- — Africa:
Rise of the EPLF
The Eritrean People's Liberation Front splits from the ELF and becomes the dominant, Marxist-led nationalist movement waging the war.
Era: Federation, Annexation and the Thirty-Year War
Sources: Eritrean People's Liberation Front · Wikipedia, Eritrea: The Independence Struggle and the Struggles of Independence · Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- — Asia:
Black September
King Hussein's army moved against armed Palestinian factions that had built a state within the state; after intense fighting and a brief Syrian incursion, the guerrillas were expelled by July 1971.
Era: Modern Jordan: Hussein, the Wars, Peace and Abdullah II
Sources: Black September: Organization, Attacks, and Facts · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hussein: King of Jordan, Biography and Facts · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Frontline state for liberation
Zambia hosted and supported southern African liberation movements, including the ANC, ZANU, ZAPU, and SWAPO, becoming a frontline state that bore retaliatory raids and economic costs.
Era: The republic: Humanism, multiparty politics and modern Zambia
Sources: Kenneth Kaunda · New World Encyclopedia, Zambia Politics: Kaunda · GlobalSecurity.org
- — Asia:
Iranian forces land on Abu Musa and the Tunbs a day before the federation is born
As British forces left the Gulf, Iranian forces landed on Abu Musa, where a memorandum with Sharjah left sovereignty unsettled, and on the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, claimed by Ras al-Khaimah. The islands are administered by Iran and claimed by the UAE, which was founded on 2 December; Iran says it has never renounced them.
Era: The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs
Sources: Analysis of the three-island dispute (Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb) · The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, UAE statement on the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb · Gulf News
- — Asia:
Loss of East Pakistan and birth of Bangladesh
After a brutal war and Indian intervention, Pakistani forces surrender at Dhaka and East Pakistan becomes the independent state of Bangladesh, dismembering the country.
Era: Bangladesh, Military Rule and the Modern Republic
Sources: Bangladesh Liberation War · Encyclopædia Britannica, 1971 India-Pakistan War · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Asia:
The JVP insurrection
A Marxist rising is put down; its missing would still be uncounted in the state's own figures forty-five years later.
Era: Republic, Civil War and the Modern Nation
Sources: Sri Lanka country profile · BBC News
- — Asia:
Iranian forces land on Abu Musa and the Tunbs a day before the federation is born
As British forces left the Gulf, Iranian forces landed on Abu Musa, where a memorandum with Sharjah left sovereignty unsettled, and on the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, claimed by Ras al-Khaimah. The islands are administered by Iran and claimed by the UAE, which was founded on 2 December; Iran says it has never renounced them.
Era: The Fall of Pearls, the Rise of Oil, and Federation
Sources: Analysis of the three-island dispute (Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb) · The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, UAE statement on the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb · Gulf News
- — Africa:
Insurrection and the killing of Ntare V
A Hutu-led insurrection erupts in southern Burundi; on 29 April the deposed king Ntare V is killed in Gitega, and large-scale state reprisals begin.
Era: The Ikiza: The 1972 Mass Killing
Sources: Ikiza or Burundi Killings of 1972 · EBSCO Research Starters, History of Burundi · Wikipedia, The Burundi Killings of 1972 · Sciences Po, Mass Violence and Resistance
- — Europe:
Second Cod War (50 nautical miles)
Iceland extended its limit to fifty miles from September 1972; its coast guard cut dozens of British trawl nets before a NATO-mediated interim agreement was reached in November 1973.
Era: The Cod Wars and the Modern Republic
Sources: Cod Wars · EBSCO Research Starters
- — Europe:
Bloody Sunday
British soldiers shot dead 13 civilians on a civil rights march in Derry and wounded others, one of whom later died; the Saville Inquiry found in 2010 that none of the casualties was posing a threat of causing death or serious injury, and the Prime Minister called the killings 'unjustified and unjustifiable'.
Era: The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question
Sources: A Chronology of the Conflict, 1972 · CAIN, Ulster University, Statement by the Prime Minister on the Saville Inquiry, 15 June 2010 · CAIN, Ulster University
- — Europe:
Bloody Friday
The IRA planted and exploded 22 bombs across Belfast in the space of 75 minutes, killing nine people and seriously injuring about 130.
Era: The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question
Sources: 'Bloody Friday': Summary of Main Events · CAIN, Ulster University, A Chronology of the Conflict, 1972 · CAIN, Ulster University
- — Africa:
The liberation war (Second Chimurenga)
Guerrilla forces of ZANU (ZANLA) and ZAPU (ZIPRA), based in Mozambique and Zambia, waged an escalating war against the Rhodesian state through the 1970s.
Era: White rule, UDI and the liberation war
Sources: Rhodesian Bush War (Second Chimurenga) · Wikipedia, Zimbabwe: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Robert Mugabe · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Paris accords and U.S. withdrawal
The Paris Peace Accords end direct American military involvement in Indochina, leaving the Lao factions to settle the civil war among themselves.
Era: Civil War, the Secret War, and the Pathet Lao
Sources: Indochina wars · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Laos: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
The Greek-junta-backed coup
The military junta ruling Greece, through the Cypriot National Guard, overthrew President Makarios in pursuit of énosis; Makarios escaped abroad and a hardline nationalist was installed.
Era: The 1974 Division, the TRNC and the European Union
Sources: Cyprus: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cyprus profile – Timeline · BBC News
- — Asia:
Turkish military intervention
Invoking its guarantor rights under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Turkey landed forces on 20 July 1974 and in a second August offensive took the northern third of the island, partitioning Cyprus and displacing both communities; UNFICYP was thereafter tasked with supervising the ceasefire lines and the buffer zone.
Era: The 1974 Division, the TRNC and the European Union
Sources: Cyprus: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Treaty of Guarantee, signed at Nicosia, 16 August 1960 · United Nations Peacemaker, About UNFICYP · United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, Cyprus profile – Timeline · BBC News
- — Europe:
Dublin and Monaghan bombings
Four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan killed 33 civilians and an unborn child. The loyalist UVF claimed sole responsibility in 1993 and no one was ever convicted; the Barron Report (2003) found the evidence of collusion by Northern Ireland security forces 'not sufficiently strong', while judging it 'not absurd' to conclude that some might have helped the bombers.
Era: The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question
Sources: Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Chronology · CAIN, Ulster University, Barron report on Dublin and Monaghan bombings · RTÉ News
- — Asia:
Turkish military intervention
Invoking its guarantor role under the 1960 treaty, Turkey landed forces in Cyprus; described by Turkey as a peace operation and by the Republic of Cyprus as an invasion, it ended with Turkish control of the northern third of the island.
Era: The 1974 Coup and the Partition of the Island
Sources: Cyprus - History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976, Vol. XXX, Cyprus - intelligence post-mortem on the 1974 coup · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — Africa:
Cold War intervention
As civil war erupted, South Africa invaded the south and Cuba sent troops to support the MPLA, turning Angola into a major proxy battleground between the superpower blocs.
Era: The long civil war
Sources: The Angola Crisis 1974–75 · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Angolan Civil War · Wikipedia, Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) · BlackPast.org
- — Asia:
Khmer Rouge capture Phnom Penh
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge seize the capital, empty the cities, rename the country Democratic Kampuchea, and abolish money, markets, religion, and private life.
Era: War, Revolution, and Genocide
Sources: Khmer Rouge · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cambodian genocide · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Europe:
Third Cod War (200 nautical miles)
Iceland claimed a 200-mile zone in 1975; after clashes and a threat to close the Keflavík NATO base, Britain recognised the 200-mile limit in an agreement of 2 June 1976.
Era: The Cod Wars and the Modern Republic
Sources: Cod Wars · EBSCO Research Starters, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1949, Vol. IV (Iceland and the North Atlantic Treaty) · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — Asia:
The Lebanese Civil War
Fighting erupts in Beirut and escalates into a fifteen-year civil war that draws in Syria, Israel and many militias; deaths are estimated, very approximately, in the range of 120,000–150,000.
Era: Civil War, Foreign Intervention and Collapse
Sources: Lebanese Civil War · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Lebanon: The National Pact (Lebanon: A Country Study) · U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division
- — Asia:
Defeat of the Dhofar rebellion
With British and Iranian support and a policy of amnesty and development, Qaboos's forces overcame the Dhofar insurgency, securing the unity of the country.
Era: The Renaissance of Qaboos and Modern Oman
Sources: Oman: The early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Oman: Restoration of Omani rule · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
Indonesian invasion
Indonesia launches a full-scale air and sea invasion of Dili, beginning an occupation marked from the start by mass civilian killing.
Era: Declaration, Invasion, and Annexation
Sources: 1975 invasion of East Timor · Encyclopaedia Britannica, A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Timor-Leste · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- — Africa:
Annexation of southern Western Sahara
Following the 1975 Madrid Accords, Mauritania and Morocco partition Western Sahara; Mauritania annexes the southern third as Tiris al-Gharbiyya, drawing it into war with the Polisario Front.
Era: Independence and the Daddah Republic
Sources: Annexation of Western Sahara · Wikipedia, Mauritania · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Civil war and the rise of RENAMO
RENAMO, backed first by Rhodesia and then by apartheid South Africa, wages war on the FRELIMO government; the conflict devastates the countryside for fifteen years.
Era: Civil War, Peace and Modern Mozambique
Sources: The Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992) · BlackPast.org, Historical context: War and peace in Mozambique · Conciliation Resources (Accord), Mozambique Civil War (1976–1992) and RENAMO · PA-X / peaceagreements.org
- — Africa:
The Ogaden War
Somalia invades Ethiopia to annex the Somali-inhabited Ogaden; initial gains are reversed in 1978 when the Soviet Union and Cuba back Ethiopia, inflicting a costly defeat on Somalia.
Era: Independence, Union and the Siad Barre Era
Sources: Mohamed Siad Barre · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of Somalia · Wikipedia
- — Asia:
Vietnamese intervention ends the regime
Vietnam invades Cambodia, captures Phnom Penh in January 1979, ousts the Khmer Rouge, and ends the genocide, beginning a decade-long occupation.
Era: War, Revolution, and Genocide
Sources: Cambodia: Vietnamese intervention · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Cambodian genocide · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Uganda–Tanzania War
After Amin invades northern Tanzania, Julius Nyerere's forces and Ugandan exiles counter-attack and capture Kampala in April 1979, driving Amin into exile.
Era: Idi Amin and the War that Ousted Him
Sources: Uganda–Tanzania War · Wikipedia, Idi Amin · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Asia:
The Soviet invasion
Soviet forces invade on 24 December 1979, kill the Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin and install Babrak Karmal, beginning a decade-long war against the US-backed mujahideen.
Era: Revolution, the Soviet War and Civil War
Sources: The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980 · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan — Summary & Facts · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
France overthrows Bokassa
A French military operation (Barracuda) deposed Bokassa and restored David Dacko; Bokassa fled into exile and was later tried and convicted.
Era: Bokassa and the Age of Coups
Sources: Jean-Bédel Bokassa · Wikipedia, Jean-Bédel Bokassa · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — Africa:
Withdrawal from Western Sahara
Mauritania renounces its claim to Tiris al-Gharbiyya and withdraws its forces, ending its part in the Western Sahara war; Morocco then absorbs the vacated territory.
Era: Coups, Withdrawal and the Modern State
Sources: Annexation of Western Sahara · Wikipedia, Polisario Front · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- — North America:
Sandinista Revolution
The FSLN overthrows Anastasio Somoza Debayle, ending the dynasty; the insurrection is estimated to have cost about 50,000 lives.
Era: Revolution and the Contra War
Sources: Sandinista · Encyclopædia Britannica, Nicaragua: The Sandinista government · Encyclopædia Britannica, Anastasio Somoza Debayle · Encyclopædia Britannica
- — Asia:
War & Rupture in the 1970s
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged war and rupture — wars, invasions, conquests, battles and armed conflict, narrowed to the 1970s — 33 of them, drawn from 27 nations, running from 1970 to 1979. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 33
- Nations
- 27
- Earliest
- 1970
- Latest
- 1979
- Asia
- 16
- Africa
- 11
- Europe
- 5
- North America
- 1
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.