EAST AFRICA

COLONIAL AFRICA

ETHNIC GROUPS

Murdock lists no less than 835 ethnic regions, Incredible. For a continent that houses less than one sixth of the world’s population, the level of human variation is staggering. If Africa were to establish it’s national borders based on ethnic or linguistic identification as Europe has, the number of resultant countries would dwarf that of the number of countries of the present world combined.

BURUNDI• pre-1300s - Hutu people settle in the region.• 1400s - Tutsi settlers arrive.• 1500s - Distinct Burundian kingdom emerges.• 1890 - The kingdoms of Urundi and neighboring Ruanda (Rwanda) incorporated into German

East Africa.• 1959-1961 - Independence drive led by cross-communal UPRONA party of Prince Louis

Rwagasore, which wins 1961 legislative elections. Prince Louis becomes prime minister but is assassinated shortly afterwards.

• 1962 - Urundi is separated from Ruanda-Urundi and becomes independent kingdom of Burundi under King Mwambutsa IV.

• Since independence in 1962 it has been plagued by tension between the usually-dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. The ethnic violence sparked off in 1994 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts. It began to reap the dividends of a peace process, but faces the formidable tasks of reviving a shattered economy and forging national unity.

COMOROS• 1527 - Portuguese cartographer Diego Ribero depicts the Comoros islands on a European

map for the first time.• 1912 - Comoros formally become a French colony administered from Madagascar.• 1961 - Comoros given autonomy• 1974 - Three of the islands making up the Comoros vote for independence, but a fourth

island, Mayotte, votes to stay with France.• A history of political violence has left the Comoros desperately poor. At times, the country has

teetered on the brink of disintegration. The three Indian Ocean islands have experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups, beginning just weeks after independence from France in 1975 when President Ahmed Abdallah was toppled in a coup assisted by French mercenary Colonel Bob Denard. Colonel Denard featured in several power struggles over the years. To add to the country's troubles, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared unilateral independence in a violent conflict in 1997. In an effort to bring the breakaway islands back into the fold, Moheli, Anjouan and the largest island, Grande Comore, were granted greater autonomy under a 2001 constitution.

DJIBOUTI• 825 - Islam introduced to the area• 1888 - French colony of Somaliland established over the region.• 1977 - The French Territory of the Afars and the Issas becomes independent as Djibouti with

Hassan Gouled Aptidon as president.• After independence from France in 1977, Djibouti was left with a government which enjoyed

a balance between the two main ethnic groups, the Issa of Somali origin and the Afar of Ethiopian origin.

• The country's first president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, installed an authoritarian one-party state dominated by his own Issa community. Afar resentment erupted into a civil war in the early 1990s, and though Mr Gouled, under French pressure, introduced a limited multi-party system in 1992, the rebels from the Afar party, the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Frud), were excluded.

• Mr Gouled's Popular Rally for Progress party won every seat and the war went on. It ended in 1994 with a power-sharing deal which brought the main faction of Frud into government. A splinter, radical faction continued to fight until 2000, when it too signed a peace deal with the government of Gouled's successor, Ismael Omar Guelleh.

ETHIOPIA• 2nd century AD - Kingdom of Axum becomes a regional trading power.• 4th century - Coptic Christianity introduced from Egypt.• 1530-31 - Muslim leader Ahmad Gran conquers much of Ethiopia.• 1896 - Italian forces defeated by the Ethiopians at Adwa; treaty of Wuchale annulled; Italy

recognizes Ethiopia's independence but retains control over Eritrea.• 1936 - Italians capture Addis Ababa, Haile Selassie flees, king of Italy made emperor of

Ethiopia; Ethiopia combined with Eritrea and Italian Somaliland to become Italian East Africa.• 1941 - British and Commonwealth troops, greatly aided by the Ethiopian resistance - the

arbegnoch - defeat the Italians, and restore Haile Selassie to his throne.• Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population.

Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini's Italy, it has never been colonized.• It has a unique cultural heritage, being the home of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church - one of

the oldest Christian churches - and a monarchy that ended only in the coup of 1974. • It served as a symbol of African independence throughout the colonial period, and was a

founder member of the United Nations and the African base for many international organisations.

KENYA• Evidence of some of the earliest human settlements has been found in Kenya, suggesting that

it was the cradle of humanity from which descendants moved out to populate the world.• 600 - Arabs begin settling coastal areas, over the centuries developing trading stations which

facilitated contact with the Arab world, Persia and India.• 16th century - Portuguese try to establish foothold on Kenyan coast but are driven off by

Swahili states and Omani Arabs by late 17th century.• 1895 - Formation of British East African Protectorate.• 1920 - East African Protectorate becomes crown colony of Kenya - administered by a British

governor.• 1944 - Kenyan African Union (KAU) formed to campaign for African independence. First

African appointment to legislative council.• 1952 - Secret Kikuyu guerrilla group known as Mau Mau begins violent campaign against

white settlers. State of emergency declared.• After independence from Britain in 1963, politics was dominated by the charismatic Jomo

Kenyatta. He was succeeded in 1978 by Daniel arap Moi, who remained in power for 24 years. The ruling Kenya African National Union, Kanu, was the only legal political party for much of the 1980s.

• In the present day, Kenya's ethnic diversity has produced a vibrant culture but is also a source of conflict.

MADAGASCAR• 1880s-1905 - France consolidates its hold over Madagascar in the face of local resistance.• 1910-20 - Growth of nationalism fuelled by discontent over French rule.• 1947 - French suppress armed rebellion in east. Thousands are killed.• 1958 - Madagascar votes for autonomy.• 1960 26 June - Independence with Philibert Tsiranana as president.• 1972 - Amid popular unrest, Tsiranana dissolves government and hands power to army chief

Gen Gabriel Ramanantsoa as head of a provisional government. He reduces the country's ties with France in favor of links with the Soviet Union.

• 1975 June - Lieutenant-Commander Didier Ratsiraka is named head of state after a coup. The country is renamed the Democratic Republic of Madagascar and Ratsiraka is elected president for a seven-year term.

• The World Bank has estimated that 92% of Malagasy live on less than $2 per day. Poverty and the competition for agricultural land have put pressure on the island's dwindling forests, home to much of Madagascar's unique wildlife and key to its emerging tourist industry.

MALAWI• 1480 - Bantu tribes unite several smaller political states to form the Maravi Confederacy which

at its height includes large parts of present-day Zambia and Mozambique plus the modern state of Malawi.

• 17th century - Portuguese explorers arrive from the east coast of present-day Mozambique.• 1891 - Britain establishes the Nyasaland and District Protectorate. • 1893 - Name is changed to the British Central African Protectorate. White European settlers are

offered land for coffee plantations at very low prices. Tax incentives force Africans to work on these plantations for several months a year, often in difficult conditions.

• 1915 - Reverend John Chilembwe leads a revolt against British rule, killing the white managers of a particularly brutal estate and displaying the head of one outside his church. He is shot dead by police within days.

• 1964 6 July - Nyasaland declares independence as Malawi.• For the first 30 years of independence it was run by the authoritarian and quixotic President

Hastings Kamuzu Banda, but democratic institutions have taken a firm hold since he relinquished power in the mid-1990s.

• After President Banda lost the first democratic presidential election in 1994 his successor, Bakili Muluzi, established a far more open form of government. Corruption, poverty and the high rate of HIV-Aids continued to hamper development and fostered discontent with the new authorities.

MAURITIUS• 10th century - Phoenicians, Malays, Swahili and Arab seamen visit island but do not settle.

Island named Dina Robin by Arab mariners.• 1598 - Dutch claim the uninhabited island and rename it after their head of state, Maurice,

Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau.• 1715 - French East India Company claims Mauritius for France, renames it Ile de France.• 1796 - Settlers break away from French control when the government in Paris attempts to

abolish slavery.• 1814 - Mauritius, Seychelles and Rodrigues ceded to Britain under Treaty of Paris.• 1964 - Ethnic rioting; Hindus and Creoles clash.• 1968 - 12 March - Independence.• The island has maintained one of the developing world's most successful democracies and

has enjoyed years of constitutional order.• It has preserved its image as one of Africa's few social and economic success stories.

MOZAMBIQUE• 3rd century - Iron Age Bantu-speaking tribes move into area from west-central Africa.• 11th century - Shona empire develops between Limpopo and Zambezi rivers.• 16-17th centuries - Portuguese venture into interior. Following military campaigns, colonists

set up trading posts and mining enterprises and parcel-out land to European settlers.• 18th-19th centuries - Mozambique becomes major slave-trading center.• 1842 - Portugal outlaws slave trade from Mozambique, but clandestine trade continues for

decades.• 1962 - Exiled activists opposed to Portuguese colonial power meet in Tanzania to form

Mozambique Liberation Front - Frelimo - headed by Eduardo Mondlane.• 1975 - Mozambique becomes independent. Frelimo rules under single-party system with

leader Samora Machel as president.• Since independence from Portugal in 1975, Mozambique has been battered by civil war,

economic mismanagement and famine.

RWANDA• 1300s - Tutsis migrate into what is now Rwanda, which was already inhabited by the Twa and

Hutu peoples. • 1600s - Tutsi King Ruganzu Ndori subdues central Rwanda and outlying Hutu areas• Late 1800s - Tutsi King Kigeri Rwabugiri establishes a unified state with a centralized military

structure.• 1890 - Rwanda becomes part of German East Africa. • 1946 - Ruanda-Urundi becomes UN trust territory governed by Belgium. • 1957 - Hutus issue manifesto calling for a change in Rwanda's power structure to give them a

voice commensurate with their numbers; Hutu political parties formed. • 1959 - Tutsi King Kigeri V, together with tens of thousands of Tutsis, forced into exile in

Uganda following inter-ethnic violence. • 1962 - Rwanda becomes independent with a Hutu, Gregoire Kayibanda, as president; many

Tutsis leave the country. • The country has been beset by ethnic tension associated with the traditionally unequal

relationship between the dominant Tutsi minority and the majority Hutus.• Although after 1959 the ethnic relationship was reversed, when civil war prompted around

200,000 Tutsis to flee to Burundi, lingering resentment led to periodic massacres of Tutsis.• Rwanda is trying to shake off its image associated with the 1994 state-sponsored genocide;

the government argues the country is now stable

SEYCHELLES• 1502 - Portugal's Vasco da Gama explores the Seychelles. • 1768 - French planters and their slaves begin settling in the Seychelles. • 1794 - Britain annexes the Seychelles, which are then administered from Mauritius.• 1948 - First elections to a legislative council take place. • 1976 - Seychelles become independent and are governed by a coalition, with James

Mancham as president and France Rene as prime minister. • 1977 - Rene's supporters stage a coup against Mancham ostensibly without Rene's

knowledge; Rene installed as president. • After an ominous, post-independence start which saw them lurch from a coup, through an

invasion by mercenaries to an abortive army mutiny and several coup attempts, the Seychelles have attained stability and prosperity.

• Citizens of the Indian Ocean archipelago enjoy a high per capita income, good health care and education.

SOMALIA• The Horn of Africa has been home to Somalis since ancient times. • 1875 - Egypt occupies towns on Somali coast and parts of the interior. • 1887 - Britain proclaims protectorate over Somaliland. • 1888 - Anglo-French agreement defines boundary between Somali possessions of the two

countries. • 1889 - Italy sets up a protectorate in central Somalia, later consolidated with territory in the

south ceded by the sultan of Zanzibar. • 1960 - British and Italian parts of Somalia become independent, merge and form the United

Republic of Somalia; Aden Abdullah Osman Daar elected president. • 1969 - Muhammad Siad Barre assumes power in coup, declares Somalia a socialist state and

nationalizes most of the economy.• 1991 - Mohamed Siad Barre is ousted. Power struggle between clan warlords Mohamed Farah

Aideed and Ali Mahdi Mohamed kills or wounds thousands of civilians. • 1993 - US Army Rangers are killed when Somali militias shoot down two US helicopters in

Mogadishu and a battle ensues. Hundreds of Somalis die in the battle depicted in the film "Black Hawk Down". US mission formally ends in March 1994.

• Years of anarchy followed the downfall of President Barre, and it was not until 2012, when a new internationally-backed government was installed, that the country began to enjoy a measure of stability once more.

SOUTH SUDAN• 1899-1955 - South Sudan is part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, under joint British-Egyptian rule.• 1956 - Sudan gains independence from joint British-Egyptian rule.• 1962 - Civil war led by the southern separatist Anya Nya movement begins with north.• 1969 - Group of socialist and communist Sudanese military officers led by Col Jaafar Muhammad

Numeiri seizes power; Col Numeiri outlines policy of autonomy for south.• 1983 - Fighting breaks out again between north and south Sudan, under leadership of John

Garang's Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), after Sudanese President Jaafar Numeiri abolishes South Sudan's autonomy.

• 2005 January - North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ends civil war; deal provides for a permanent ceasefire, autonomy for the south, a power-sharing government involving rebels in Khartoum and a south Sudanese referendum on independence in six years' time.

• 2007 October - SPLM temporarily suspends participation in national unity government, accusing Khartoum of failing to honour the 2005 peace deal. Returns to government in December.

• 2011 9 July - Independence day.• The young state plunged into crisis in December 2013 amid a power struggle between the

president and his deputy whom he had fired.

TANZANIA

• 1498 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama visits Tanzanian coast. • 1886 - Britain and Germany sign an agreement allowing Germany to set up a sphere of

influence over mainland Tanzania, except for a narrow piece of territory along the coast which stays under the authority of the sultan of Zanzibar, while Britain enjoys a protectorate over Zanzibar.

• 1905-06 - Indigenous Maji Maji revolt suppressed by German troops. • 1961 - Tanganyika becomes independent with Julius Nyerere as prime minister. • 1964 - Sultanate of Zanzibar overthrown by Afro-Shirazi Party in a violent, left-wing

revolution; Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to become Tanzania, with Nyerere as president and the head of the Zanzibar government and leader of the Afro-Shirazi Party, Abeid Amani Karume, as vice-president.

• Unlike many African countries, whose potential wealth contrasted with their actual poverty, Tanzania had few exportable minerals and a primitive agricultural system.

• Tourism is an important revenue earner; Tanzania's attractions include Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, and wildlife-rich national parks such as the Serengeti.

UGANDA• 1500 - Bito dynasties of Buganda, Bunyoro and Ankole founded by Nilotic-speaking

immigrants from present-day southeastern Sudan. • 1862 - British explorer John Hanning Speke becomes the first European to visit Buganda. • 1875 - Bugandan King Mutesa I allows Christian missionaries to enter his realm. • 1894 - Uganda becomes a British protectorate. • 1962 - Uganda becomes independent with Milton Obote as prime minister and with Buganda

enjoying considerable autonomy. • 1971 - Milton Obote toppled in coup led by Army chief Idi Amin. • 1979 - Tanzania invades Uganda, unifying the various anti-Amin forces under the Uganda

National Liberation Front and forcing Amin to flee the country; Yusufu Lule installed as president, but is quickly replaced by Godfrey Binaisa.

• In the 1970s and 1980s Uganda was notorious for its human rights abuses, first during the military dictatorship of Idi Amin from 1971-79 and then after the return to power of Milton Obote, who had been ousted by Amin.

• Since the late 1980s Uganda has rebounded from the abyss of civil war and economic catastrophe to become relatively peaceful, stable and prosperous.

ZAMBIA• 12th Century - Shona people arrive in the area, later establishing the empire of the Mwene

Mutapa, which includes southern Zambia. • 16th Century - Arrival of peoples from Luba and Lunda empires of Zaire to set up small

kingdoms. • 19th Century - Instability generated by migration as well as slave-trading by Portuguese and

Arabs. • 1889 - Britain establishes control over Northern Rhodesia, administering the area using a

system of indirect rule which leaves power in the hands of local rulers.• 1953 - Creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, comprising Northern Rhodesia,

Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). • 1964 - Independence, with Kenneth Kaunda as president.• Constitutional change was introduced in 1991 under popular pressure, allowing a multi-party

system and a change of leadership. • Zambia has a reputation for political stability and a relatively efficient, transparent

government. • Social conditions are tough. Poverty is widespread. Life expectancy is among the lowest in the

world and the death rate is one of the highest - largely due to the prevalence of HIV/Aids.

ZIMBABWE• 1200-1600s - Rise and decline of the Monomotapa domain, thought to have been associated with

Great Zimbabwe and to have been involved in gold mining and international trade.• 1830s - Ndebele people fleeing Zulu violence and Boer migration in present-day South Africa move

north and settle in what becomes known as Matabeleland. • 1830-1890s - European hunters, traders and missionaries explore the region from the south. They

include Cecil John Rhodes. • 1930-1960s - Black opposition to colonial rule grows. Emergence in the 1960s of nationalist groups -

the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu) and the Zimbabwe African National Union (Zanu). • 1980 - Veteran pro-independence leader Robert Mugabe and his Zanu party win British-supervised

independence elections. Mugabe is named prime minister and includes Zapu leader Joshua Nkomo in his cabinet. Independence on 18 April is internationally recognized.

• The fortunes of Zimbabwe have for almost three decades been tied to President Robert Mugabe, the pro-independence campaigner who wrested control from a small white community and became the country's first black leader.

• For years it was a major tobacco producer and a potential bread basket for surrounding countries. But the forced seizure of almost all white-owned commercial farms, with the stated aim of benefiting landless black Zimbabweans, led to sharp falls in production and precipitated the collapse of the agriculture-based economy. The country has endured rampant inflation and critical food and fuel shortages.