The 1880s

Africa

1. COGColonisation

   Congo · September 1880

   Brazza's treaty with Makoko

   In September 1880 Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza signed a treaty with the Teke ruler Makoko Iloo I, placing his lands under French protection and securing France's claim to the north bank of the Congo River.

   Brazza, Brazzaville, and the colony of Middle Congo

   Sources: Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (Wikipedia) · Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (GlobalSecurity.org) · Iloo I (Makoko of the Teke) (Wikipedia)

2. COGFormation

   Congo · 10 September 1880

   Founding of Brazzaville at Nkuna

   Brazza founded a French post at the village of Nkuna (Mfoa) on the north bank of Stanley Pool on 10 September 1880; held by Sergeant Malamine Camara, it was named Brazzaville and became the centre of French rule.

   Brazza, Brazzaville, and the colony of Middle Congo

   Sources: Brazzaville (Wikipedia) · Brazzaville, Congo (1880– ) (BlackPast.org) · Malamine Camara (Wikipedia)

3. SWZColonisation

   Eswatini · 1880s

   The concessions era

   Mbandzeni grants extensive land, grazing and mineral concessions to Boer and British fortune-seekers, ceding control over most of the kingdom's land and resources.

   The Concessions Era and Foreign Control

   Sources: Mbandzeni (Dlamini IV) (Wikipedia) · Swaziland — History (Nations Encyclopedia) · History of Eswatini (Wikipedia)

4. LSOWar & Rupture

   Lesotho

   The Gun War

   The Basotho rebel against Cape disarmament and taxation; they retain their guns and effectively repudiate Cape authority.

   Basutoland: Protectorate and the Gun War

   Sources: Gun War (1880–81) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Basuto Gun War (Wikipedia) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)

North America

1. PANEconomy & Trade

   Panama · 1880-1889

   French canal attempt fails

   Ferdinand de Lesseps's company begins a sea-level canal but is defeated by disease and cost, collapsing in financial scandal.

   A Province of Colombia

   Sources: Building the Panama Canal, 1903-1914 (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Panama (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. ARGPeoples & Migration

   Argentina · 1880-1914

   Mass European immigration

   Some four million immigrants, chiefly Italians and Spaniards, arrive to settle and work the land, so that by 1914 nearly a third of Argentines are foreign-born.

   Civil Wars, Unification and the Liberal Republic

   Sources: Argentina (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Great European immigration wave to Argentina (Wikipedia)

2. ECUEconomy & Trade

   Ecuador · c. 1880-1915

   The cacao boom

   Ecuador becomes the world's leading cacao exporter, enriching the coastal elite of Guayaquil and shifting wealth and power toward the coast.

   Cacao, Liberals and Bananas

   Sources: History of Ecuador (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Oceania

1. NCLEconomy & Trade

   New Caledonia

   Nickel mining begins

   The Société Le Nickel began industrial exploitation of New Caledonia's nickel — among the largest deposits in the world — making mining the economic engine that drew settlers and accelerated Kanak dispossession.

   Annexation, the Bagne and Nickel

   Sources: New Caledonia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · New Caledonia — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. GINWar & Rupture

   Guinea

   Capture of Kankan

   Samori takes control of the major Dyula trading centre of Kankan on the upper Milo, a hub of the kola-nut trade.

   Samori Touré and the Resistance to France

   Sources: Guinea — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Samori Ture (Wikipedia)

2. MDGPolitics & Power

   Madagascar

   Treaty of peace, friendship and commerce with the United States

   Following a commercial convention in 1867, Washington concludes a full treaty with the Kingdom of Madagascar — a sovereign state in the diplomatic record fifteen years before annexation.

   French Conquest & Colony

   Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Madagascar (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

3. SDNReligion

   Sudan

   Muhammad Ahmad proclaims himself the Mahdi

   A religious teacher declares himself the awaited redeemer and launches a holy war against Turco-Egyptian rule.

   Turco-Egyptian Rule and the Mahdist Revolt

   Sources: Mahdist State (Wikipedia) · Battle of Omdurman (Encyclopædia Britannica)

4. TUNColonisation

   Tunisia · 12 May 1881

   Treaty of Bardo

   The bey signs the Treaty of Bardo, placing Tunisia under a French protectorate.

   French Protectorate & Independence

   Sources: Treaty of Bardo (1881) (Wikipedia) · French protectorate of Tunisia (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. TKMWar & Rupture

   Turkmenistan · January 1881

   Battle of Geok Tepe

   General Mikhail Skobelev stormed the Teke Turkmen fortress of Geok Tepe by detonating a mine under its walls; the assault and ensuing massacre of thousands broke Turkmen resistance and secured Russian control of Transcaspia.

   The Turkmen Tribes and the Russian Conquest

   Sources: Battle of Gök-Tepe (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Turkmenistan — Turkmen tribes and Russian invasion (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Europe

1. KOSPolitics & Power

   Kosovo

   Suppression of the League

   After resisting territorial transfers to Montenegro and Greece, the League of Prizren was suppressed by the Ottoman authorities, but it had laid the foundation of the Albanian national movement.

   Ottoman Rule and the Albanian National Awakening

   Sources: Albanian League (League of Prizren, 1878) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. ROUPolitics & Power

   Romania

   Kingdom of Romania proclaimed

   Romania was proclaimed a kingdom and Carol I, prince since 1866, became its first king, completing the country's emergence as a sovereign European state.

   Union, independence and the Kingdom of Romania

   Sources: Carol I (Encyclopedia.com)

North America

1. SLVEconomy & Trade

   El Salvador · 1881-1882

   Communal lands abolished

   Laws abolishing communal and Indigenous landholding open the highlands to coffee estates, dispossessing peasant communities and entrenching a landed oligarchy.

   Independence and the Coffee Republic

   Sources: El Salvador: A coffee republic (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. CHLPolitics & Power

   Chile · 23 July 1881

   Boundary treaty with Argentina

   Chile and Argentina fix their common border along the Cordillera of the Andes, running 'along the highest peaks of said Cordillera dividing the waters'; disputes over how to trace the line were settled by British arbitration in 1902.

   The Nitrate Age and the Twentieth Century

   Sources: The Cordillera of the Andes Boundary Case (Argentina, Chile), Award of 20 November 1902, with the Treaty of 23 July 1881 (United Nations, Reports of International Arbitral Awards, vol. IX)

2. CHLWar & Rupture

   Chile · 1880-1883

   Pacification of Araucania

   After three centuries of independence, the Chilean state subdues the Mapuche south of the Biobio by military campaign and opens their territory to settlement.

   The Nitrate Age and the Twentieth Century

   Sources: History of Chile (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Araucanian wars (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. EGYColonisation

   Egypt

   British occupation begins

   Britain defeats the Urabi revolt and occupies Egypt, taking effective control of the country while leaving the khedive nominally in place.

   Ottoman Rule, Muhammad Ali and British Occupation

   Sources: Egypt: Ottoman administration (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. PSEPeoples & Migration

   Palestine · 1882 onward

   First waves of Zionist immigration

   From the 1880s organised Jewish immigration (the aliyot) began establishing agricultural colonies in Ottoman Palestine, driven by persecution in Europe and an emerging national idea.

   Ottoman Palestine

   Sources: Palestine - region, history (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem, Part I (1917-1947) (United Nations)

Oceania

1. FJIPolitics & Power

   Fiji

   Capital moves to Suva

   The colonial capital is relocated from Levuka on Ovalau to Suva on Viti Levu, the larger harbour that remains Fiji's capital.

   Cession, Colony & the Girmitiyas

   Sources: Levuka Historical Port Town (World Heritage List) (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

2. NZLEconomy & Trade

   New Zealand

   First refrigerated meat shipment

   The first cargo of frozen meat sailed from New Zealand to Britain, launching the refrigerated export trade in meat and dairy that would underpin the country's economy for a century.

   Colony, women's suffrage, and Dominion

   Sources: New Zealand (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. MDGWar & Rupture

   Madagascar · 1883–1885

   First Franco-Hova War

   France invades and takes Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), the deep northern harbour it had wanted for a generation.

   French Conquest & Colony

   Sources: Madagascar country profile (BBC News)

2. SENReligion

   Senegal · c. 1883

   Amadou Bamba founds the Mourides

   Cheikh Amadou Bamba establishes the Mouride Sufi brotherhood, later founding the holy city of Touba in 1887 and preaching nonviolence and work.

   French Conquest, the Four Communes and the Marabouts

   Sources: Amadou Bamba (Wikipedia)

South America

1. PERPolitics & Power

   Peru · 20 Oct 1883

   Treaty of Ancon

   Peru cedes Tarapaca to Chile and loses control of Tacna and Arica, a humiliating settlement whose final terms were not fixed until 1929.

   The Young Republic and the War of the Pacific

   Sources: War of the Pacific (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. CMRColonisation

   Cameroon · 12 July 1884

   Douala treaty and German protectorate

   The Douala kings Bell and Akwa signed a treaty of protection with German agents; Gustav Nachtigal then proclaimed a German protectorate over Kamerun, beginning colonial rule.

   German Kamerun

   Sources: History of Cameroon (Wikipedia) · Cameroon (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · A Guide to the History of Recognition: Cameroon (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

2. DJIColonisation

   Djibouti

   Lagarde extends French control

   Léonce Lagarde is sent to oversee French interests; treaties with Afar and Somali rulers over the following years extend a French protectorate around the Gulf of Tadjoura.

   The French Foothold and the Founding of Djibouti

   Sources: Léonce Lagarde (Wikipedia) · Djibouti (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. GINColonisation

   Guinea

   Founding of Conakry

   The French establish Conakry on the Atlantic coast; it becomes the capital of the colony of French Guinea.

   French Guinea

   Sources: French Guinea (Wikipedia) · Conakry (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. GINReligion

   Guinea · July 1884

   Islam proclaimed state religion; Samori takes the title almami

   Samori formally adopts Islam as the religion of his empire and assumes the title of almami, fusing political and religious authority.

   Samori Touré and the Resistance to France

   Sources: Samori Ture (Wikipedia)

5. LSOColonisation

   Lesotho

   Return to direct British rule

   Unable to control the territory, the Cape gives it up; Basutoland reverts to direct rule from Britain under a resident commissioner.

   Basutoland: Protectorate and the Gun War

   Sources: Gun War (1880–81) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)

6. MOZColonisation

   Mozambique · 1884–1885

   Berlin Conference and the scramble

   The Berlin Conference requires Portugal to occupy the territory it claims, spurring a drive to subdue the Mozambican interior.

   Prazos, the Gaza Empire and Conquest

   Sources: Mozambique (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Mozambique (Wikipedia)

7. NAMColonisation

   Namibia

   Germany declares a protectorate

   Following Adolf Lüderitz's purchase at Angra Pequena in 1883, Bismarck declared a German protectorate over the territory in 1884, founding the colony of German South West Africa.

   German South West Africa and the genocide of the Herero and Nama

   Sources: Namibia (country, history and government) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Namibia (Wikipedia)

8. SOMColonisation

   Somalia · 1884–1888

   British Somaliland protectorate

   Britain signs treaties with northern Somali clans and establishes a protectorate over the northern coast to safeguard supplies for Aden, creating British Somaliland.

   Colonial Partition and the Dervish Resistance

   Sources: Somalia (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · British Somaliland (Wikipedia)

9. SOLColonisation

   Somaliland · 1880s

   Britain establishes the Somaliland Protectorate

   Through protection treaties signed with northern Somali clans from the 1880s, Britain established a protectorate over the coast to safeguard the sea route to India, administered separately from Italian Somaliland to the south.

   The British Somaliland Protectorate

   Sources: British Somaliland (Wikipedia) · British Somaliland: The Protectorate on the Horn of Africa (World History Encyclopedia)

10. TGOColonisation

    Togo · 5 July 1884

    Nachtigal proclaims a protectorate

    Gustav Nachtigal signed a protectorate treaty on the coast, associated with a ruler styled Mlapa, declaring German authority over the shore — the founding act of the colony of Togoland.

    German Togoland, the 'model colony'

    Sources: Togoland (Wikipedia) · Togo (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Gustav Nachtigal (Wikipedia)

11. TGOColonisation

    Togo · 1884–85

    The Berlin Conference recognises Togoland

    At the Berlin Conference the European powers laid down rules for partitioning Africa and recognised the German protectorate that became the colony of Togoland.

    German Togoland, the 'model colony'

    Sources: Togoland (Wikipedia) · Togo (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. DEUColonisation

   Germany · 1884–1885

   German colonial expansion

   Germany acquired colonies in Africa and the Pacific, a latecomer's empire whose rule, including the genocide of the Herero and Nama in South West Africa, left a brutal legacy.

   The German Empire and the First World War

   Sources: Germany (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. NORPolitics & Power

   Norway

   Parliamentarism and the consular dispute

   The introduction of parliamentary government strengthened the Storting, while the conflict with Sweden over Norway's right to its own consular service drove the two countries apart.

   Eidsvoll, the Union with Sweden and National Awakening

   Sources: Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Oceania

1. PNGColonisation

   Papua New Guinea · November 1884

   The island is partitioned

   Germany proclaimed a protectorate over the north-east (German New Guinea) and Britain over the southern coast (British New Guinea) within days of each other, splitting eastern New Guinea between two empires.

   European contact and colonial partition

   Sources: Papua New Guinea — The colonial period (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Records of Papua New Guinea, 1883–1942 (National Archives of Australia)

Africa

1. AGOColonisation

   Angola · 1884–1885

   Berlin Conference and the Scramble

   The Berlin Conference required Portugal to demonstrate effective occupation of Angola, spurring the military campaigns that would subdue the independent interior kingdoms.

   The slow conquest of the interior

   Sources: Portuguese Angola (Wikipedia) · Angola — Colonialism, Independence, Civil War (history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. BWAColonisation

   Botswana · 31 March 1885

   Bechuanaland Protectorate declared

   After Sir Charles Warren's expedition, Britain proclaims a protectorate over the territory north of the Molopo to check Boer and German expansion.

   The Bechuanaland Protectorate

   Sources: Bechuanaland Protectorate (Wikipedia) · Botswana — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. COGColonisation

   Congo · 1884–1885

   Berlin Conference divides the two Congos

   The Berlin Conference recognised French claims north of the Congo River and assigned the south bank to Leopold II's Congo Free State, fixing the lasting division between the Republic of the Congo and the future Democratic Republic.

   Brazza, Brazzaville, and the colony of Middle Congo

   Sources: Republic of the Congo (Encyclopædia Britannica) · History of the Republic of the Congo (Wikipedia)

4. CODColonisation

   DR Congo

   Congo Free State proclaimed

   Following the Berlin Conference, Leopold II establishes the Congo Free State as his personal possession, recognised by the European powers.

   The Congo Free State

   Sources: Congo Free State (Wikipedia) · Congo Free State (1885–1908) (BlackPast.org) · Leopold II, king of the Belgians (Encyclopædia Britannica)

5. ERIColonisation

   Eritrea

   Italy occupies Massawa

   As Egypt withdraws amid the Mahdist crisis, Italian troops occupy Massawa, the key port of the coast, beginning Italy's drive to build a colony.

   Ottomans, Egyptians and the Contested Coast

   Sources: Italian Eritrea (Wikipedia) · Massawa (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. SDSWar & Rupture

   South Sudan

   Mahdist revolt and the fall of Khartoum

   The Mahdist uprising overruns Sudan and captures Khartoum, ending Turco-Egyptian rule and bringing further upheaval to the southern Nile peoples.

   Conquest, Ivory and the Slave Raids

   Sources: Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

7. SDNWar & Rupture

   Sudan · 26 January 1885

   Fall of Khartoum; death of Gordon

   Mahdist forces storm Khartoum after a long siege and kill General Charles Gordon; the Mahdi dies months later.

   Turco-Egyptian Rule and the Mahdist Revolt

   Sources: Mahdist State (Wikipedia) · Siege of Khartoum (Encyclopædia Britannica)

8. TZAColonisation

   Tanzania

   Germany establishes German East Africa

   Following Carl Peters's treaties, the German government charters his company, founding the colony of German East Africa over the Tanzanian mainland and the Great Lakes territories.

   German East Africa and the British Mandate

   Sources: German East Africa (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · German East Africa (World History Encyclopedia)

9. UGAReligion

   Uganda · 1885–1887

   Killing of the Uganda Martyrs

   Mwanga II executes some forty-five Catholic and Anglican converts who refuse to renounce their faith; twenty-two Catholic victims were later canonised as saints.

   Traders, Missionaries and the Uganda Martyrs

   Sources: Martyrs of Uganda (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Uganda Martyrs (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. MMRColonisation

   Myanmar · November 1885

   Third Anglo-Burmese War and the end of the monarchy

   Britain takes Mandalay, exiles King Thibaw, and annexes Upper Burma on 1 January 1886, abolishing the Burmese monarchy and completing the conquest.

   The Anglo-Burmese Wars and British Rule

   Sources: Anglo-Burmese Wars (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Myanmar: The British in Burma, 1885-1948 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. TWNPolitics & Power

   Taiwan

   Taiwan made a Qing province

   The Qing government raises Taiwan to the status of a separate province, with Liu Mingchuan as reforming first governor promoting railways and modernisation.

   The Zheng Regime and Qing Rule

   Sources: Taiwan (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. TKMColonisation

   Turkmenistan

   Russian annexation completed

   Following Geok Tepe, the Transcaspian region was annexed as part of the Russian Empire, completing the conquest of the lands of modern Turkmenistan.

   The Turkmen Tribes and the Russian Conquest

   Sources: Turkmenistan — Turkmen tribes and Russian invasion (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Turkmenistan: A Country Study (in 'Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan: Country Studies') (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)

Europe

1. BELColonisation

   Belgium

   Foundation of the Congo Free State

   After winning recognition at the Berlin Conference, Leopold II proclaimed the Congo Free State as his private possession, a regime whose forced labour and atrocities caused massive loss of life.

   Leopold II, the Congo, and the Curiosities of the Border

   Sources: Congo Free State (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Leopold II, king of Belgium (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. BGRFormation

   Bulgaria · Sep 1885

   Unification with Eastern Rumelia

   A bloodless revolution united the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia with the Principality of Bulgaria; Bulgaria secured the union by defeating Serbia in the ensuing war, recovering part of the San Stefano territory.

   San Stefano, Berlin and the Making of Modern Bulgaria

   Sources: Bulgaria: Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Bulgaria: Ottoman rule, National Revival and the end of the 19th century (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

North America

1. CANEconomy & Trade

   Canada · 7 November 1885

   Canadian Pacific Railway completed

   The driving of the last spike at Craigellachie completed the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway, binding the new nation together and fulfilling a promise made to British Columbia at Confederation.

   Confederation and nation-building across the continent

   Sources: Canada (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Confederation (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

2. CANWar & Rupture

   Canada

   North-West Resistance and the execution of Riel

   Métis and First Nations grievances on the prairies erupted in the North-West Resistance; its defeat and the hanging of Louis Riel deepened the divide between French and English Canada.

   Confederation and nation-building across the continent

   Sources: Canada (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. FLKPeoples & Migration

   Falkland Islands

   A self-supporting wool colony

   By 1885 a British community of some 1,800 people on the islands was self-supporting, sustained mainly by sheep farming and wool exports.

   The Pastoral Colony of Sheep and Wool

   Sources: Falkland Islands — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. COMColonisation

   Comoros

   Protectorates over the three islands

   France establishes protectorates over Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli, dealing with sultans including Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore.

   French Colonisation

   Sources: History of the Comoros (Wikipedia) · Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (Wikipedia) · Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)

2. ETHFormation

   Ethiopia

   Founding of Addis Ababa

   Menelik II and Empress Taytu establish a new capital, Addis Ababa ('New Flower'), which becomes the permanent seat of the empire and later a diplomatic hub of Africa.

   Menelik II, Adwa and the Defeat of Colonisation

   Sources: Ethiopia (country overview) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. ZAFEconomy & Trade

   South Africa

   Gold found on the Witwatersrand

   The discovery of the world's largest goldfield on the Witwatersrand created Johannesburg, transformed the Transvaal's wealth, and entrenched a segregated migrant-labour system.

   Diamonds, gold, the South African War and Union

   Sources: South Africa: Diamonds, gold and imperialist intervention (1870–1902) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Grade 8 – Topic 2 – The Mineral Revolution in South Africa (South African History Online)

4. UGAReligion

   Uganda · 3 June 1886

   Martyrdom of Charles Lwanga

   Kabaka Mwanga II has Charles Lwanga and a group of Christian pages burned to death at Namugongo, the most notorious episode in the killing of the Uganda Martyrs of 1885–87.

   Traders, Missionaries and the Uganda Martyrs

   Sources: Martyrs of Uganda (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Uganda Martyrs (Wikipedia)

Europe

1. IRLPolitics & Power

   Ireland · 1886 & 1893

   The Home Rule bills

   Under Parnell's pressure the Liberal government introduced Home Rule bills in 1886 and 1893 to give Ireland self-government within the UK; both were defeated, but Home Rule became the central Irish demand.

   Union, Famine and the National Movement

   Sources: Charles Stewart Parnell and the Home Rule Movement (University of Delaware Library (Easter Rising exhibition))

South America

1. COLPolitics & Power

   Colombia · 1886 CE

   The Constitution of 1886

   A Conservative-led charter creates a centralised Republic of Colombia with a strong presidency and a renewed alliance with the Catholic Church.

   Partisan Wars and the Loss of Panama

   Sources: History of Colombia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. GINPolitics & Power

   Guinea · 1886–1887

   Treaties with France

   Samori signs agreements with France, including the Treaty of Bissandougou in 1887, as he manoeuvres between negotiation and war against colonial expansion.

   Samori Touré and the Resistance to France

   Sources: Samori Ture (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. KHMColonisation

   Cambodia · 1887 CE

   Cambodia joined to French Indochina

   Cambodia is incorporated into the colonial federation of French Indochina, its monarchy preserved as a figurehead while the French administer the country.

   Decline, Foreign Pressure, and the French Protectorate

   Sources: Cambodia Gains Independence from France (EBSCO Research Starters) · Cambodia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. VNMColonisation

   Vietnam · 17 October 1887

   French Indochina established

   France unites Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin, and Cambodia into the Indochinese Union; Laos is added in 1893, binding Vietnam into a colonial federation centered on Hanoi.

   French Indochina

   Sources: Vietnam: A Country Study (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)

Africa

1. DJIFormation

   Djibouti

   Founding of Djibouti city

   Lagarde founds the port-city of Djibouti on the southern shore of the gulf, with a superior harbour, and transfers the administration there from Obock.

   The French Foothold and the Founding of Djibouti

   Sources: Léonce Lagarde (Wikipedia) · History of Djibouti (Wikipedia) · Djibouti (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. ZWEColonisation

   Zimbabwe · 1888–1890

   Rudd Concession and the Pioneer Column

   Lobengula signed the 1888 Rudd Concession granting mining rights to Rhodes's agents; Rhodes won a royal charter in 1889 and in 1890 the British South Africa Company's Pioneer Column occupied Mashonaland, raising the flag at Fort Salisbury on 13 September.

   The Ndebele kingdom and British conquest

   Sources: Zimbabwe: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Lobengula (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Pioneer Column (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. BRNColonisation

   Brunei · 17 September 1888

   Brunei becomes a British protectorate

   Sultan Hashim signs a treaty placing Brunei under British protection, transferring control of its foreign affairs to Britain while preserving the sultanate from absorption.

   Decline, the White Rajahs, and the British Protectorate

   Sources: History of Brunei (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Country Facts: Brunei Darussalam (Permanent Mission of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations)

South America

1. BRAPolitics & Power

   Brazil · 13 May 1888

   Abolition of slavery

   Princess Isabel signs the Lei Aurea, abolishing slavery without compensation; Brazil is the last country in the Americas to do so.

   Independence and the Empire of Brazil

   Sources: Brazil (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. BRAPeoples & Migration

   Brazil · late 19th-early 20th c.

   Mass immigration

   Millions of immigrants, especially Italians, Portuguese, Spaniards, and Japanese, arrive to work coffee and settle the south, reshaping Brazilian society.

   The Old Republic

   Sources: Brazil (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. CAFColonisation

   Central African Republic

   France founds Bangui

   French forces established a post at Bangui on the Ubangi River, the base from which they extended control over the territory that became the colony of Ubangi-Shari.

   Conquest and the Concession Regime

   Sources: History of the Central African Republic (Kiddle Encyclopedia) · Central African Republic — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. ETHPolitics & Power

   Ethiopia · 2 May 1889

   Treaty of Wuchale signed

   Menelik, under his imperial seal, and the Italian envoy Count Pietro Antonelli sign a treaty whose Article 19 declares its Amharic and Italian texts in perfect agreement. They are not: in Article 17 the Italian text says the emperor 'consente'—binds himself—to conduct his dealings with other powers through Italy, while the Amharic text leaves this as an option. Italy's premier Francesco Crispi notifies the powers that Ethiopia is an Italian protectorate, a claim Ethiopia rejects—setting the stage for war.

   Menelik II, Adwa and the Defeat of Colonisation

   Sources: Trattato d'Uccialli, 2 May 1889 (full Italian text, Arts. XVII and XIX), in B. Melli, La Colonia Eritrea (1899) (Wikisource (proofread transcription of the 1899 edition)) · Article 17 of the Treaty of Uccialli (Carlo Giglio, vol. 6, no. 2, 1965) (The Journal of African History, Cambridge University Press) · Battle of Adwa (research starter) (EBSCO Research) · Remembering the Battle of Adwa (South African History Online) · Battle of Adwa (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. GMBColonisation

   Gambia · 1889–1890s

   Anglo-French agreements draw the enclave

   Boundary agreements between Britain and France fixed The Gambia's frontiers as a narrow band following the river, leaving the territory almost entirely surrounded by French Senegal.

   The British colony and the river enclave

   Sources: History of the Gambia (Wikipedia) · The Gambia (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. SOMColonisation

   Somalia

   Italy's protectorates and Italian Somaliland

   Italy signs protectorate treaties with the Hobyo and Majeerteen sultanates and occupies the Benadir coast, building up Italian Somaliland in the south; the Benadir colony is formally established in 1905.

   Colonial Partition and the Dervish Resistance

   Sources: Italian Somaliland (Wikipedia) · Somalia (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. JPNPolitics & Power

   Japan · 1889 CE

   Meiji Constitution promulgated

   Japan adopts a Western-influenced constitution establishing a constitutional monarchy with an imperial parliament, the Diet.

   Meiji and Empire: Revolution from Above

   Sources: Meiji Restoration (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Japan (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

North America

1. TTOFormation

   Trinidad and Tobago · 1 January 1889

   Tobago united with Trinidad

   Britain amalgamated Tobago with the wealthier colony of Trinidad to cut administrative costs; in 1899 Tobago became a ward, creating the single colony of Trinidad and Tobago.

   Indenture, oil, and one colony

   Sources: Trinidad and Tobago Experience Unification (National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago) · Trinidad and Tobago: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. BRAPolitics & Power

   Brazil · 15 Nov 1889

   Proclamation of the Republic

   A military coup led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca deposes Pedro II and proclaims the Republic, ending the monarchy.

   Independence and the Empire of Brazil

   Sources: Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Brazil (Encyclopaedia Britannica)