A POLITICAL CHRONOLOGY OF AFRICA A POLITICAL CHRONOLOGY OF AFRICA FIRST EDITION First Edition2001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. "To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk." © Europa Publications Limited2001 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE, United Kingdom (A member of the Taylor & Francis Group) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be photocopied, recorded, or otherwise reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN 0-203-40309-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-41211-7 (Adobe e-Reader Format) ISBN 0-203-40995-7(Print Edition) Editor: David Lea Assistant Editor: Annamarie Rowe Contributors: Annalisa Henderson, Clare Higgins, Owain Johnson, Sondeep Kandola, Dr Isabel Miller, Linda Van Buren Data manipulation and database design: Mark Wilson, Bibliocraft Ltd zvv Foreword This is the fourth title in a new six-volume series of Political Chronologies of the World. The previous volumes concerned Europe, Central, South and East Asia, and the Middle East; forthcoming titles will deal with South-East Asia and Oceania, and the Americas. Although the book includes greater coverage of more-recent events— particularly in countries with a recent history of political upheaval—it also provides invaluable detail on the early history of each nation. Each chronology begins at least as early as the emergence of an entity resembling the modern nation, and in many cases considerably earlier. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where many of the modern countries correspond to entities created by Europeans, the Editors have attempted to include an amount of pre-European history in each country’s chronology, although the focus remains on more-recent occurrences. In addition to coverage of purely political events, each title in the series also includes details of the principal economic, cultural and social landmarks in the history of each nation. Examples might include the adoption of new languages, alphabets, calendars or religions. This series aims to be the first point of reference for concise information on the history of each nation in the world. It is hoped that the volumes in the series will enable readers easily to locate self-contained entries on the period and area in which their interest lies. October 2001 Contents Algeria 1 Angola 19 Benin 31 Botswana 38 Burkina Faso 44 Burundi 51 Cameroon 58 Cape Verde 64 Central African Republic 69 Chad 79 Comoros 91 Democratic Republic of the Congo 100 Republic of the Congo 114 Côte d’Ivoire 123 Djibouti 131 Egypt 137 Equatorial Guinea 160 Eritrea 165 Ethiopia 171 Gabon 181 The Gambia 187 Ghana 194 Guinea 202 Guinea-Bissau 208 Kenya 214 Lesotho 222 Liberia 228 Libya 235 Madagascar 258 Malawi 267 Mali 274 Mauritania 284 Mauritius 291 Morocco 297 Mozambique 311 Namibia 320 Niger 328 Nigeria 335 Rwanda 344 São Tomé and Príncipe 351 Senegal 357 Seychelles 365 Sierra Leone 369 Somalia 377 South Africa 389 Sudan 401 Swaziland 417 Tanzania 423 Togo 430 Tunisia 436 Uganda 451 Zambia 460 Zimbabwe 467 Abbreviations AD anno Domini Adm. Admiral a.m. ante meridiem (before noon) BC before Christ Brig. Brigadier c. circa Cdre Commodore CIS Commonwealth of Independent States Cmdr Commander Col Colonel Dr Doctor EEC European Economic Community EU European Union etc. et cetera f. founded Gen. General HM His (or Her) Majesty kg kilogram(s) km kilometre(s) kW kilowatt(s) Lt Lieutenant m. million Maj. Major Mgr Monsignor MP Member of Parliament NATO North American Treaty Organization OAU Organization of African Unity OIC Organization of the Islamic Conference Prof. Professor St Saint UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees US United States USA United States of America USS United States Ship USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Algeria c.200 BC: The Numidian kingdom, which was allied with the Romans in opposition to the Carthaginians, occupied most of modern Algeria north of the Sahara, as well as territory now in other states (including Libya). 146 BC: Numidia was annexed to the Roman Empire by Julius Caesar. AD 146: The Numidian ruler, Masinissa, died during the siege of Carthage. The Romans established a protectorate over Numidia which was divided between three of Masinissa’s sons. 364–75: Donatism, a schismatic Christian sect which had remained dominant in the region despite Roman suppression, revived during the reign of the Emperor Valentinian I. 429: North Africa, including Numidia, was conquered by the Vandals, a Germanic tribe that had migrated to Iberia before being expelled by the Goths. c.500: Three confederacies emerged among the Tamazight or Berber people, centred on Awras, al-Hudna and Oran. 535–47: Numerous Berber rebellions were suppressed. c.670: The Arabs, during their period of expansion under the Umayyad Caliphate, invaded North Africa. Berber resistance to Arab rule persisted, and a number of rebellions were suppressed. 8th century: Many of the Berbers of the Maghreb converted to Kharijism, an extreme Shi‘a Muslim sect. 740: An uprising resulted in the loss of Arab control of the greater part of the Maghreb. 778: Ibadi rebels established a relatively egalitarian state, with its captial at Tahart. Abd al-Rahman bin Rustam became Imam of the Ibadiyya—upon his death, he was succeeded by his son, thus establishing the Rustamid dynasty of Imams. 9th century: The Ibadiyya defeated numerous rebellions and secessionist movements. 10th century: The Berbers resident in the territory of modern Algeria were divided between the Sinhaja in the east (who supported the Egyptian Fatimids) and the nomadic Zanata in the west (who supported the the Ummayads in Spain). zv2 11th century: The Almoravids from Morocco conquered lands as far east as Algiers. These areas were now part of an Empire which included Muslim Spain. 1143: Abd al-Mumin, the Amir of the Almohad sect, led his forces north into the coastal areas of the Maghreb and challenged the Almoravids. March 1145: The Almohads captured Oran and established their dominance over the Maghreb and Muslim Spain. 1212: Almohad expansionism in Europe was halted by their defeat at Navas de A political chronology of Africa 2 Tolosa in northern Spain; this is commonly perceived to be the beginning of Almohad decline. 1239: The ruler of Tlemcem and the central Maghreb, Abd al-Wad of the Zayanid dynasty’ declared his territory’s independence, establishing the Abd al- Wadid dynasty. 1248: The Almohad Caliph unsuccessfully besieged Tlemcem with the assistance of Christian troops, mostly drawn from Castille. 1276: Almohad rule of North Africa came to an end; the region came under control of a number of states, notably the Hafsids and the Zayanids. 1299–1301: The Marinids invaded from Morocco and besieged Tlemcem. 1313: The Zayanids annexed Algiers. 1317–18: Abu Bakr, the ruler of Bougie, invaded Tunis. 1389: The Marinids assumed suzerainty over the Zayanid lands. 1424–1500: The Zayanids severed their alliances with the Maranids and submitted to the Hafsids. 1492–94: Following the fall of Granada, the last Muslim kingdom in Spain, to Isabella and Ferdinand (the monarchs whose marriage united the two principal Spanish kingdoms), Spanish forces sought to remove Muslim influence from the Maghreb. 1505–10: Bougie, Marsa al-Qabur and Oran were captured by the Spanish. 1512–14: Two Turkish corsairs, the brothers Aruj and Khayr ad-Din (known as Barbarossa) began to assist in efforts to expel the Spanish from the Maghreb. Aruj raided Bougie several times and established relations with the tribes of the Kabyle. 1514: The Spanish attacked Algiers. 1516: Aruj moved to Algiers and was proclaimed Sultan. 1518: The Spanish besieged Aruj in Tlemcen; he was killed in the fighting. Khayr ad-Din Barbarossa obtained military aid from the Ottoman Empire by presenting the territories they had conquered to the Ottoman Sultan. 1519: Khayr ad-Din was expelled from Algiers by Spanish forces, supported by some Zayanid and Hafsid groups. 1525: With Ottoman support, Khayr ad-Din reconquered Algiers. 1533: Khayr ad-Din was appointed Kapudan Pasha or Admiral of the Ottoman fleet. He installed beylerbeys (administrators) to maintain order in Algiers. zv3 1534–58: Under the Captain-General of Oran, Count Alcaudete, Spain renewed its expansionist policy, establishing a Spanish protectorate in western Algeria following its abandonment of Algiers in 1541. However, by 1554 Oran was under constant siege. 1546: Khayr ad-Din died; the governance of the Ottoman territories in the Maghreb became the responsibility of the Beylerbeys. 1556: The Janissaries (élite Ottoman forces) took control of the government of Algiers; the Spanish renewed their attacks on the city the following year, but all were repulsed. 1587: The administrators created by Khayr ad-Din were replaced by Ottoman Pashas, although the leader of the Janissaries was the governor of the city and Algeria 3 the leader of the corsairs controlled the affairs of the corsairs and the marines. 1671: The destruction of seven ships in the port of Algiers by a British squadron provoked a rebellion among the corsairs and the assassination of Agha Ali, the last of the Janissary chiefs. The corsairs chose an officer to exercise administrative power under the title of ‘dey’. The pasha appointed by Istanbul had ceremonial functions but no real authority. 1710: The title of pasha was assumed by the dey. 1775: A Spanish expedition to capture Algiers was unsuccessful. 1815–27: The French consul refused to discuss the debt owed by France to Algeria (France had not paid for Algerian wheat used to feed its armies in the 1790s), angering the dey.