authorities for eventual trial in The Netherlands.� The UN suspended sanctions against Libya.

11 November 1993. The USA imposed new sanctions on Libya for refusing to handover two suspects wanted for the Lockerbie bombing of a Pan Am plane.

15 April 1992, UN sanctions imposed on Libya (authorised by the UN, 31 March 1992) came into effect. These were because of Libya�s refusal to hand over two men suspected of the Lockerbie bombing.

31 August 1989. Libya and Chad signed a peace agreement ending 25 years of war.

5 January 1989, A US aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean shot down two Libyan fighter aircraft.

28 December 1987, Tunisia and Libya restored diplomatic relations.

17 April 1986, In Libya, three British hostages were murdered in revenge for British participation in US air raids on Libya.

8 January 1986. President Reagan froze Libyan assets in the US. Mrs Thatcher refused to join the US in this action.

22 April 1984, Britain broke off diplomatic relations with Libya over the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher on 17 April 1984.

10 March 1982, The USA embargoed oil imports from Libya, alleging Libyan involvement in terrorist groups.

6 May 1981. The USA expelled all Libyan diplomats.

2 November 1979, Protestors in Tripoli, Libya, attacked and burnt the US Embassy.

24 July 1977, Algeria�s President intervemed to arrange a ceasefire between Libya and Egypt.

21 July 1977, A brief border war started between Libya and Egypt,� Bot sides suffered heavy losses of men and equip,ment.

1 July 1977, Deadline set by Ghaddaffi for Egyptian workers to leave Libya, or be arrested, after Ghaddaffi had accused Egypt of trying to provoke a war so it could seize Libyan oilfields.

3 January 1974, The EEC (Brussels) accused Colonel Ghaddaffi of funding international terrorist organisations.

16 January 1970, Colonel Ghaddafi became Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council in Libya.

14 November 1969. Ghaddaffi nationalised all foreign banks in Libya.

1 September 1969. President Ghaddaffi, 27 years old, ousted King Idris of Libya in a military coup. King Idris was in Greece at the time in hospital.

12/1962, Libya centralised its government. The previous federal system, of four provincial governments and one central authority, produced too much inter-provincial rivalry.

1 January 1952, Libya became independent. An Italian colony from 1911, when Italy took the territory from the Ottoman Turks, the region had come under British administration in 1942.

24 December 1951. Independent kingdom of Libya was established.�

3 December 1950, King Idris I was nominated as first monarch of Libya.

21 November 1949, The United Nations declared that Tripolitania should form part of the independent state of Libya.

25 October 1938. Libya was incorporated into Italy.

1 January 1935. The Italian colonies of Cyrenaica, Tripoli, and Fezzan were renamed Libya.

14 January 1928. Clashes between Italians and tribesmen in Libya, 100 tribesmen killed.

6 December 1925, Italy agreed the frontier of Libya with Egypt.

12 November 1922, Italy formally annexed Libya.

5 October 1911, Italian troops landed at Tripoli, Libya, as Italy invaded the country, taking it from Turkey.

Appendix 17 � Mauritania

2005, President Taya was overthrown. This was followed by free elections.

1991, Amnesty for political prisoners.

1989, Border clashes with Senegal over grazing rights. The Arab dominated Mauritanian Government expelled many Africans into Senegal.

1985, Mauritania normalised relations with Morocco.

1984, Taya seized power in a coup, and won subsequent elections in 1993.

1981, Diplomatic relations with Morocco were broken.

1979, Peace was achieved with the Polisario guerrillas fighting for control over neighbouring Western Sahara.

28 November 1960, Mauritania became fully independent from France.

1896, Mauritania was colonised by France.

1445, The Portuguese established a fort and slave market in Arguin Bay.

Appendix 18 � Mauritius

1992, Mauritius became a Republic.

1968, Mauritius gained independence from Britain.

1839, The last slaves were freed on Mauritius; landowners received over �2 million compensation for this. Indians were imported as a replacement labour force.

1814, Britain took control of Mauritiu under the Treaty of Paris. During the Anglo-French conflict of the early 1800s, the French had used Mauritius as a base to harass British shipping in the Indian Ocean.

1722, French settlers colonised Mauritius.

1598, Dutch Admiral Wijbrand von Warwijk discovered Mauritius. He named it after Count Maurice of Nassau. The Dutch built a fort at Grand Port, and imported some convicts and slaves, but made no permanent civilian settlmenet, and abandoned the island in 1710.

1505, Mascarenhas, Portuguese explorer, discovered Mauritius. It was then uninhabited.

Appendix 21� -Niger.

Map of Niger

18 February 2010, The President of Niger was overthrown in a military coup.

2005, A planned ceremony to free 5,000 slaves was cancelled as the Government denied the existence of slavery. There were also protests at steep rises in the costs of essential foodstuffs.

2004, Mamadou Tandja won a second Presidential term.

2001, Niger banned hunting to preserve its wildlife population, including lions, giraffes and hippopotamuses.

9 April 1999, The President of Niger, Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, was assassinated by his own guards. His Guard Commander, Major Douad Malam Wanke, took power.

24 May 1995, All Tuareg groups had now signed a peace deal with the Niger Government, and an amnesty was granted with imprisoned Tuaregs being released.

9 October 1994, The main Tuareg opposition organisation, the Co-ordination of Armed Resistance (CRA) signed a peace deal with the Niger Government.

1996, A military coup was followed by civilian multi-Party elections which were won by Mamadou Tandja.

1990, A Tuareg rebellion began, lasting until 1995.

1987, Kountche died. General Ali Saibou oversaw a transition to civilian democracy.

1984, The River Niger dried up due to drought. Niger�s uranium boom ended.

1974, Military coup, led by General Seyu Kountche.

1973, Severe drought killed 60% of Niger�s livestock.

1968, France opened uranium mines in Niger.

3 August 1960, Niger became independent from France. Diori became President.

1959, The radical Sawaba Party, led by Djibo Bakary, was banned.

1916-17, Tureg rebellion; the Tuareg occupied Agadez and the Air Mountains.

1883 � 1904, France overcame the Islamic Sokoto Empire and established control over Chad. Agadez was occupied against Tuareg resistance.

1300s, Agadez became a major centre of trans-Saharan trade. The Songhai and Mali Empires were powerful at this time.

Appendix 22 � Rwanda

Click here for map of Rwanda

19 November 2008, Germany extradited Rose Kabuye to France, where she faced charges over the killing of a former Rwandan President, Juvenal Habyarimana (born 1937).� This incident sparked the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

2005, 36,000 prisoners who had confessed to genocide were released.

3 December 2003, Two media executives and a journalist were convicted of genocide by the International Tribunal for Rwanda, after inciting the murder of ethnic Tutsis in 1994.

2000, Paul Kagame was elected President; he attempted to rebuild national unity bwteeen Hutus and Tutsis.

1 May 1998, The former Rwandan Prime Minister, Jean Kambanda, pleaded guilty at The Hague to six counts of genocide, at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Ethnic massacres in Rwanda 1992-94

15 November 1996. Mass migration as Hutu refugees returned to Rwanda.

4 March 1996. UN forces left Rwanda as the UN mandate ended.

1995, The War Crimes Tribunal opened.

1994, President Paul Kagame seized power in Rwanda, ending the genocide. See also Appendix 5 Congo Democratic Repubic

4 July 1994. Kigali fell to the Rwandan Patriotic Front. After the Rwandan President was killed in an air crash (see 6 April 1994) violence occurred against the Tutsi minority. Half a million died and 1.5 million refugees were created.

21 April 1994, The Red Cross estimated that 100,000 had died in the Rwandan Genocide.

6 April 1994. An air crash killed the Presidents of both Rwanda (President Juvenal Habyarimana) and Burundi (President Cyprien Ntaryamira). The Rwandan Patriotic Front was suspected but so were Hutu extremists opposed to the Arusha Agreement. See 5 October 1993 and 4 July 1994. On 7 April 1994 the Hutu militia, known as the Interhamwe, began organising the killing of many Tutsis.

5 October 1993, The UN created a body to oversee the Arusha agreement, see 4 August 1993 and 6 April 1994.

4 August 1993. The President of Rwanda�s Hutu-dominated government, Juvenal Habyarima, signed the Arusha Peace Agreement with the opposition Rwandan Patriotic Front, whose mainly Tutsi forces were closing in on the capital, Kigali. A ceasefire was agreed and plans made for power-sharing. 2,500 UN troops were pledged to oversee� the implementation of the agreement. But on 4 August 1993 Kigali�s Radio television Libre des Milles Collines began broadcasting Hutu-supremacist, anti-Tutsi, propaganda. See 5 October 1993.

13 March 1992. In Rwanda, fighting broke out between the Hutus, who held power, and the Tutsis.

4 October 1990, As Ugandan troops invaded Rwanda, France and Belgium sent troops there to protect their nationals.

1988, Large numbers of refugees arrived in Rwanda from Burundi.

1980, Civilian rule returned to Rwanda.

1973, Kayibanda was ousted in a bloodless military coup.

1972, Ethnic conflict flared up in Rwanda.

1963, Tutsis attempted to seize power, sparking long-lasting ethnic conflict with the Hutus.

1 July 1962. Rwanda and Burundi became independent. Rwanda was under a Hutu Government, with Gregoire Kayibanda as its forst President..� They had formerly been part of the Belgian administration of Ruanda-Urundi.

28 January 1961, In Rwanda, the Tutsi monarchy was overthrown by the Hutu majority and a Republic proclaimed.

1959, Ethnic violence between Hutus and Tutsis claimed some 20,000 lives. Peace was not fully restored until 1965.

1922, Belgium took over administration of Rwanda from Germany.

1897, The indigenous African kingdom of Rwanda was absorbed into German East Africa.

1000, Hutu agriculturalists arrived in what is now Rwanda, followed by Tutsi cattle herders.

Appendix 23 � Sao Tome

2001, Fradique de Menezes won the Presidency and promised greater co-operation with Parliament; he survived an attempted coup in 2003.

1995, Principe was granted autonomy.

12 July 1975, Sao Tome and Principe declared independence from Portugal, as a one-Party Marxist State. The plantations were nationalised.

1485, The Portuguese established a provisioning station for ships at Sao Tome. Slaves to work the Sao Tome plantations were imported from Guinea.

Appendix 24 � Senegal & Gambia

2017, In The Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh fled the country after losing an election to Adama Jarrow.

26 September 2002, The Senegalese ferry Le Joola capsized off the coast of Gambia, killing over 1,000 people. The ferry, designed to take 531, actually had 1,034 on board.

1996, Yahya Jammeh won Presidentual elections; however three major Parties were excluded from these elections.

1994, In The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, military officer, seized power in a coup. Jawara was ousted from power.

22 February 1992, The Pope visited Goree Island, near Dakar, Senegal, to commemorate the �forgotten holocaust� of the estimated 15 million slaves who passed through this way on route to slavery in the Americas.

18 July 1991, Senegal settled a border dispute with Mauritania, see 4/1989.

4/1989, In violent border clashes between Senegal and Mauritania, 450 had died. Over 50,000 people, from both sides, were repatriated. The dispute was sparked by the killing of two Senegalese peasans, allegedly by Mauritanian border guards.

1988, Diouf was decisively re-elected.

1983, Diouf was re-elected. The post of Prime Minister was abpolished.

1 February 1982 Senegal and Gambia formed a loose federation. This federation dissolved in 1989.

1981, Full multi-Party democracy was established in Senegal.

1981, Senegalese troops assisted The Gambia to crush an army revolt.

1974, Multiparty politics returned to Senegal.

24 April 1970, After a national referendum, Gambia, which had been a British colony since 1843, became a Republic within the Commonwealth. Jawara was the President.

1966, Senegal became a one-Party State, under the Senegalese Progressive Union Party, remaining so until 1974.

18 February 1965. The Gambia, the smallest country in Africa, became an independent monarchy. It had been a British colony since 1843.

22 August 1960. Senegal seceded from Mali.

20 August 1960, Senegal became independent, from France.

4 April 1960, Senegal became independent.

1959, in The Gambia, Dawda Jawara founded the People�s Progressive Party.

1904, Dakar became capital of French West Africa.

1895, Senegal became part of French West Africa.

1888, The Gambia became a British colony.

20 April 1857, The west African Muslim leader Al Hajj Uman laid siege to the French fort at Medine, Senegal.

1816, Britain acquired the site of Bathurst (now Banjul) after a contest for control with other European powers.

1661, Britain took control of The Gambia territory, by occupying Fort James at the mouth of the River Gambia.

1626, French settlement of Senegal.

1616, The Dutch occupied Goree Island. Britain captured James Island.

1444, The Portugiese established trading posts in the region, followed by the Dutch and French.

1100, The region was part of the Mali Empire, until ca. 1300.

1000s, Rise of the Jolof Empire.

Appendix 25 � Seychelles

2004, James Michel, former Vice President to Rene, assumed the Presidency.

2001, The Opposition Seychelles National Party made gains in legislative elections.

1993, Democratic elections held for the first time since 1976. Rene remained President, for the Seyshelles People�s Progressive Front.

1979, One Party socialist rule was established.

1977, Rene took power in a coup.

18 June 1976, Britain granted independence to the Seychelles.

1971, Seychelles International Airport opened.

1814, France ceded the Seychelles to Britain by the Treaty of Paris. De Quincy, having anglicised his name, remained as Governor. The British anglicised the islands� name to The Seychelles.

1794, Britain militarily took control of the Seychelles from France. The French commander, Jean Baptiste Queau de Quinssy, surrendered to the British. However the British did not actually occupy the islands and he was left de facto in charge.

1770, France colonised the Seychelles, at that time uninhabited, principally to deny the British a port on the way to India. They also exploited the timber reserves, and introduced slavery.

1756, France, to more formally claim the Seychelles, dispatched Captain Corneille Nicolas Morphey to claim them. He placed a stone on the islands carved with the Arms of France. He named the islands after the Finance Minister of Louis XV, Moreau des Sechelles.

1726, Captain Picault returned to the Seychelles to explore and map them, and named the main island Mahe after the Governor of Mauritius, Mahe de Labourdonnais.

1724, Captain Picault from France became the first European to land on the Seychelles. The islands were previously known to Arab and early Portuguese explorers. He took some tortoises and coconuts back to Mauritius,

Appendix 26 � Sierra Leone

18 January 2002, The civil war in Sierra Leone ended. Ahmad Kabba of the Sierra Leone People�s Party won elections.

1 May 2000, Britain sent 700 Para troops to Sierra Leone to restore order after rebel forces attacked UN peacekeepers. Britain (as the former colonial power) sent soldiers to restore order in the country, ending a decade of civil war. Sankoh was charged with war crimes, but died of a stroke before he could be tried.

2/1999, The Revolutionary United Front attacked the capital, Freetown. A third of the city was destroyed, and 6,000 people massacred.

13 February 1998, In Sierra Leone a Nigerian-led force of West African peacekeepers overthrew the military government of Major Johnny Paul Koroma and reinstated President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.

25 May 1997, In Sierra Leone, the civilian Government of Ahmed Kebbah was ousted in a coup. Major Johnny Paul Koroma replaced him. Other African States warned they may use force to reinstate civilian rule.

30 November 1996, In Sierra Leone, Government and rebel forces signed a peace agreement, ending a 5-year civil war.

29 April 1992, The autocratic Siaka Stevens regime in Sierra Leone was overthrown, by a military group led by Captain Valentine Strasser.

23 March 1991, Foday Sankoh, supported by Charles Taylor of Liberia, created the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), an armed group which then took over the diamond-rich areas of the country. Sankoh�s RUF also dismembered some 10,000 children, and forced others as young as 10 into military service. The RUF �soldiers� were not paid, but expected to �pay themselves� from looting. By 2000, the conflict had killed some 100,000 to 200,000 people, from a population of 4.5 million.

Sierra Leone Civil war began

1977, Sierra Leone became a Single-Party State.

27 April 1961. Sierra Leone became independent, and joined the Commonwealth.

1896, Britain declared a Protectorate over Sierra Leone.

11 March 1792, Hundreds of freed African slaves gathered beneath a 300-year-old cotton tree to celebrate the founding of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The tree had begun growing about the time slave shipments first began out of Africa.

1787, British administration of the coastal area around Freetown began.

1462, Portuguese sailor Pedro da Cinta visited the area.

1100s, Temnes settlement in the region.

Appendix 27 � Somalia

Map of Somalia

25 April 2013, The UK reopened its embassy in Somalia, closed for 25 years.

Period of anarchy 1991 - 2006

11/2006, Ethiopian forces entered Somalia to expel Al-Shabab Islamists who had taken control of the area.

2006, Islamist forces captured the capital, Mogadishu, and restored some order to the country.

10 July 2006, Fighting started in Somalia between fighters aligned with defeated warlords and Islamic militants killing 60 people and wounding 100.

29 January 2004, In Nairobi, Kenya, a peace was brokered between Somalia�s 42 different warring factions. A 275-strong legislature was created whose members were selected from amongst Somalia�s various clans.

2001, A transitional national government of Somalia was established. Unable to gain control of the capital, Mogadishu it set up a centre of administration in Djibouti, and later governed from Kenya.

3 October 1998, Al Quaeda joined with local Somali tribesmen in battle with US forces, and shot down two US helicopters, an incident known as �Black Hawk Down�.

1 August 1996, In Somalia, General Muhammad Farrah Aidid, of the Hawiye Clan, died of battle wounds.

3/1995, The last 19,000 UN troops left Somalia.

25 March 1994, US forces withdrew from Somalia,

3 March 1995, UN forces withdrew from Somalia as the international community gave up on attempting control.

17 June 1993. In Somalia, UN ground troops along with US helicopters launched a dawn raid on the HQ of General Mohammed Farrah Aidid, in retaliation for an attack that left 24 Pakistani peacekeepers dead 12 days earlier. Aidid escaped capture or death.

15 January 1993. The situation in Somalia continued tense despite a ceasefire brokered and enforced by US troops. In December 1992 President Bush had begun emergency food supplies to Somalia.

31 August 1992, The UN announced that 2,000 people were dying every day in Somalia, as the state of anarchy that had followed the overthrow of Mohammed barre made aid distribution impossible.

5 July 1992, UN forces arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to help with food distribution.

23 February 1992, A ceasefire was agreed in Somalia.

3 January 1992. Civil war continued in Somalia.

21 February 1991. Somalia had virtually disintegrated through civil war, sending many refugees to nearby countries.

29 January 1991, After Barre had fled Somalia, Ali Mahdi Mohammad became interim President.

Siad Barre administration

26 January 1991, President Siad Barre was forced to flee Somalia; his rule had become more repressive since his failed invasion of Ethiopia in 1977. His departure left a political vacuum that was filled by rival warlords.

9 July 1989, In Somalia, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Mogadishu was assassinated.

1988, The Somali National Movement (SNM) began an insurgency, capturing towns and military installations in the north.

3 April 1988. Ethiopia and Somalia concluded a peace agreement, ending 11 years of border conflict.

18 October 1977. German anti-terror forces stormed a hijacked Lufthansa airliner at Mogadishu, Somalia, killing three Palestinian terrorists and freeing all the hostages. Three of the four hijackers were killed.

23 July 1977, Somalia, under President Siad Barre, invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, in support of the guerrillas of the �Western Somali Liberation Front�.� See 21 January 1978.

20 October 1970, In Somalia, Siad Barre declared the country a Socialist One-Party State and nationalised the economy. However he lost Soviet support after his war with Ethiopia in 1977, and Socialism lost popuyklar support in the 1980s.

10/1969, General Mohamed Siad Barre, a Marxist, staged a coup six days after the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. The Prime Minister, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, was arrested and spent the next 12 years in prison.

1960, Somalia became independent,

1 April 1950, Italy took over the Somaliland Trusteeship from Britain.

11 January 1904, British troops massacred 1,000 rebels in Somaliland, who were under the command of the �Mad Mullah�

24 February 1903, British troops fought Somali rebels.

4 January 1903, British forces under General Manning landed at Obbia to attack the army of Mohammed bin Abdullah, the so-called �Mad Mullah�.

28 May 1902. British marched against the 'Mad Mullah' in East Africa.

Appendix 28a � Swaziland

2002, Mass pro-democracy protests.

1986, Makhosetive was crowned as King Mswati III, aged 18.

1982, King Sobhuza died. The Queen Mother became Regent for Prince Makhosetive. Power struggle between modernists and traditionalists.

1973, King Sobhuza banned all political activity and repealed the Constitution.

6 September 1968. Swaziland became independent from Britain.

1902, Britain established a protectorate over Swaziland.

Appendix 29a � Togo

Map of Togo

12 February 2005, In Lome, Togo, thousands protested against the army-installed President Faure Gnassingbe. Three demonstrators were killed.

5 February 2005, Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo, died (born 26 December 1935). He was replaced by his son, Faure, in elections widely seen as rigged.

4/1991, News broke in Togo of� mass killings by the security forces. This set off demonstrations against the military government of President Gnassungbe Eyadema (born 1935).

13 January 1967, Coup in Togo. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Etienne Eyadema deposed President Nicolas Grunitzky. He went on to become Africa�s longest-serving ruler by the time of his death. His rule was oppressive and brutal.

26 December 1935, Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo, was born (died 5 February 2005).

13 January 1963, The President of Togo, Sylvanus Olympo, was assassinated outside the US Embassy in Lome.

27 April 1960. Togo became independent.� The French sector became the new country of Togo; the British sector joined with Ghana.

1919, Togo was taken from Germany, and divided between Britain and France.

23 July 1897, Germany and France agreed the border between their colonies of Togo and Dahomey (now Benin).

5 July 1884, The German Consulate at Tunis formally proclaimed that Togo was a German protectorate.

Appendix 32 � Western Sahara

6 August 2016, The newly-elected leader of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), or Western Sahara, President Brahim Gali, vowed to continue the fight for liberation from Moroccan occupation.

10 April 1979, Cambodia recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

14 April 1976, Spain withdrew the last of its troops from the Spanish Sahara. This allowed Morocco to annex the phosphate-rich country.

27 February 1976, The Western Sahara declared its independence. Spain gave up its territories in the Sahara but retained the enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta.

14 November 1975, Spain pulled out of the Western Sahara under the Madrid Accord. However this left the territory vulnerable to occupation by Morocco.

6 November 1975, In a �Green March� organised by King Hassan II, 160,000 unarmed Moroccans marched across the border into Western Sahara. Spain now agreed to allow Morocco to take the territory instead of organising a self determination referendum amongst the indigenous Sahrawi.

10 May 1973, The Polisario was founded by radical students at Ain Bentili. Its aim was to free the Western Sahara from Spanish, then Moroccan, control.

1884, Spain colonised Rio de Oro (Western Sahara).

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