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DRC Timeline
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Xhosa and Europeans Fight
The second part of the eighteenth century and the majority of the nineteenth century saw numerous frontier wars fought between the Xhosa and the Europeans. The aftermath of these wars was further expansion of Dutch claims on land. -
British Take Over Cape Province
As a result of wars being fought in Europe, the British permanently took over the Cape Province from the Dutch and begin repetitively sending immigrants from England to Cape Province. -
Shaka Unites Zulu Kingdom
The great military leader Shaka unites the Zulu Kingdom using revolutionary fighting techniques. Large numbers of people leave to escape the conflict. The Ndebele move to present-day Zimbabwe, the Sotho to Zambia, and the Nguni to Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania. The Mfengu people escape west into the British Cape Colony. -
Battle At The Blood River
In a migration that becomes known as the "Great Trek," 12,000 Boers leave Cape Province, traveling east and north to escape British authority. As they move beyond the Orange River, the trekkers battle with the black people living there. Intense battles with the Zulu occur at the Blood River and with the Ndebele at Marico. The trekkers establish the independent republics of Natal, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal, and assign black Africans separate reserves within the states, which is whe -
Diamonds And Gold Found In South Africa
Diamonds are found in South Africa. In 1870, gold is discovered there too. The rise of mineral wealth increases the price of southern African lands towards colonial powers and creates three decades of great economic development. This development increases the need for cheap and unskilled laborers in Africa. In this event, the majority of the black population was forced to give up independent farming. -
Colonization of Congo
King Leopold II of Belgium makes plans for colonization of Congo. He commissions former journalist Henry Morton Stanley to ink treaties with local chiefs. -
Congo Free State Established
Congo Free State established under Leopold after being formally recognized by European powers at Conference of Berlin. -
Boer War
From 1899 to 1902 the British and the Boers people fight in the Boer War, (Also known as the South African War). Since the 1870s , Britain had gained more power to control the land and the resources in southern Africa, battling the Boers, along with the Xhosa and Zulu peoples. Britain soon claimed victory, and the Boer territories were combined with the other British colonial territories and formed the Union of South Africa. -
Congo Free State Is Annexed
Reacting to outcry over atrocities committed against Congolese, the Belgian parliament annexes Congo Free State. It is renamed Belgian Congo. -
Patrice Lumumba Wins First National Election
The Republic of the Congo gains independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba, leader of the Congolese National Movement (the country's first nation-wide party), wins the first national election. He is deposed within months by army leader Joseph Désiré Mobutu and killed by secessionists on Jan. 16 of the following year. -
Mobutu Is President
Mobutu installs himself as president. -
Mobutu Becomes Official President
Mobutu officially elected president in national elections. -
Congo Renamed To Zaire
Mobutu changes the country's name to Zaire. -
Mobutu Is Relected As President Of Zaire
Mobutu re-elected. -
Zairian Rebels Are Repelled
Zairian rebels launch raids from Angola and Zambia into the Katanga region of Zaire. They are repelled with the help of French and Belgian troops. -
Mobutu Relected Third Time
Mobutu is re-elected president for the third time. It is his 20th year in office. -
Canada Cuts Off Aid To Zaire
Mobutu declares the Third Republic and promises multi-party elections. Canada is among a number of countries that cut off aid to Zaire after a group of protesting students are killed by government fighters. -
Rwanda And Eastern Zaire Take The Capital
While Mobutu is out of the country, Tutsi rebels take control of a large portion of eastern Zaire. With the help of Rwanda, they take the capital. -
Zaire Renamed To Democratic Republic Of Congo (DRC)
Laurent-Désiré Kabila becomes president and re-names Zaire the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The following year, troops from Rwanda and Uganda invade in hopes of removing Kabila from power. They are halted by Angolan, Namibian and Zimbabwean troops allied with Kabila. -
Luska Peace Treaty Fails
After more than two years of fighting, the countries involved sign the Lusaka peace accord. But the fighting continues, even despite the presence of a contingent of more than 5,000 UN peacekeepers sent to monitor the ceasefire. -
Joseph Kabila Withdraws Troops After Fighting
Laurent Kabila killed by a bodyguard and succeeded by son Joseph. Later that year, Joseph Kabila reaches an agreement for Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed troops to pull back and for the withdrawal of UN troops. By this point, an estimated 2.5 million people had died in the fighting, according to the U.S.-based International Rescue Committee. -
Rwandan And DR Congo Deal Peace
Separate peace deals are reached between DR Congo and Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed troops for their withdrawal. Most pull out, but pockets of soldiers remain in the country, virtually unchecked by opposition. -
UN Sends Peacekeeping Force To DRC
The United Nations votes to send a multinational peacekeeping force into DR Congo. France leads a force into the Bunia region with instructions to take all necessary means to gain control. Since the pullout of Ugandan troops earlier in the month, Bunia had been racked by violence between warring tribal groups. -
Congolese Army Breaks Into Bukavu
Fighting between the Congolese army and armed men loyal to a suspended military officer breaks out in Bukavu, near the border with Rwanda. Col. Jules Mutebutsi is a former officer with the Rally for Congolese Democracy, a Rwanda-backed rebel group that joined the power-sharing government. -
French Troops Arrive In The Congo
The first 40 French combat troops arrive in the Congolese town of Bunia, with the aim of ending years of tribal violence. The troops will be part of a 1,400-strong international contingent that's taking shape under a mandate from the European Union and the UN. More than 600 French troops are scheduled to arrive in Bunia within a week. -
DR Congo's Rebel Leaders Installed As Vice Presidents
DR Congo's two main rebel leaders are sworn in as vice-presidents in a new power-sharing government. The development is viewed as a major step toward ending a bloody civil war, but it comes amid renewed violence in the expansive African country. Jean-Pierre Bemba and Azarias Ruberwa were sworn in at a ceremony attended by thousands in the capital, Kinshasa. Also sworn in as vice-presidents were a member of the political opposition and an ally of standing president Joseph Kabila. The new governme
