A thematic collection

Peoples & Migration

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged peoples and migration — settlement, movement and displacement. 205 of them, drawn from 110 nations, running from 3,600,000 BCE to 2025. Indexed below by period; each period opens the full text, with the sources every entry was verified against and a link back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
205
Nations
110
Earliest
3,600,000 BCE
Latest
2025
Densest period
The 16th century16 events
Africa
90
North America
26
Asia
25
Europe
25
Oceania
20
South America
19

Each period below opens a page holding those events in full — summary, era and citations. Every entry is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

11 events · 9 nations

Deep prehistory

Every theme in deep prehistory →

  1. c. 3.6 million years ago

    Hominins leave footprints at Laetoli · Tanzania

  2. c. 3.2 million years ago

    Lucy lives in the Afar region · Ethiopia

  3. c. 1.9 million years ago

    Hominins at Koobi Fora · Kenya

  4. c. 1.6 million years ago

    Turkana Boy lives near Lake Turkana · Kenya

  5. c. 65,000+ years ago

    Aboriginal peoples settle the continent · Australia

  6. c. 50,000–45,000 years ago

    Settlement across the whole continent · Australia

  7. c. 50,000 years ago

    First settlement of New Guinea · Papua New Guinea

  8. c. 30,000+ years ago

    Papuan settlers reach the islands · Solomon Islands

All 11 events in deep prehistory →3 more not shown here

3 events · 3 nations

The 10th millennium BCE

Every theme in the 10th millennium BCE →

  1. by c. 10,000 BCE

    Ancient peopling of the land · Argentina

  2. by c. 10,000 BCE

    Ancient settlement of the land · Brazil

  3. by c. 10,000 BCE

    Ancient peopling of the land · Chile

All 3 events in the 10th millennium BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 9th millennium BCE

Every theme in the 9th millennium BCE →

  1. c. 9000 BCE

    The Kunda culture · Estonia

  2. c. 8800 BCE

    First settlement of Finland · Finland

All 2 events in the 9th millennium BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 8th millennium BCE

Every theme in the 8th millennium BCE →

  1. c. 8000 BCE

    Burials begin at Gobero · Niger

  2. by c. 8000 BCE

    Peopling of the river basins · Paraguay

All 2 events in the 8th millennium BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 5th millennium BCE

Every theme in the 5th millennium BCE →

  1. c. 5th millennium BCE

    The Tenerean herders · Niger

  2. c. 5000 BCE

    The first settlers reach the islands · Trinidad and Tobago

All 2 events in the 5th millennium BCE →

6 events · 6 nations

The 3rd millennium BCE

Every theme in the 3rd millennium BCE →

  1. deep prehistory

    Forest hunter-gatherers of the Ogooué · Gabon

  2. c. 3rd millennium BCE

    Cushitic pastoralists enter the north · Kenya

  3. c. 3000 BCE

    Cattle-herding cultures in the Sudd · South Sudan

  4. by c. 3000 BCE

    Indigenous settlement · Suriname

  5. by c. 3000 BCE

    Indigenous peoples of the grasslands · Uruguay

  6. c. 2500 BCE

    The Saqqaq settle Greenland · Greenland

All 6 events in the 3rd millennium BCE →

3 events · 3 nations

The 2nd millennium BCE

Every theme in the 2nd millennium BCE →

  1. c. 1st millennium BCE

    San and Khoekhoe of the subcontinent · South Africa

  2. from c. 1200 BCE

    Greek settlement and the city-kingdoms · Cyprus

  3. c. 12th century BCE

    Arrival of the Philistines · Palestine

All 3 events in the 2nd millennium BCE →

10 events · 10 nations

The 10th century BCE

Every theme in the 10th century BCE →

  1. c. 1000 BCE

    The Bantu expansion begins · Cameroon

  2. c. 1st millennium BCE

    Ironworking and migration · Central African Republic

  3. c. 1000 BCE

    Lapita settlement of Fiji · Fiji

  4. 1st millennium BCE

    Amerindian settlement of the Guianas · Guyana

  5. c. 1000 BCE

    Bantu expansion reaches western Kenya · Kenya

  6. c. 1000 BCE

    Lapita settlement of New Caledonia · New Caledonia

  7. c. 1000 BCE

    Arrival of the Lapita · Solomon Islands

  8. c. 11th–8th centuries BCE

    The Aramaeans and Aram-Damascus · Syria

All 10 events in the 10th century BCE →2 more not shown here

1 event · 1 nation

The 9th century BCE

Every theme in the 9th century BCE →

  1. trad. 814 BCE

    Tyre founds Carthage · Lebanon

All 1 events in the 9th century BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 8th century BCE

Every theme in the 8th century BCE →

  1. c. 800 BCE

    The Dorset (Tuniit) culture · Greenland

  2. c. 8th century BCE

    Greek colonies of Magna Graecia · Italy

All 2 events in the 8th century BCE →

2 events · 2 nations

The 6th century BCE

Every theme in the 6th century BCE →

  1. from c. 6th century BCE

    Rise of the Sao culture · Chad

  2. from c. 6th century BCE

    Carthaginian Malta · Malta

All 2 events in the 6th century BCE →

5 events · 5 nations

The 5th century BCE

Every theme in the 5th century BCE →

  1. 1st millennium BCE

    Khoekhoe and Damara herders · Namibia

  2. 1st millennium BCE onward

    Emergence of the Kanak · New Caledonia

  3. c. 500 BCE

    Austronesian speakers reach the coasts · Papua New Guinea

  4. late 1st millennium BCE

    Bantu farmers reach the coast · Tanzania

  5. c. 1st millennium BCE

    Bantu farmers settle the lakes region · Uganda

All 5 events in the 5th century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 4th century BCE

Every theme in the 4th century BCE →

  1. late 4th century BCE

    Alexander's fleet names the island Ikaros · Kuwait

All 1 events in the 4th century BCE →

1 event · 1 nation

The 3rd century BCE

Every theme in the 3rd century BCE →

  1. c. 1st millennium BCE

    Bantu farmers and ironworkers arrive · Gabon

All 1 events in the 3rd century BCE →

3 events · 3 nations

The 1st century

Every theme in the 1st century →

  1. Herders and farmers arrive · Botswana

  2. Tupi-Guarani expansion · Brazil

  3. Bantu-speaking farmers settle the plateau · Malawi

All 3 events in the 1st century →

1 event · 1 nation

The 2nd century

Every theme in the 2nd century →

  1. Cushitic pastoralists spread across the Horn · Somalia

All 1 events in the 2nd century →

2 events · 2 nations

The 3rd century

Every theme in the 3rd century →

  1. Early Bantu settlement · Botswana

  2. Aurelian abandons Dacia · Romania

All 2 events in the 3rd century →

2 events · 2 nations

The 4th century

Every theme in the 4th century →

  1. Bantu-speaking farmers spread south · South Africa

  2. Bantu farmers settle the plateau · Zambia

All 2 events in the 4th century →

1 event · 1 nation

The 5th century

Every theme in the 5th century →

  1. Germanic peoples enter Iberia · Spain

All 1 events in the 5th century →

5 events · 5 nations

The 6th century

Every theme in the 6th century →

  1. Bantu peoples settle the region · Congo

  2. Austronesian settlement of Madagascar · Madagascar

  3. Bantu-speaking peoples settle the north · Namibia

  4. Turkic khaganates dominate the steppe · Kazakhstan

  5. Lombard invasion of Italy · Italy

All 5 events in the 6th century →

5 events · 5 nations

The 7th century

Every theme in the 7th century →

  1. Taino settlement of Xaymaca · Jamaica

  2. Slavic settlement of the interior · Kosovo

  3. Slavic settlement of the region · North Macedonia

  4. Slavic settlement of the eastern Alps · Slovenia

  5. Slavic settlement and the coming of the Croats · Croatia

All 5 events in the 7th century →

5 events · 5 nations

The 8th century

Every theme in the 8th century →

  1. Lucayan settlement of the islands · Bahamas

  2. Earliest settlement of the islands · Comoros

  3. Tai-Lao settlement of the Mekong · Laos

  4. Bantu African arrivals · Madagascar

  5. Beja ascendancy on the coast · Eritrea

All 5 events in the 8th century →

6 events · 5 nations

The 9th century

Every theme in the 9th century →

  1. Nicarao and Chorotega settle the Pacific lowlands · Nicaragua

  2. Decline of the Pyu · Myanmar

  3. The Rus and the eastern river routes · Sweden

  4. The Landnám (Age of Settlement) · Iceland

  5. Ingólfr Arnarson settles Reykjavík · Iceland

  6. The Magyar conquest (Honfoglalás) · Hungary

All 6 events in the 9th century →

13 events · 13 nations

The 11th century

Every theme in the 11th century →

  1. Norse arrival at L'Anse aux Meadows · Canada

  2. Settlement of the Mandinka, Wolof, Fula and Serer · Gambia

  3. Leif Erikson sails to Vinland · Greenland

  4. Sotho-Tswana settlement · Lesotho

  5. Break-up of the Sanhaja confederation · Mauritania

  6. Known to Arab and Malay sailors · Mauritius

  7. Taíno settle Borikén · Puerto Rico

  8. Arawak and Carib peoples established · Trinidad and Tobago

All 13 events in the 11th century →5 more not shown here

2 events · 2 nations

The 12th century

Every theme in the 12th century →

  1. Aja migrations from Tado · Benin

  2. Myènè peoples settle the coast · Gabon

All 2 events in the 12th century →

6 events · 6 nations

The 13th century

Every theme in the 13th century →

  1. Bubi settle Bioko · Equatorial Guinea

  2. Copán abandoned · Honduras

  3. Beni Hassan Arab migration · Mauritania

  4. Decline and the drift southward · Sri Lanka

  5. Ewe ancestors present in the region · Togo

  6. Arrival of the Thule · Greenland

All 6 events in the 13th century →

3 events · 3 nations

The 14th century

Every theme in the 14th century →

  1. Fang and Ndowe of Río Muni · Equatorial Guinea

  2. Dyula merchants found northern trading towns · Ivory Coast

  3. Polynesian voyagers settle Aotearoa · New Zealand

All 3 events in the 14th century →

7 events · 7 nations

The 15th century

Every theme in the 15th century →

  1. Settlement by Mande, Kwa, and Mel peoples · Liberia

  2. Nilotic expansion across the upper Nile · South Sudan

  3. Annobón peopled from Angola · Equatorial Guinea

  4. The coastal and island peoples · Guinea-Bissau

  5. Southern Luo migrate into western Kenya · Kenya

  6. Portuguese reach the Kingdom of Kongo · Angola

  7. Deportation of Jewish children and convicts · São Tomé and Príncipe

All 7 events in the 15th century →

16 events · 15 nations

The 16th century

Every theme in the 16th century →

  1. Nguni peoples move south · Eswatini

  2. Kyrgyz consolidate in the Tian Shan · Kyrgyzstan

  3. Settlement of the Chatham Islands · New Zealand

  4. The Atlantic slave trade · Nigeria

  5. The Rice Coast chiefdoms · Sierra Leone

  6. The Ewe exodus from Notsé · Togo

  7. Rise of the Cossacks · Ukraine

  8. Shaybanid Uzbeks conquer Transoxiana · Uzbekistan

All 16 events in the 16th century →8 more not shown here

10 events · 10 nations

The 17th century

Every theme in the 17th century →

  1. The Atlantic slave trade · Ghana

  2. The Atlantic slave trade via Cape Verde · Guinea-Bissau

  3. Scottish settlement of Antrim and Down · Ireland

  4. First Africans landed in Virginia · United States

  5. Atlantic slave trade at its height · Angola

  6. Slavery at the Cape · South Africa

  7. Founding of Aného (Petit-Popo) · Togo

  8. Ouidah and the Atlantic slave trade · Benin

All 10 events in the 17th century →2 more not shown here

11 events · 11 nations

The 18th century

Every theme in the 18th century →

  1. Atlantic slave trade at its height · DR Congo

  2. The Atlantic slave trade on the river · Gambia

  3. The Bani Utub settle the bay · Kuwait

  4. Enslaved Africans imported for the timber trade · Belize

  5. The Baoulé migrate under Queen Abla Pokou · Ivory Coast

  6. Maroons of Le Morne Brabant · Mauritius

  7. First permanent settlement · Seychelles

  8. Cook names New Caledonia · New Caledonia

All 11 events in the 18th century →3 more not shown here

3 events · 2 nations

The 1800s

Every theme in the 1800s →

  1. Jamaican Maroons arrive · Sierra Leone

  2. The Garifuna reach the southern coast · Belize

  3. The West Africa Squadron frees the recaptives · Sierra Leone

All 3 events in the 1800s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1810s

Every theme in the 1810s →

  1. Founding of the American Colonization Society · Liberia

All 1 events in the 1810s →

4 events · 4 nations

The 1820s

Every theme in the 1820s →

  1. Migration into central Eswatini · Eswatini

  2. Ngoni and Yao migrations reshape the region · Malawi

  3. Jonker Afrikaner and the Orlam · Namibia

  4. Soshangane founds the Gaza Empire · Mozambique

All 4 events in the 1820s →

6 events · 6 nations

The 1830s

Every theme in the 1830s →

  1. Indian indenture and the Aapravasi Ghat · Mauritius

  2. Ngoni incursions from the south · Zambia

  3. The Great Trek · South Africa

  4. Emancipation and Indian indenture · Guyana

  5. Trail of Tears · United States

  6. The Ndebele settle the south-west · Zimbabwe

All 6 events in the 1830s →

3 events · 3 nations

The 1840s

Every theme in the 1840s →

  1. Arrival of the Fatel Razack · Trinidad and Tobago

  2. The great emigration to America · Sweden

  3. Caste War refugees swell the population · Belize

All 3 events in the 1840s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1850s

Every theme in the 1850s →

  1. First European contact · Burundi

All 1 events in the 1850s →

5 events · 5 nations

The 1860s

Every theme in the 1860s →

  1. Cattle economy and immigration · Uruguay

  2. Liberated Africans resettled · Seychelles

  3. The blackbirding labour trade · Solomon Islands

  4. The blackbirding labour trade · Vanuatu

  5. Tippu Tip's eastern slaving state · DR Congo

All 5 events in the 1860s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1870s

Every theme in the 1870s →

  1. Hindustani indentured labour · Suriname

  2. Arrival of the Leonidas — first girmitiyas · Fiji

All 2 events in the 1870s →

4 events · 4 nations

The 1880s

Every theme in the 1880s →

  1. Mass European immigration · Argentina

  2. First waves of Zionist immigration · Palestine

  3. A self-supporting wool colony · Falkland Islands

  4. Mass immigration · Brazil

All 4 events in the 1880s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1890s

Every theme in the 1890s →

  1. Javanese indentured labour · Suriname

All 1 events in the 1890s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1900s

Every theme in the 1900s →

  1. Immigration Restriction Act and 'White Australia' · Australia

All 1 events in the 1900s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1910s

Every theme in the 1910s →

  1. End of Indian indenture · Guyana

  2. End of Indian indentureship · Trinidad and Tobago

All 2 events in the 1910s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1920s

Every theme in the 1920s →

  1. The Convention on the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations · Greece

All 1 events in the 1920s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1930s

Every theme in the 1930s →

  1. First contact in the highlands · Papua New Guinea

All 1 events in the 1930s →

7 events · 7 nations

The 1940s

Every theme in the 1940s →

  1. Refuge for 100,000 and liberation · San Marino

  2. Post-war mass immigration · Australia

  3. Expulsion of the Sudeten Germans · Czechia

  4. Königsberg becomes Kaliningrad · Russia

  5. Paris Peace Treaty and the Karelian evacuees · Finland

  6. Partition violence and mass migration · India

  7. Partition migration and violence · Pakistan

All 7 events in the 1940s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 1950s

Every theme in the 1950s →

  1. Khrushchev's Virgin Lands campaign · Kazakhstan

All 1 events in the 1950s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 1970s

Every theme in the 1970s →

  1. Official multiculturalism policy · Canada

  2. Expulsion of the Asian community · Uganda

All 2 events in the 1970s →

4 events · 4 nations

The 1990s

Every theme in the 1990s →

  1. Indian withdrawal and the expulsion of northern Muslims · Sri Lanka

  2. Exodus of the Lhotshampa · Bhutan

  3. Rwandan refugee crisis in the Kivus · DR Congo

  4. Refugee crisis and the Congo wars · Rwanda

All 4 events in the 1990s →

1 event · 1 nation

The 2000s

Every theme in the 2000s →

  1. Resettlement of Bhutanese refugees · Bhutan

All 1 events in the 2000s →

4 events · 4 nations

The 2010s

Every theme in the 2010s →

  1. The Arab Spring and Syrian refugees · Jordan

  2. Citizenship ruling on Haitian descent · Dominican Republic

  3. Economic collapse and exodus · Venezuela

  4. Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State · Myanmar

All 4 events in the 2010s →

2 events · 2 nations

The 2020s

Every theme in the 2020s →

  1. Azerbaijani offensive and the Karabakh exodus · Armenia

  2. The census counts a shrinking territory · New Caledonia

All 2 events in the 2020s →