By Tim Lambert
Early Africa
c. 100,000 BC Humans migrate from Africa to other parts of the world
C. 5,000 BC Farming begins in Egypt
C. 3,118 BC King Menes unites the kingdoms of Upper and Lower in Egypt
C. 2,600 BC The first pyramid is built in Egypt
C. 2,000 BC Bantu speaking people begin to migrate southwards
C. 1,700 BC The kingdom of Kush arises south of Egypt
C. 650 BC Iron working spreads in North Africa
C. 480 BC The city of Carthage is founded in Tunisia
202 BC The Romans defeat Carthage at the battle of Zama in North Africa
30 BC Egypt becomes a province of the Roman Empire
C. 50 AD The kingdom of Axum arises in what is now Ethiopia
C. 350 AD Bantu speaking people arrive in Zambia
C. 500 AD Iron working reaches southern Africa
642 AD The Arabs conquer Egypt
C. 650 AD Muslims travel across the Sahara on camels to trade
698 AD The Arabs capture Carthage
C. 800 AD Trading towns are formed on the east coast of Africa
C. 1100 AD The kingdom of Ife in Nigeria becomes important
C. 1300 AD The kingdom of Benin in Nigeria becomes important
1324 Mansa Musa ruler of Mali makes a pilgrimage to Mecca and shows off his great wealth
C. 1350 AD The kingdom of Songhai arises in west Africa
1415 The Portuguese conquer Ceuta in North Africa. It is the first European foothold in Africa.
1464-1491 Under its ruler Sunni Ali the kingdom of Songhai in west Africa conquers territory and expands
1488 The Portuguese sail round the Cape of Good Hope.
1508 The Portuguese begin to settle in Mozambique
1517 The Turks conquer Egypt
1518 Onward African slaves are transported across the Atlantic by Europeans
1551 The Turks capture Tripoli
1562 England joins the slave trade
1564 The Songhai Empire in west Africa destroys the Empire of Mali
1575 The Portuguese begin to settle in Angola
1581 The Moroccans begin to expand across the Sahara
1590 The Moroccans capture Timbuktu
1591 The Moroccans destroy the Empire of Songhai
1652 The Dutch found a colony in South Africa
1700 The rise of the Ashanti kingdom in West Africa
1787 The British found a colony for freed slaves in Sierra Leone
1792 Denmark bans the slave trade
1795-1797 Mungo Park explores the River Niger
19th Century Africa
1806 The Dutch colony in South Africa becomes a British colony
1807
Sierra Leone and Gambia become British crown colonies
Britain bans the slave trade
1808 The USA bans the slave trade
1822 The USA founds a colony for freed slaves in Liberia
1828 Shaka king of the Zulus is assassinated
1830 The French invade Algeria. Over the following years the French build up an empire in North Africa
1847 Liberia becomes independent
1855 David Livingstone discovers the Victoria Falls
1858 John Speke discovers Lake Victoria
1859-1869 The Suez Canal is built in Egypt
1879 The Zulus defeat the British at Isandlwana but they are defeated at Ulundi
1880-1881 War between the British and Boers (Dutch-speaking farmers) in South Africa
1882 The British army occupies Egypt and Sudan
1884
The Germans take Namibia, Tanzania, Togo and Cameroon
The Mahdi leads an anti-British uprising in Sudan
1885
Italy takes Eritrea, Belgium takes The Republic of Congo and Britain takes Botswana
The Mahdi captures Khartoum and British general Gordon is killed
1886
Kenya becomes a British colony
Gold is discovered in Transvaal
1888-89 The British take control of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
1894 The British take Uganda
1896 The Italians invade Ethiopia but are defeated by the Ethiopians
1898 The British defeat the Sudanese at the battle of Omdurman
20th Century Africa
1910 The Union of South Africa becomes independent from Britain
1912 Italy conquers Libya
1935-36 Italy conquers Ethiopia
1941 The British drive the Italians out of Ethiopia
1942 The British defeat the Germans and Italians at El Alamein in Egypt
1943 German and Italian forces in North Africa surrender
1948 Apartheid is introduced in South Africa
1951 Libya becomes independent
1952-55 The Mau Mau uprising in Kenya takes place
1956
Morocco and Sudan become independent. So does Tunisia
Oil is discovered in Nigeria
1957 Ghana becomes independent
1960 Senegal becomes independent
The Sharpeville massacre in South Africa
1962 Uganda becomes independent. So does Algeria.
1963 Kenya becomes independent
1964 Zambia and Malawi become independent. The state of Tanzania is formed.
1965 Gambia becomes independent
1966 Botswana becomes independent
1967 Diamonds are discovered in Botswana
1967-70 Civil War in Nigeria
1969 Colonel Gaddafi takes power in Libya
1971 Idi Amin seizes power in Uganda
1974 Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed
1975 Angola and Mozambique become independent
1979 Amin is overthrown
1980 Robert Mugabe becomes prime minister of Zimbabwe
1990 Namibia becomes independent
1993 Eritrea becomes independent
1994
Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa
Ethnic massacres in Rwanda
1997 Zaire is renamed Democratic Republic of Congo
1999 Thabo Mbeki becomes president of South Africa
2013 The economies of African countries are growing rapidly. The continent is developing fast.
