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Joseph Conrad is born
He is born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski. -
Move to Warsaw
They moved to Warsaw, where Conrad's father joined the resistance against the Russian Empire -
Move to Vologda
Conrad's family was exiled to Vologda -
Ewa dies
Conrad's mother dies of tuberculosis. -
Conrad's Literature Education
Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea showed Conrad the sphere of activity to which he would devote his youth; Shakespeare brought him into the orbit of English literature. Most of all, though, he read Polish Romantic poetry -
Navy
After leaving Poland in 1874, Conrad began a career in the merchant navy in France -
Attempted Suicide
20-year-old Conrad attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a revolver -
Heart Of Darkness Setting
Conrad's 3-year appointment with a Belgian trading company included serving as the captain of a steamer on the Congo River, an episode that would later become the setting of his novel Heart of Darkness. -
Congo became a free state
The Congo Free State was a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II of Belgium -
Heart of Darkness
Conrad writes Heart of Darkness -
Conditions in the Congo are exposed
The European and U.S. press agencies exposed the conditions in the Congo Free State to the public which were, according to Casement's report, indiscriminate "war", starvation, reduction of births and tropical diseases caused the country's depopulation. -
Congo annexed
Public and diplomatic pressure led Leopold II to annex the Congo as the Belgian Congo colony -
Colonialism in the Congo
Land is divided by countries whom have come to Africa to gain natural supplies. -
Conrad's death
Joseph Conrad passes away. -
Parliamentary Elections
Parliamentary elections finalized the nationalist Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and pro-Western Joseph Kasavubu as president. -
Congo is granted independance
The congo adopts the name The republic of Congo -
Military Mutiny
A military mutiny by Congolese soldiers against their European officers broke out in the capital and rampant looting began -
Presidential beating
Lumumba was sent to Élisabethville, capital of Katanga. In full view of the press he was beaten and forced to eat copies of his own speeches -
Continued Government
In Stanleyville, those loyal to the deposed Lumumba set up a rival government under Antoine Gizenga -
Break in the Stress
Lieutenant General Mobutu seized control of the country and declared himself president for five years -
Officially President
Mobutu was elected unopposed as president. -
Continuous Instability
Katangan rebels, based in Angola, began launching a series of invasions into the Shaba region. The rebels were driven out with the aid of Belgian paratroopers. -
Colonialism ends
All contries have settled in their selected areas of South Africa. -
First Congo War
The Tutsi militias began the rebellion against Mobutu when the Zairian government began to escalate its massacres. -
End of Second Congolese War
Kabila and the rebel leaders signed a peace accord in which Kabila would share power with former rebels.
