Timeline Madagascar

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Madagascar is an island a little larger than California.
    (WSJ, 5/6/05, p.A1)
c230 Mil BP    It was reported in 1999 that Madagascar dinosaur fossils, found in 1995 might be the oldest known. The creatures were long-necked prosauropods from about this time.
    (SFC, 10/22/99, p.A1)

165 Million BP    Madagascar broke away from the continent of Africa. [see 160 mil BP]
    (SFC, 1/15/98, p.A10)

160 Million BP    Madagascar broke away from the continent of Africa. [see 165 mil BP]
    (WSJ, 9/8/00, p.W6)

c75 Million BP    The 30-foot dinosaur Majungatholus atopus lived here. Its fossils were discovered in 1996. It was similar to creatures whose fossils were found in Argentina and India. The horned dinosaur was a remote cousin of T. rex and had sharp serrated teeth. In 2003 scientists determined that 2-ton, 30-foot creatures were cannibals.
    (SFC, 5/15/98, p.A2)(SFC, 4/3/03, p.A2)

~0AD        Settlers began arriving from Polynesia
    (SFC, 6/23/96, zone 1 p.5)

1000 AD    Large portions of the island fauna of Madagascar, that once included a lemur the size of bear and the ostrich-like Elephant Bird, was eliminated by the Malagash people of Madagascar.
    (NOHY, 3/90, p.188)

1500        Aug 10, Diego Diaz discovered Madagascar.
    (MC, 8/10/02)

1942        Sep 10, British troops landed on Madagascar.
    (MC, 9/10/01)

1943        Jan 8, The British handed Madagascar over to the Free French.
    (Historynet, 1/8/99)

1960        Jun 26, The Malagasy Republic (Madagascar) gained independence from France.
    (SFC, 8/19/96, p.A10)(PC, 1992, p.973)

1975        Military commander, Didier Ratsiraka, took power. He published a “red book” of Marxist principles and nationalized much of the economy. In the 1980s with severe economic decline Ratsiraka changed course and established ties with the world Bank and the IMF.
    (SFC, 8/19/96, p.A10)

1975-1992    Didier Ratsiraka led a Socialist regime.
    (SFC, 6/9/99, p.C3)

1975        A major cyclone hit the island.
    (NPR, 1/27/96)

1986        The Quebec Iron and Titanium (QIT) subsidiary of Rio Tinto, an int’l. mining concern, began pursuing rights in Madagascar to extract high-grade ilmenite, a form of titanium dioxide used to whiten toothpaste, paint and cleansing powders. A 15,000 acre site at Fort Dauphin was expected to yield 750,000 tons a year over 60 years for an investment of $400 million. The Malagasy government would receive about $40 million per year plus $10 million in taxes and fees. A decision was expected in 2005.
    (SFC, 1/15/98, p.A10)(WSJ, 11/17/04, p.A1)

1990        The Malagasy government agreed to an environmental action plan that called for the creation of national parks and protected areas.
    (SFC, 6/23/96, zone 1 p.5)

1991        A man from the United Arab Emirates found a large black rock that in 1996 was found to contain the world’s largest emerald cluster. Bangkok geologists spent a week removing a thick layer of black mica before finding a group of 127 medium green emeralds weighing 167 pounds.
    (SFC, 10/5/96, p.C1)

1992        Mass demonstrations and civil service strikes led to a march on the palace by 100,000 people. The elite guard killed an estimated 100. Didier Rastiraka soon agreed to new elections that were won by Albert Zafy, a heart surgeon. Zafy reversed the economic reforms begun by Rastiraka.
    (SFC, 8/19/96, p.A8,10)(SFC, 6/9/99, p.C3)

1992-1997    The US Agency for International Development has committed $85 mil for environmental programs here.
    (SFC, 6/23/96, zone 1 p.5)

1994        Pres. Albert Zafy and Prime Minister Francisque Ravony balked at an economic overhaul ordered by the Int’l. Monetary Fund and World Bank.
    (SFC, 9/6.96, p.A14)

1995        Madagascar signed the Convention on Biological Diversity.
    (SFC, 1/19/00, p.A12)

1996        Apr 4, In the capital city of Antananarivo, Madagascar, thousands of people demonstrated against the president amid calls for a military coup.
    (SFC, 5/5/96, p.T-9)

1996        Jun 5, On World Environment Day 210,000 hectares on the Masoala Peninsula were proclaimed a national park, the 6th on the island.
    (SFC, 6/23/96, zone 1 p.5)

1996        Aug 19, The per capita income stands at $240 per year.
    (SFC, 8/19/96, p.A10)

1996        Aug, Pres. Albert Zafy was impeached for corruption.
    (SFC, 2/1/97, p.C1)

1996        Didier Ratsiraka was elected president as a democrat.
    (SFC, 6/9/99, p.C3)

1997        Jan 24, In Madagascar a cyclone struck and that some 200 were killed. It was later reported that 520,000 people were affected.
    (WSJ, 1/27/97, p.A1)(SFC, 2/8/97, p.A11)

1997        Jan 31, A constitutional court said that Didier Ratsiraka edged out Albert Zafy in last year’s elections.
    (SFC, 2/1/97, p.C1)

1997        Apr 12, It was reported that a plague of locusts was poised to sweep over the 5 million acres of rich farmland in the south of the nation.
    (SFC, 4/12/97, p.A12)

1998        Mar 28, A locust swarm was reported to have covered an estimated 24 million acres in the south of the country.
    (SFC, 3/28/98, p.A5)

1998        Jun 13, The grasshopper swarm, 7 miles long, flew into the capital city of Antananarivo.
    (SFC, 6/13/98, p.A7)

1999        Oct 21, It was reported that only some 4,000 diademed sifakas, the largest living lemurs, were left in Madagascar.
    (SFC, 10/21/99, p.AA7)

1999        Oct 22, It was reported that dinosaur fossils, found 4 years ago in Madagascar, may be the oldest known. The creatures were long-necked prosauropods from about 230 million years ago.
    (SFC, 10/22/99, p.A1)

2000        Mar 3, In Madagascar an estimated 600,000 people were affected by flooding from tropical storm Gloria and at least 55 people were reported killed.
    (SFC, 3/4/00, p.A12)

2000        Mar 8, In Madagascar tropical storm Gloria left over 100 people dead just weeks after Cyclone Eline left 54 dead.
    (SFC, 3/9/00, p.A10)

2000        Mar 15, It was reported that some 500 new cases of cholera had broken out following a year long epidemic that had killed 1,350 people.
    (SFC, 3/15/00, p.A10)

2000        Apr 3, A cyclone left 2 people dead and nearly flattened the town of Antalaha.
    (WSJ, 4/4/00, p.A1)

2000        Apr 16, The winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize included: Nat Quansah (46), an ethnobotanist in Madagascar.
    (SFC, 4/17/00, p.A2)

2000        Jun, The US government passed the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. It gave 23 sub-Saharan countries the opportunity to ship a range of textile products to the US duty-free.
    (WSJ, 1/2/02, p.A1)

2000        In Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, dairy mogul, took office as the mayor and instituted a cleanup campaign.
    (SFC, 8/21/00, p.A8)

2001        Dec 16, Elections were held but no candidate won a majority. The results were annulled Apr 17, 2002.
    (SSFC, 1/13/02, p.C12)(SFC, 4/18/02, p.A11)

2001        Mauritius textile worker wages reached $1.47 cents an hour compared with 37 cents in Madagascar.
    (WSJ, 1/2/02, p.A4)

2002        Jan 7, In Antananarivo some 30,000 protested the presidential election results.
    (SSFC, 1/13/02, p.C12)

2002        Jan 25, The High Constitutional Court certified Marc Ravalomanana with 46.2% of the votes and Pres. Didier Ratsiraka with 40.8%. A runoff was set within 2 months as tens of thousands of opposition supporters protested the result.
    (SSFC, 1/27/02, p.A19)

2002        Feb 22, Madagascar declared a 3-month state of emergency after the main opposition leader, Marc Ravalomanana, declared himself president following a 2-month dispute.
    (SFC, 2/23/02, p.A11)

2002        Feb 28, Pres. Didier Ratsiraka declared martial law following 2 months of strikes and mass protests.
    (SFC, 3/1/02, p.A17)

2002        Mar 8, The opposition seized the defense ministry in a bid to install Marc Ravalomanana as president.
    (WSJ, 3/11/02, p.A1)

2002        Mar 25, Opposition supporters thwarted an attempt by the military to seize control of Parliament.
    (SFC, 3/26/02, p.A6)

2002        cMar 31, In Madagascar a bridge linking the capital to a southern port was blown up.
    (WSJ, 4/1/02, p.A1)

2002        Apr 17, The Supreme Court annulled the disputed results of the Dec 16 presidential elections.
    (SFC, 4/18/02, p.A11)

2002        Apr 29, The High Court ruled that opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana received over 51% of the vote in December elections and that Pres. Ratsiraka won close to 36%. Ratsiraka said he would not abide by the vote.
    (SFC, 5/1/02, p.A13)

2002        May 6, Marc Ravalomanana was sworn in as president. Talks with Ratsiraka were set for May 13-14.
    (SFC, 5/7/02, p.A12)

2002        Jun 26, The United States became the first country to take a formal stand on the leadership battle for control of Madagascar, recognizing Marc Ravalomanana as the legitimate president.
    (AP, 6/26/02)

2002        Jul 5, Former Madagascar President Didier Ratsiraka fled to the Seychelles with his family, apparently ending more than six months of turmoil in his island nation.
    (AP, 7/5/02)

2003        Dec 24, Madagascar's former PM Didier Ratsiraka was sentenced to 12 years of hard labor and ordered to pay $7.6 million in damages for his role in last year's election crisis that led to the formation of two governments.
    (AP, 12/24/03)(Econ, 1/1/05, p.34)

2004        Mar 7, The Samson, a ferry carrying 113 people, vanished after it was caught in a cyclone as it sailed between the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros and Madagascar. There were 2 survivors. The drownings brought the death toll from Cyclone Gafilo to 154.
    (AP, 3/10/04)(AP, 3/11/04)

2004        Steven M. Goodman and Jonathan P. Benstead co-edited “The Natural History of Madagascar.”
    (Econ, 4/24/04, p.87)
2004        Alison Jolly authored “Lords & Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings with Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar.”
    (Econ, 4/24/04, p.87)

2005        Apr 18, Madagascar’s Pres. Ravalomanana signed a $110 million, 4-year aid package in Washington, designed to fix problems with corruption and local bank loans. The grant was from the Millennium Challenge Account, unveiled by Pres. Bush in 2002 to fund honest governments pursuing sound economic policies
    (WSJ, 4/18/05, p.A1)(Econ, 4/23/05, p.75)

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