Timeline Mali
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World History KLMA: http://www.stabi.hs-bremerhaven.de/gbs2/whkmla/
The Wodaabe nomads number about 40-50,000 and move
constantly across
the Sahel between Niger, Mali and Northern Nigeria. They are of Fulani
origin, a race scattered all over West Africa.
(SFEM, 10/11/98, p.40)
Mali is larger than California and Texas.
(WSJ, 6/22/04, p.A1)(Econ, 7/30/05, p.41)
1000-1100 The
desert village of Araouane, 161 miles north of Timbuktu, was first
mentioned about this time. It was a wealthy settlement that flourished
off the caravans and drew water from 150-foot wells.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.84)
c1100 Timbuktu was founded about
this time as a seasonal Tuareg nomad camp around a well that was
maintained by a group of slaves under an old woman, Buktu, "the place
of Buktu." Tuareg is a derisive Arab term meaning abandoned by the
gods. Natives prefer to be know as Kel Tamashek people.
(AM, 11/00, p.51)(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.D6)(SFC,
10/30/04, p.E1)
1200-1400 Timbuktu, a major trading center in the
Malian Empire, reached a population of some 100,000 during this period.
(WSJ, 2/1/06, p.D12)
1235 The king of Mali, Sundiata,
defeated Sumanguru at the battle of Kirina. From then on Mali replaced
Ghana as the major power in West Africa. Sundiata established his
capital at Niana on the upper Niger.
(ATC, p.113,118)
1307 Mansa Musa (d.1337), Mali’s
greatest ruler, succeeded to the throne. He commissioned grand mosques.
(ATC, p.119)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R4,6)
1324-1325 Mansa Musa (Kankan Moussa), king of Mali,
made the 3,500 mile pilgrimage to Mecca with gold valued at $115
million in 1999 prices. He traveled with a very large retinue that
included 80 camels and 500 slaves. An Arab chronicler said he was
surrounded by over 10,000 of his subjects.
(ATC, p.119)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R6)(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.D6)
1332 Mansa Musa, King of Mali,
died. His successors were not able to protect Mali’s vast territory and
Berber nomads began attacking caravan routes in the desert and
threatened to take Timbuktu. People from the southern rain forests
attacked the southern boundary and to the west the Songhai of the
middle Niger River began to revolt.
(ATC, p.120)
1353 Ibn Battuta spent a few
months in Mali and left a full description of his experiences.
(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.170)
1400 Mali (Africa) was under
attack from all four sides and gradually weakened in power.
(ATC, p.120)
1435 A Songhai prince, Sunni Ali,
declares Gao’s independence. Aided by Songhai warriors, he successfully
fought off Mali’s attempt to regain the city.
(ATC, p.)
1590 Apr 25, The Sultan of Morocco
launched his successful attack to capture Timbuktu. Morocco sent 4,000
soldiers under the Muslim Spaniard Judar Pasha to conquer Songhai.
After a five month journey across the Shara, Pasha arrived with only
1,000 men, but his soldiers carried guns. The 25,000 men of the Songhai
were no match for the guns and Gao, Timbuktu and most of Songhai fall.
(ATC, p.122)(HN, 4/25/98)
1591 Moroccan invaders sacked
Timbuktu (Mali).
(AM, 7/04, p.36)
1796 Jul, Mungo Park, Scottish
surgeon, reached the Niger River at Segou, (Mali). Mansong, the African
chief at Segou, gave Park enough money to return to the coast. Park
described his journey in his book: "Travels in the Interior Districts
of Africa."
(ON, 7/00, p.10)
1805 Jan 31, Mungo Park set sail
from Portsmouth to Africa where he planned to navigate the Niger River
to its mouth.
(ON, 7/00, p.10)
1805 Aug 9, Mungo Park reached the
town of Bamako after losing 25 of his 35 soldiers.
(ON, 7/00, p.11)
1805 Sep 27, Mungo Park reached
the town of Sansanding with 11,000 inhabitants, where he planned to
build boats to journey down the Niger.
(ON, 7/00, p.12)
1805 Oct 28, Alexander Anderson,
the brother of Mungo Park’s wife, died of fever at Sansanding.
(ON, 7/00, p.12)
1805 Nov 20, Mungo Park departed
Sansanding with 4 remaining soldiers , 3 slaves and a new guide.
(ON, 7/00, p.12)
1806 cFeb, Mungo Park drowned in
the Niger River during an attack by armed men near Bussa. He had
traveled some 1500 miles down the Niger River.
(ON, 7/00, p.12)
1815 The merchant ship Commerce,
under Capt. James Riley (d.1840) of Connecticut, wrecked off the
northwest coast of Africa. He survived captivity under Muslim slave
traders and endured a lengthy trek across the Sahara. He later authored
"An authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce." In
2004 Dean King authored "Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of
Survival."
(SSFC, 2/22/04, p.M1)
1816 Robert Adams, the 1st
Westerner to reach Timbuktu, transcribed an account of his experiences
there as an enslaved American sailor.
(Econ, 12/20/03, p.126)
1825 Jul 16, Alexander Gordon
Laing (32), British Army Major, set off on camel from Tripoli in an
attempt to become the 1st European to cross the Sahara Desert and reach
the fabled city of Timbuktu (Mali).
(SSFC, 1/1/06, p.M2)(ON, 11/06, p.5)
1826 Aug 13, Major Gordon Laing,
Scottish explorer, became the 1st European to enter Timbuktu (Mali),
where some 12,000 people lived. Laing was killed by a Tuareg nomad
spear on Sep 26 as he headed for Morocco. In 2005 Frank T. Kryza
authored “The Race for Timbuktu: In Search of Africa’s City of Gold.”
(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.D6)(SSFC, 1/1/06, p.M2)(Econ,
1/7/06, p.75)(ON, 11/06, p.6)
1828 Rene Auguste Caillie of
France reached Timbuktu disguised as a Muslim trader. In 1830 he
published an account of his journey.
(SSFC, 4/11/04, p.D6)(ON, 11/06, p.7)
1830 Richard Lander, British
explorer, completed Mungo Park’s journey down the Niger from Bussa to
the mouth of the river in 5 months.
(ON, 7/00, p.12)
1880 The city of Timbuktu, later
part of Mali, became part of the French colony of Upper Senegal.
(ON, 11/06, p.7)
1894 In Mali Touareg nomads first
rebelled against the French and were bloodily suppresed.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.58)
c1929 Seydou Keida [Keita],
photographer, was born. He ran a successful studio from his home city
of Bamako from 1945-1977. He later achieved int’l. acclaim. A book of
his work was published in 1997 edited by Andre Magnin: "Seydou Keita."
Keita died Nov 22, 2001 in Paris.
(SFC, 3/8/96, p.E1)(SFEC, 7/27/97, BR p.6)(WSJ,
12/4/97, p.A20)
1932 In Mali French colonial
authorities planned a 2.47 million acre irrigation project to grow
cotton and rice and to develop hydropower in the Mali desert. By 1982
only 6% of the region was developed. The World Bank took over in 1985
with some success in farming rice.
(SFC, 12/21/07, p.A31)
1946 France granted Malians French
citizenship and limited self-rule.
(www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/bg8.html)
1950s In the 1950s when the French
gave independence to their West African colonies, the Touareg people
and their ancestral lands were parceled out among the newly created
nations of Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Chad.
(www.jacneed.com/10Tinariwen.htm)
1959 With French support the
French Sudan and Senegal formed the Federation of Mali.
(www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/bg8.html)
1960 Jun 20, The Federation of
Mali became independent.
(www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/bg8.html)
1960 Aug 20, Senegal broke from
Mali federation and declared independence.
(MC, 8/20/02)
1960 Sep 22, Mali became an
independent republic. Pres. Modibo Keita was elected the first
president and introduced a one-party dictatorship.
(www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/bg8.html)
1968 Nov 19, Gen'l. Moussa Traore
(b.1936) began serving as the 2nd president of Mali after leading the
military ouster of Pres. Modibo Keita (1915-1977. Traore then ruled for
23 years.
(SFC, 9/23/99,
p.A12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moussa_Traor%C3%A9)
1968 Dec 6, The original Malian
constitution was abrogated after a military coup d'etat and replaced by
a new fundamental law.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Mali)
1968-1973 A severe famine hit the Sahel region of
North Africa. Mauritania, Mali, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) and Niger
were most affected.
(Econ, 8/20/05, p.57)
1975 May 25, ECOWAS Treaty1 was
signed. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was
formed in Nigeria with 15 members that included: Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
(www.sec.ecowas.int/sitecedeao/english/achievements.htm)
1977 May 16, In Mali former Pres.
Modibo Keita (1915-1977) died in prison. His reputation was
rehabilitated in 1992 following the overthrow of Moussa Traore and
subsequent the election of president Alpha Oumar Konare. A monument for
Modibo Keita, was dedicated in Bamako on June 6, 1999.
(WUD, 1994,
p.1687)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modibo_Ke%C3%AFta)
1979 Jun 19, In Mali presidential
and general elections were held. Moussa Traore was elected President
and Mady Sangare was elected as Speaker of the National Assembly.
(www.etat.sciencespobordeaux.fr/_anglais/chronologie/mali.html)
1980 Colonel Muammar Khaddafi of
Libya recruited the nationless, disenfranchised nomads by implying that
he would train the Kel Tamashek and provide weapons to fight for their
independence from the Malian government. The rebels slowly realized
that Khadaffi's only intention was to use them in his own wars. Some of
these dejected fighters formed the band Tinariwen in Khadaffi's rebel
camp.
(www.jacneed.com/10Tinariwen.htm)
1982 The founding members of
Tinariwen came together as a band, whilst they were in exile in Libya.
They were deeply involved in the Touareg’s armed struggle.
(www.french-music.org/scr_artist.php?artist_id=21907)
1985 The town of Sanankoroba
established a sister-town relationship with Sainte-Elizabeth, Quebec.
(SFC, 2/27/98, p.D2)
1990 The "Second Tuareg Rebellion"
broke out, a struggle to liberate a region in the north from the Malian
government.
(http://sonomu.net/person/~stephenfruitman/texts/?page=2)
1991 Mar, Mali became a democracy
after a Revolution. Gen. Amadou Toumani Toure seized power in a coup.
Prior to the period of French colonialism, each of 12 ethnic groups
governed itself.
(SFC, 6/7/96, p.A12)(Econ, 7/30/05, p.41)
1992 Gen. Amadou Toumani Toure
introduced multi-party democracy in Mali.
(Econ, 7/30/05, p.41)
1993 Gen'l. Moussa Traore was
condemned to death for ordering the killing of over 100 demonstrators,
but the sentence was commuted to life in prison. He was again condemned
to death in 1999 for misappropriating public funds, but his sentence
was again commuted to life in prison.
(SFC, 9/23/99, p.A12)
1994-2004 Gold production in Mali grew from 6.3
million tons to 39.3 million tons.
(SFC, 9/22/05, p.A14)
c1995 In Mali a Swiss development
worker invented a low-cost machine for milling and grinding. By 2002
the $4,000 machine was in some 300 villages and benefited numerous
women who had previously hours pounding and grinding grains for daily
meals.
(WSJ, 7/26/02, p.A1)
1995 Prof. Pamela Ronald and
colleagues isolated the blight-resistance gene from a variety of wild
rice cultivated in Mali. The blight was caused by the Xanthomonas
orizae bacterium. She pushed for a got a percentage of the royalty
rights to be used for fellowships for scientists from Mali.
(SFC, 5/26/97, p.A16)
1996 Jun, The administration of
Pres. Alpha Oumar Konare was privatizing and encouraging investment,
foreign and domestic. The leading radio station in the capital, Bamako,
was owned by Modibo Diallo.
(SFC, 6/7/96, p.A12)
1996 Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Paris
educated and Mali-based writer and director, showed his film "Guimba
the Tyrant" at the SF Int’l. Film Festival.
(SFC, 1/17/96, p.D3)
1996 In Mali “the Flame of Peace”
ceremony, in which thousands of weapons were incinerated, marked a
reconciliation between the Touareg nomads and the government. The
annual “Festival in the Desert” music festival grew as an outshoot of
this. It took place near Essakane, an oasis some 40 miles north-west of
Timbuktu.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.58)
1996 A peace accord in Mali
allowed Kel Tamashek people to integrate into Malian society.
(SFC, 10/30/04, p.E5)
1997 Aug, From Chad a plague of
locusts began to spread across the country with as many as 200 locusts
per square yard.
(SFC, 9/27/97, p.A21)
1998 Jun 26, In the Ivory Coast
Alioune Blondin Beye, a diplomat from Mali, crashed in a small plane
near Abidjan. He had just met with Togo Pres. Gnassigbe Eyadema to
support peace talks in Angola. Three other passengers were Koffi Adjovi
of Togo, journalist Moktar Gueye of Senegal, and Baendegar Dessandre of
Chad.
(SFEC, 6/28/98, p.A18)
1998 Nov 11, It was reported that
Pfizer and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation initiated a $66 million
effort to attack trachoma, a disease of the eye caused by chlamydia. A
one-gram dose of zithromax given once a year would treat the disease.
Focus was to be on Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Tanzania and Vietnam.
(SFC, 11/11/98, p.D6)
1999 Jan 4, In Sierra Leone
Nigerian troops repelled a rebel attack on Freetown's airport. Gambia
and Mali agreed to send troops to join the Nigerian forces.
(WSJ, 1/5/99, p.A1)
2000 Oct, In southern Mali the
Morila gold mine opened near Sanso. By 2005 it had generated nearly
$180 million in profits. Randgold Resources and Anglo-Gold Ashanti of
South Africa divided an 80% stake and the Mali government owned the
rest. Benefits to local people proved miniscule and after 5 years Sanso
still had no electricity and no paved roads.
(SFC, 9/22/05, p.A14)
2001 May 23, US Sec. of State
Colin Powell began his 4-nation African tour in Mali and met with Pres.
Alfa Omar Konare.
(SFC, 5/24/01, p.C2)
2001 Nov 22, Seydou Keida [Keita],
photographer, died in Paris at age 78 or 81. He had run a successful
studio from his home city of Bamako from 1945-1977. He later achieved
int’l. acclaim. A book of his work was published in 1997 edited by
Andre Magnin: "Seydou Keita."
(SFC, 3/8/96, p.E1)(SFEC, 7/27/97, BR p.6)(WSJ,
12/4/97, p.A20)(WSJ, 12/7/01, p.A23)
2002 Apr 28, Elections were held
for 24 candidates in the presidential race. A run-off for the top 2 was
set for May 12.
(SFC, 5/3/02, p.A10)
2002 May 12, In Mali runoff
elections were held. Retired Gen. Amadou Toure won 68% of the vote. The
coalition candidate Siumaila Cisse, a wealthy former finance minister,
conceded with 32%.
(SFC, 5/16/02, p.A8)
2002 Jun 8, In Mali former junta
leader Amadou Toumani Toure was sworn in for a five-year term as the
new democratically elected president.
(AP, 6/9/02)
2002 Aug 10, In Mali a
Constitutional Court reversed the outcome of last month's parliamentary
elections, giving an opposition alliance a comfortable lead.
(AP, 8/10/02)
2003 Jan 8, In Mali the 3rd annual
Festival of the Desert ended in Essakane.
(SFC, 1/11/03, p.D1)
2003 Aug 18, A six-month ordeal
for 14 European tourists kidnapped by Islamic extremists while on
desert safaris in Algeria has ended with their release to officials in
neighboring Mali.
(AP, 8/19/03)
2003 Sep 8, In Mali
authorities said torrential rains have killed scores and caused heavy
property damage, warning of worse to come if the Niger River spills its
banks.
(AP, 9/8/03)
2003 Anthony Sattin authored "The
Gates of Africa: Death, Discovery and the Search for Timbuktu.
(Econ, 12/20/03, p.126)
2004 Aug 6, Mali said swarms of
locusts had spread across most of its vast arid territory. The swarms
were moving across the Sahara desert toward countries including
Senegal, Niger, Chad and Gambia
(AP, 8/6/04)
2004 Sep 15, Eight French speaking
African countries began retiring over 1 billion in decaying currency
with new CFA francs. Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast,
Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo had until Dec 31 to turn in old bills for
new ones.
(SFC, 9/15/04, p.C8)
2004 US Special Forces began
training local troops in Mauritania and Mali under a program called the
Pan-Sahel Initiative. The program was renamed the Trans-Sahara
Counter-Terrorism Initiative and taken over by Marines, who extended
the training to Chad and Niger.
(SFC, 10/2/04, p.A8)
2004 Mali’s population numbered
11-12 million people.
(WSJ, 6/22/04, p.A1)(Econ, 7/30/05, p.41)
2005 Jun, The Trans-Sahara
Counter-Terrorism Initiative began operations. The US funded plan
intended to provide military equipment and development aid to 9
north-east African countries considered fertile ground for Muslim
militant groups. Participating countries included Algeria, Chad, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia.
(SFC, 12/27/05, p.A1)
2005 Jul, Mali officials estimated
that 4 million people faced starvation in Mali and Niger, due to
drought and locusts from the previous year. 10% of the Mali’s
population faced starvation.
(Econ, 7/30/05, p.41)
2005 Dec 2, African leaders and
French President Jacques Chirac converged on Mali for a two-day summit
expected to focus on Africa's conflict hotspots, immigration and the
problems of African youth.
(AFP, 12/02/05)
2005 Dec 4, In Mali at a weekend
Franco-African summit President Jacques Chirac called upon the US to
remove the subsidies to their cotton producers. Chirac also urged rich
countries to double development aid, as African leaders warned tackling
poverty was crucial to stem a growing tide of illegal immigration.
(AP, 12/05/05)
2006 Jan 14, In Bamako, Mali,
China unveiled plans to boost its ties with Africa, outlining a new
relationship with the continent based on a "win-win" concept of
economic and military cooperation.
(AFP, 1/15/06)
2006 Jan 23, In Mali a closing
ceremony was held for a gathering of the World Social Forum. Other
gatherings were set for Pakistan and Venezuela. The first World Social
Forum was held in Brazil in 2001 and coincides each year with the
market-friendly World Economic Forum of political and business leaders
in Davos, Switzerland.
(AP, 1/24/06)(SFC, 1/24/06, p.A2)
2006 Mar 7, Ali Farka Toure
(b.1939), a traditional African musician who won two Grammy Awards,
died in his home in Bamako, Mali, after a long illness.
(AP, 3/7/06)
2006 Nov 13, The US signed a 461
million dollar aid "compact" with Mali to finance a giant irrigation
project and expand the international airport in the poverty-stricken
African nation.
(AP, 11/13/06)
2006 Dec 6, A conference on bird
flu opened in Mali. Experts were increasingly concerned for Africa as
an international conference heard that Egypt, Nigeria, and Sudan
continued to record outbreaks of the deadly disease.
(AFP, 12/6/06)
2007 Apr 28, The 1st round of the
Mali presidential election garnered a turnout of around 36%. Incumbent
President Amadou Toumani Toure (59), one of 8 candidates, was widely
expected to win a second term. General Amadou Toumani Toure and
Soumaila Cisse, candidate for the ruling party Adema, faced each other
for the 2nd round.
(AFP,
5/6/07)(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1982814.stm)
2007 May 5, The 12 million people
of Mali earned on average less than $400 a year.
(Econ, 5/5/07, p.62)
2007 Jun 29, Laura Bush wrapped up
a tour of Africa by visiting a school and sitting in on a math class in
Mali, saying she was impressed by education efforts in the country.
(AP, 6/29/07)
2007 Jul 7, Mali’s decentralized
government numbered 702 local communes as opposed to 18 in 1991.
(Econ, 7/7/07, p.28)
2007 Aug 30, A transport vehicle
hit a land mine in tense northern Mali, killing 10 people.
(AP, 8/31/07)
2007 Aug, In Mali Ag Bahanga took
up arms and kidnapped 36 soldiers, in spite of a peace pact signed in
neighboring Algeria in July 2006. The last 22 of those troops were
released on March 8, 2008, following intervention by Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi.
(AFP, 3/23/08)
2008 Mar 20, In Mali clashes began
around Tinzaouatene, near the Algerian border, as insurgents attacked
soldiers clearing mines in what the rebels feared was a prelude to a
government offensive. 3 soldiers were killed when their vehicle was
blown up by a mine and four captured in combat by the rebels.
(AFP, 3/23/08)
2008 Mar 21, In Mali 5 civilians,
including a child, were reported killed, again when their vehicle hit a
mine near Tinzaouatene. 29 soldiers were taken prisoner when a convoy
of wounded soldiers heading for Kidal was intercepted by rebels.
(AFP, 3/23/08)
2008 May 3, Insurgents attacked an
army convoy in northern Mali, violating a cease-fire and sparking a
fire fight that left five people dead.
(AP, 5/3/08)
2008 May 6, In northern and
central Mali attacks by Tuareg rebels on several army posts left one
person dead.
(AFP, 5/6/08)
2008 May 21, In northern Mali 27
people were killed, including 10 soldiers, following an insurgent
attack on an army base. Ethnic Tuareg rebels active in the area claimed
responsibility for the attack. They said only one of their fighters
died in the skirmish and that they had taken some 60 soldiers hostages.
(AP, 5/22/08)
2008 Jul 18, In Algeria the
government of Mali and ethnic Tuareg rebels reached a truce agreement
in dangerous northern Mali. One faction of the Tuareg group refused to
sign the deal, saying it did not do enough to help the Tuaregs.
(AP, 7/22/08)
2008 Dec 14, On the Niger-Mali
border Tuareg rebels of the Front for the Forces of Redress (FFR)
kidnapped Robert Fowler, a Canadian UN special envoy, and Louis Guay, a
Canadian diplomat, along with their local driver. Days later the FFR
made contradictory statements both claiming and condemning
responsibility. On March, 2009, rebels released the driver. The
Canadian diplomats were released in April, 2009.
(AP, 12/16/08)(http://tinyurl.com/djsmd7)(AP,
4/23/09)
2008 Dec 20, In Mali suspected
Tuareg rebels attacked an army outpost in the country's remote north,
setting off a battle in which 20 people were killed.
(AP, 12/21/08)
2009 Jan, Four tourists, two
Swiss, a German and a Briton, were kidnapped on the Mali-Niger border.
A Swiss and a German tourist were released in April.
(AP, 4/23/09)
2009 Feb 12, China's President Hu
Jintao arrived in Mali at the start of a four-country African tour
which Beijing insists is about strengthening cooperation and not solely
for economic gain.
(AP, 2/12/09)
2009 Feb 27, The UN Children's
Fund said 53 million children are being targeted by a mass immunization
drive against polio in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger,
Nigeria, and Togo. Some 844 polio cases were reported in the 8
countries in 2008, 95% of them in Nigeria.
(AFP, 2/27/09)
2009 May 31, In Mali it was
believed that Al-Qaida terrorists killed British hostage Edwin Dyer.
The fate of a Swiss hostage taken at the same time was unknown. Dyer
was abducted in January and his captors had threatened to kill him by
the end of May if Britain refused to release extremist preacher Abu
Qatada from prison.
(AP, 6/3/09)
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