11 records
Africa
- CPVCatastrophe
Cape Verde · 18th–19th centuries
Famines kill at least 100,000
Recurrent droughts produced a series of catastrophic famines; during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries at least 100,000 people died of starvation and disease, amid an inadequate colonial response.
Creole culture, the coaling port, and the years of hunger
Sources: Famine in Cape Verde (Wikipedia) · History of Cape Verde (Wikipedia)
- TCDColonisation
Chad · 22 April 1900
Battle of Kousséri
Converging French columns defeated and killed Rabih near the Chari River; the French commander Major Lamy also fell, ending Rabih's empire and opening the basin to France.
Rabih's empire and French conquest
Sources: Battle of Kousséri (Wikipedia) · Rabih az-Zubayr (Wikipedia)
- COMEconomy & Trade
Comoros · late 19th–20th century
Plantation economy
Colonial rule reorganises the economy around export crops—vanilla, cloves, copra and especially ylang-ylang—making the Comoros a leading supplier of perfume essence.
French Colonisation
Sources: Economy of the Comoros (Wikipedia) · Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- GNQColonisation
Treaty of Paris fixes Río Muni
The 1900 Treaty of Paris with France delimited Spain's mainland enclave of Río Muni at roughly 26,000 km², far smaller than Spain had claimed, setting the borders with French Cameroon and Gabon.
The British base and the Spanish cocoa colony
Sources: History of Equatorial Guinea (Wikipedia) · Spanish Guinea (Wikipedia)
- GHAWar & Rupture
The War of the Golden Stool
After the British governor demanded to sit on the sacred Golden Stool, Yaa Asantewaa led an uprising — the last major Asante resistance — which Britain suppressed before exiling her to the Seychelles.
The Asante Empire and the Golden Stool
Sources: War of the Golden Stool (Wikipedia) · Yaa Asantewaa (Wikipedia) · The Anglo-Ashanti Wars (1823–1900) (BlackPast.org)
- CIVEconomy & Trade
Ivory Coast · from 1900
Head tax and forced labour
France imposed a head tax in 1900 and a forced-labour regime that compelled African men to work without pay on infrastructure and plantations, drawing recruits from the lands later organised as Upper Volta and provoking repeated revolts.
Colony, forced labour, and the road to independence
Sources: History of Ivory Coast (Wikipedia) · History of Côte d'Ivoire (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- LSOEconomy & Trade
Lesotho · 20th century
Migrant labour to South Africa
With little arable land, large numbers of Basotho men become migrant workers on South African farms and gold mines, and remittances become central to the economy.
High Commission Territory to Independence
Sources: Migration, Remittances and 'Development' in Lesotho (Southern African Migration Programme (SAMP)) · History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)
- TGOEconomy & Trade
Togo · c. 1884–1914
A 'model colony' built on forced labour
Germany promoted Togoland as a profitable Musterkolonie, but its plantations, railways and balanced budget depended on heavy taxation and the coercion of forced African labour.
German Togoland, the 'model colony'
Sources: Togoland (Wikipedia) · Germany–Togo relations (Wikipedia) · Togo (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- UGAColonisation
Uganda · 10 March 1900
The Buganda Agreement
Sir Harry Johnston and Buganda's regents sign the agreement recognising the kabaka and Lukiiko, creating the 'mailo' land system and entrenching Buganda's privileged status under indirect rule.
The Uganda Protectorate
Sources: Buganda Agreement (1900) (Wikipedia) · History of Uganda (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- FRAPolitics & Power
France · 1 December 1900
Swiss arbitration fixes the Brazil–French Guiana border
The Swiss Federal Council rules at Bern that the “Japoc or Vincent Pinson” of the Treaty of Utrecht is the Oyapock, as Brazil had argued, not the Araguari as France had. The border follows the Oyapock and, inland, the Tumuc-Humac watershed.
The Republics & the Modern Nation
Sources: Arbitral award on the Brazil/French Guiana boundary, 1 December 1900 (United Nations, Reports of International Arbitral Awards vol. XXVIII) · Coopération transfrontalière franco-brésilienne (rapport r22-846) (Sénat)
South America
- BOLEconomy & Trade
Bolivia · early 20th century
The age of the tin barons
Tin replaces silver as Bolivia's great export, making a handful of mine owners enormously rich while the indigenous mine workers labour in poverty.
Lost Wars, the Sea, and the Tin Republic
Sources: Bolivia: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division) · Bolivia: Early period (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
4 records
North America
- CUBPolitics & Power
Cuba · 1901 CE
The Platt Amendment
The U.S. Congress conditions withdrawal on the Platt Amendment, reserving a right of intervention and a naval base at Guantanamo Bay; Cuba writes it into its constitution.
The Republic: Occupation, Platt, Machado, and Batista
Sources: Platt Amendment (1903) (U.S. National Archives, Milestone Documents) · Platt Amendment (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- GTMEconomy & Trade
Guatemala · early 20th c.
Rise of the United Fruit Company
United Fruit acquires extensive lands, railways, and the main port, becoming Guatemala's largest landowner and a dominant economic force.
Coffee and the Liberal Dictatorships
Sources: Guatemala: History (Postcolonial period and after) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Guatemala (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
Oceania
- AUSFormation
Australia · 1 January 1901
Federation creates the Commonwealth of Australia
Six self-governing colonies federated under a written Constitution to form the Commonwealth of Australia, a new federal nation with a parliament in which power was shared between the Commonwealth and the states.
Federation and the new nation
Sources: Defining Moments: Federation (National Museum of Australia) · The Federation of Australia (National Archives of Australia) · Australia (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- AUSPeoples & Migration
Immigration Restriction Act and 'White Australia'
One of the new parliament's first laws established the cornerstone of the 'White Australia' policy, using a dictation test to exclude non-European migrants and keep the nation overwhelmingly white and British.
Federation and the new nation
Sources: The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 (National Archives of Australia) · Australia (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
9 records
Africa
- EGYColonisation
Egypt · 4 November 1902
Administrative line drawn for nomadic tribes on the Sudan border
The Egyptian Minister of the Interior activates an administrative boundary east of the Nile that departs from the 22nd parallel so as to keep tribal areas together: the Ababda under Egyptian administration, the Bisharin under Sudanese. Egypt describes such arrangements as provisional; the 22nd parallel remained the international boundary.
Ottoman Rule, Muhammad Ali and British Occupation
Sources: International Boundary Study No. 18: Egypt (United Arab Republic) – Sudan Boundary (1962) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Geographer (via FSU College of Law)) · Egypt: Declaration to the UN Secretary-General (4 May 2017) (UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea)
- GMBColonisation
Colony and Protectorate established
Britain organised its possession into the Colony of the Gambia, centred on Bathurst, and a larger inland Protectorate governed indirectly through local chiefs, completing the colonial framework.
The British colony and the river enclave
Sources: History of the Gambia (Wikipedia) · The Gambia (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kingdom of Niumi (Wikipedia)
- GHAColonisation
Asante annexed and Northern Territories added
Following the War of the Golden Stool, Britain annexed the Asante kingdom and established a protectorate over the Northern Territories, completing the colonial framework of the Gold Coast.
The British Gold Coast colony
Sources: Ghana (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Anglo-Ashanti Wars (1823–1900) (BlackPast.org)
- MRTColonisation
Coppolani's pacification campaign begins
Xavier Coppolani launches France's drive to extend control over Mauritania, combining alliances with marabout tribes and military pressure on the emirates.
French Conquest and Pacification
Sources: Mauritania (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Mauritania (Wikipedia)
- ZAFPolitics & Power
South Africa · 31 May 1902
Treaty of Vereeniging
The peace signed at Pretoria ended the South African War, bringing the Transvaal and Orange Free State under British sovereignty with promises of eventual self-government.
Diamonds, gold, the South African War and Union
Sources: Treaty of Vereeniging (Wikipedia) · South African War (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SDNColonisation
Sudan · 4 November 1902
An administrative line departs from the 22nd parallel
A decree of the Egyptian Minister of the Interior, following an arrete of 25 July 1902, sets an administrative boundary in the east to facilitate the administration of nomadic tribes: the Bisharin under Sudanese administration and the Ababda under Egyptian administration. It leaves an area north of the parallel by the Red Sea administered by Sudan and an area south of it administered by Egypt; the international boundary remains the 22nd parallel. The difference between the two lines leaves the Halaib area, about 20,580 square kilometres on the Red Sea coast, and the landlocked Bir Tawil, about 2,060 square kilometres, which in practice neither state claims.
Independence and the Long Civil Wars
Sources: International Boundary Study No. 18: Egypt (United Arab Republic) – Sudan Boundary (1962) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Geographer (via FSU College of Law)) · Egypt: Declaration to the UN Secretary-General (4 May 2017) (UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea) · The Egypt-Sudan Border Dispute (WorldAtlas) · Creating the Kingdom of North Sudan (11 May 2015) (Al Jazeera)
Asia
- SAUWar & Rupture
Saudi Arabia · January 1902
Abdulaziz captures Riyadh
Returning from exile, Abdulaziz ibn Saud and a small force seized the Masmak fortress in Riyadh from the Al Rashid, launching the campaign to rebuild the Saudi state.
Unification and the Founding of the Kingdom (1902-1932)
Sources: Battle of Riyadh (1902) (Wikipedia) · Ibn Saud: Biography, History, Children, and Facts (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CUBFormation
Cuba · 20 May 1902
Republic of Cuba proclaimed
The United States ends its occupation and the Republic of Cuba is installed under Tomas Estrada Palma, its first president.
The Republic: Occupation, Platt, Machado, and Batista
Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Cuba (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Tomas Estrada Palma (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Oceania
- AUSPolitics & Power
Women win the federal vote
The Commonwealth Franchise Act gave most (non-Aboriginal) women the right to vote and to stand for the federal parliament, making Australia one of the first nations to enfranchise women nationally.
Federation and the new nation
Sources: Australia (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Defining Moments: Federation (National Museum of Australia)
10 records
Africa
- NGAColonisation
Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate
Frederick Lugard's forces defeated the Sokoto army in March 1903; the last independent sultan, Attahiru I, was killed at Burmi in July, ending the caliphate's independence and bringing the north under British control.
British conquest, amalgamation and colonial Nigeria
Sources: Muhammadu Attahiru I (Wikipedia) · Nigeria (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SYCPolitics & Power
Seychelles · 31 August 1903
Separate Crown Colony
Seychelles was detached from Mauritius and constituted as a British Crown Colony in its own right.
British Rule and Emancipation
Sources: History of Seychelles (Wikipedia) · Background Note: Seychelles (U.S. Department of State (archived))
Europe
- BGRPolitics & Power
Diplomatic relations with the United States
The United States established diplomatic relations with Bulgaria in 1903, the first US diplomatic agent presenting his credentials in Sofia on 19 September of that year.
San Stefano, Berlin and the Making of Modern Bulgaria
Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Bulgaria (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
- MDACatastrophe
Moldova · April 1903
Kishinev pogrom
A violent anti-Jewish pogrom in the provincial capital Kishinev (Chisinau) drew international condemnation and became a notorious symbol of the persecution of Jews in the late Russian Empire.
Russian Bessarabia
Sources: Bessarabia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Moldova: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- MKDWar & Rupture
North Macedonia · 2 Aug 1903
The Ilinden Uprising
On St Elijah's Day IMRO launched the Ilinden Uprising against Ottoman rule; though quickly crushed amid severe reprisals, it became a founding event of Macedonian national identity.
Ottoman Rule and the Macedonian Question
Sources: Ilinden Uprising in Macedonia (EBSCO Research Starters) · Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- MKDFormation
North Macedonia · Aug 1903
The Kruševo Republic
During the uprising the insurgents proclaimed a short-lived republic in the town of Kruševo, which the Ottoman army overran after about ten days.
Ottoman Rule and the Macedonian Question
Sources: Ilinden Uprising in Macedonia (EBSCO Research Starters)
North America
- PANPolitics & Power
Panama · 18 Nov 1903
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
The treaty grants the United States a Canal Zone across the isthmus in perpetuity and guarantees Panama's independence.
The Canal and the Zone
Sources: Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
- PANIndependence
Panama · 3 Nov 1903
Separation from Colombia
With U.S. backing, Panama declares independence from Colombia and is swiftly recognised by the United States.
The Canal and the Zone
Sources: The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
South America
- COLPolitics & Power
Colombia · 3 Nov 1903
Separation of Panama
Backed by U.S. warships, Panama secedes after Colombia rejects the canal treaty; the United States recognises it and secures the canal zone.
Partisan Wars and the Loss of Panama
Sources: The Panama Canal and Panamanian Independence, 1903 (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · The War of a Thousand Days (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- URYPolitics & Power
Uruguay · 1903 CE
Batlle y Ordonez becomes president
Jose Batlle y Ordonez of the Colorado Party wins the presidency, beginning the reform era that would make Uruguay an early welfare-state democracy.
Batlle y Ordonez and the Model Country
Sources: Jose Batlle y Ordonez (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Uruguay (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
10 records
Africa
- AGOWar & Rupture
Battle of the Cunene
Heavy fighting against the Kwanhama (Ovambo) in the south marked the violent and protracted character of the Portuguese conquest of Angola's interior frontier.
The slow conquest of the interior
Sources: History of Angola (Wikipedia) · Angola — Colonialism, Independence, Civil War (history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- CODPolitics & Power
The Casement Report
British consul Roger Casement publishes a report documenting atrocities; E. D. Morel's Congo Reform Association amplifies the outcry.
The Congo Free State
Sources: Casement Report (1904) (Wikipedia) · Congo Free State (Wikipedia)
- CIVColonisation
Côte d'Ivoire joins French West Africa
The colony became a constituent territory of the Federation of French West Africa, governed from Dakar, and was developed as a source of cocoa, coffee, and timber for the metropole.
Colony, forced labour, and the road to independence
Sources: History of Ivory Coast (Wikipedia) · Background Notes: Cote d'Ivoire (U.S. Department of State)
- MRTColonisation
Mauritania organised within French West Africa
The territory is formally constituted as the civil territory of Mauritania within French West Africa.
French Conquest and Pacification
Sources: History of Mauritania (Wikipedia) · Mauritania (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- NAMWar & Rupture
Namibia · 11 August 1904
Battle of Waterberg
German forces under Lothar von Trotha defeated the main Herero force at Waterberg and drove the survivors into the Omaheke desert, where thousands, including women and children, died of thirst.
German South West Africa and the genocide of the Herero and Nama
Sources: Herero and Nama genocide (Wikipedia) · German-Herero conflict of 1904–07 (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Massacre of the Herero and Nama: A colonial laboratory for genocide? (EHNE (Encyclopédie d'histoire numérique de l'Europe))
- NAMWar & Rupture
Namibia · 12 January 1904
The Herero uprising begins
Herero forces under paramount chief Samuel Maharero rose against German colonial rule, killing more than a hundred settlers and triggering a brutal German military response.
German South West Africa and the genocide of the Herero and Nama
Sources: Herero and Nama genocide (Wikipedia) · German-Herero conflict of 1904–07 (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Timeline of the German and Herero, Nama War and Genocide (South African History Online)
- NAMWar & Rupture
Namibia · 2 October 1904
Von Trotha's extermination order
Von Trotha issued the Vernichtungsbefehl, ordering that every Herero within the colony, armed or not, be shot; a second order against the Nama followed in April 1905, opening a war of extermination.
German South West Africa and the genocide of the Herero and Nama
Sources: Herero and Nama genocide (Wikipedia) · Commemorating the Genocide of the Herero and Nama (Federal Government of Germany) · The Massacre of the Herero and Nama: A colonial laboratory for genocide? (EHNE (Encyclopédie d'histoire numérique de l'Europe))
Asia
- JPNWar & Rupture
Europe
- ISLIndependence
Home Rule
Iceland gained Home Rule, with an Icelandic minister resident in Reykjavík and answerable to the Althing, a major step toward full self-government.
National Awakening, Home Rule and Sovereignty
Sources: History of Iceland, 1840s to the Second World War (nordics.info (Aarhus University))
South America
- BOLPolitics & Power
Bolivia · 1904 CE
Treaty confirms the loss of the coast
A treaty between Bolivia and Chile formally cedes the Pacific coast to Chile, fixing Bolivia's landlocked status and a lasting national grievance.
Lost Wars, the Sea, and the Tin Republic
Sources: War of the Pacific (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Bolivia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Bolivia: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)
14 records
Africa
- MRTWar & Rupture
Assassination of Coppolani
Xavier Coppolani is killed at Tidjikja, a setback to the French advance, though the conquest of the interior continues afterward.
French Conquest and Pacification
Sources: History of Mauritania (Wikipedia) · Mauritania (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- NAMCatastrophe
Namibia · 1905–1908
Shark Island and the concentration camps
Herero and Nama survivors were imprisoned in concentration camps, most notoriously on Shark Island at Lüderitz, where up to 80 percent of prisoners died; by 1908 tens of thousands of Herero and Nama had perished in what is widely called the first genocide of the twentieth century.
German South West Africa and the genocide of the Herero and Nama
Sources: Herero and Nama genocide (Wikipedia) · Shark Island concentration camp (Wikipedia) · Herero Genocide in Namibia (Montreal Holocaust Museum) · Commemorating the Genocide of the Herero and Nama (Federal Government of Germany)
- STPEconomy & Trade
São Tomé and Príncipe · c. 1905–1908
World's largest cocoa producer
Worked by the roças and their contract labourers, São Tomé became for a time the world's leading producer of cocoa.
Cocoa, the roças and the 'cocoa slavery' scandal
Sources: History of São Tomé and Príncipe (Wikipedia) · Sugar, Cocoa, and Slavery in Portuguese Colonial Africa (Chocolate Class (Harvard University course site)) · The Serviçais — Plantation Contract Workers (São Tomé Expert)
- TZAWar & Rupture
Tanzania · 1905–1907
Maji Maji rebellion
Inspired by the prophet Kinjikitile Ngwale, southern peoples rise against German rule, forced labour and cotton-growing; the revolt spreads widely before being crushed.
German East Africa and the British Mandate
Sources: Maji Maji (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Maji Maji Rebellion (Wikipedia) · Maji Maji Uprising (1905–1907) (BlackPast.org)
Asia
- BGDPolitics & Power
First Partition of Bengal
Viceroy Lord Curzon divides Bengal into a Muslim-majority east (capital Dacca) and a Hindu-majority west, sparking the Swadeshi movement; the partition is annulled in 1911.
British Conquest and Colonial Bengal
Sources: Partition of Bengal (1905) (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- KORColonisation
South Korea · 1905 CE
Korea made a Japanese protectorate
After defeating Russia, Japan imposes a protectorate treaty stripping Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty, a prelude to full annexation.
The Joseon Dynasty
Sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Korea (history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- FRAPolitics & Power
- MNEPolitics & Power
First Montenegrin constitution
Prince Nikola I granted Montenegro its first constitution, establishing an assembly and modern institutions as the principality consolidated its recognised statehood.
Secular Principality, the Congress of Berlin and the Kingdom
Sources: Nicholas I, king of Montenegro (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Montenegro: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- NORIndependence
Norway · 7 Jun 1905
Dissolution of the union with Sweden
The Storting declared the union with Sweden dissolved; confirmed by referendum and settled peacefully at Karlstad, it made Norway a fully sovereign state for the first time in centuries.
Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War
Sources: Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905 (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Haakon VII (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- NORPolitics & Power
Norway · 18 Nov 1905
Election of King Haakon VII
After the plebiscite, the Storting unanimously elected Prince Carl of Denmark as king; he took the name Haakon VII, renamed his son Alexander Olav, took the motto 'All for Norway' and arrived with his family on 25 November, founding the modern Norwegian royal house.
Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War
Sources: Haakon VII (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kongevalget i 1905 (Store norske leksikon)
- NORPolitics & Power
Norway · 12–13 Nov 1905
Plebiscite on offering the throne to Prince Carl
Prince Carl of Denmark had insisted on a plebiscite so as not to come to Norway as a party king; after Fridtjof Nansen persuaded him to drop the demand, the government held one anyway. On a turnout of 75.3 per cent, 78.9 per cent, almost 260,000 voters against just over 69,000, approved offering him the throne.
Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War
Sources: Kongevalget i 1905 (Store norske leksikon) · Folkeavstemningen om monarki i 1905 (Norgeshistorie, University of Oslo)
- NORIndependence
Norway · 13 Aug 1905
Referendum on the dissolution of the union
Held because Sweden made a referendum one of its conditions for accepting the dissolution, the vote confirmed the Storting's decision of 7 June by 368,208 votes to 184.
Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War
Sources: Norges historie fra 1815 til 1905 (Store norske leksikon)
- RUSPolitics & Power
The Revolution of 1905
Defeat by Japan and the 'Bloody Sunday' shooting of demonstrators spark strikes, mutinies, and unrest across the empire, forcing Nicholas II to grant a parliament (Duma) and limited civil liberties in the October Manifesto.
The Russian Empire: Peter, Catherine, and the Romanov Zenith
Sources: Russia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Russian Revolution (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SWEIndependence
Peaceful dissolution of the union with Norway
After Norway's parliament declared the union dissolved, Sweden agreed at Karlstad to a peaceful separation, recognising Norwegian independence without war in a settlement held up as a diplomatic model.
Loss of Finland, Union with Norway and the Birth of Neutrality
Sources: Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
12 records
Africa
- SWZColonisation
Eswatini · December 1906
A High Commission Territory
After the Second Boer War, control of Swaziland passes from the Transvaal governor to the High Commissioner for South Africa, making it a High Commission Territory under direct British oversight.
The Concessions Era and Foreign Control
Sources: Eswatini — Colonial administration (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Eswatini (Wikipedia) · Eswatini History (FamilySearch)
- STPEconomy & Trade
Nevinson exposes 'A Modern Slavery'
The journalist Henry Nevinson published A Modern Slavery, exposing the serviçal contract-labour system as forced labour, with around one in five workers dying each year.
Cocoa, the roças and the 'cocoa slavery' scandal
Sources: Sugar, Cocoa, and Slavery in Portuguese Colonial Africa (Chocolate Class (Harvard University course site)) · The Serviçais — Plantation Contract Workers (São Tomé Expert)
- TZACatastrophe
Tanzania · 1906–1907
Scorched earth and the Great Hunger
German forces suppress the rebellion by destroying crops and villages; the ensuing famine kills tens to hundreds of thousands of people, a catastrophe scholars term genocidal.
German East Africa and the British Mandate
Sources: Maji Maji Rebellion (Wikipedia) · Maji Maji Uprising (1905–1907) (BlackPast.org)
Asia
- BRNColonisation
British Residency system imposed
A supplementary agreement installs a British Resident to advise the sultan on all matters but Malay custom and Islam; in practice the Resident comes to run the administration.
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)
- IRNPolitics & Power
Iran · 1906 CE
Persian Constitutional Revolution
After mass protests, Mozaffar al-Din Shah grants a constitution and the first Majles (parliament), a pioneering experiment in constitutional government in the Middle East.
The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs
Sources: Persian Constitutional Revolution (Wikipedia) · Iran — history (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- PAKPolitics & Power
Founding of the All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League is founded to represent the political interests of India's Muslims; it would become the engine of the Pakistan Movement.
The British Raj and the Pakistan Movement
Sources: Pakistan: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division) · Mohammed Ali Jinnah (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Europe
- BLRCulture & Ideas
Belarus · 1906-1916
Nasha Niva and the national awakening
The newspaper Nasha Niva, published in Vilnius from 1906, became the platform of the Belarusian national revival, carrying the early work of the poets Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas.
The Commonwealth, Partition and the Russian Empire
Sources: Yanka Kupala (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Belarus (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- FINPolitics & Power
A modern parliament and votes for women
Finland adopted a unicameral parliament elected by universal suffrage, becoming the first country in Europe to grant women the right to vote and to stand for election.
The Grand Duchy of Finland under the Russian Empire
Sources: History of Finland (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SMRPolitics & Power
San Marino · 10 Jun 1906
First modern democratic elections
Following the Arengo vote, San Marino held its first modern democratic elections on 10 June 1906, ending centuries of oligarchic rule by co-opted councillors.
The Arengo, Fascism and the World Wars
Sources: Anniversary of the Arengo (1906 democratic reform) (Office Holidays)
- SMRPolitics & Power
San Marino · 25 Mar 1906
The Arengo and the end of oligarchy
Summoned for the first time in three centuries, the Arengo of household heads voted on 25 March 1906 to abolish lifelong co-option of councillors, opening the way to democracy.
The Arengo, Fascism and the World Wars
Sources: Anniversary of the Arengo (1906 democratic reform) (Office Holidays)
Oceania
- PNGColonisation
Australia takes over Papua
Following the Papua Act of 1905, British New Guinea became the Australian Territory of Papua, and formal Australian administration began in 1906.
European contact and colonial partition
Sources: Papua New Guinea — The colonial period (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Administration of Papua (Parliamentary Education Office (Australia))
- VUTColonisation
Anglo-French Condominium established
Britain and France agreed to govern the New Hebrides jointly, creating a famously duplicated administration with two of nearly everything.
The Anglo-French Condominium
Sources: Vanuatu — History (Melanesian, Colonization, Independence) (Encyclopædia Britannica) · U.S. Relations With Vanuatu (U.S. Department of State)
4 records
Africa
- MWIColonisation
The protectorate renamed Nyasaland
The British Central Africa Protectorate was renamed the Nyasaland Protectorate, the name by which the territory would be known until independence.
Protectorate, Nyasaland and the Chilembwe rising
Sources: British Central Africa Protectorate (Wikipedia) · Malawi (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Asia
- BTNFormation
Bhutan · 17 Dec 1907
Ugyen Wangchuck crowned first king
An assembly at Punakha Dzong unanimously elects Ugyen Wangchuck, penlop of Tongsa, as the first hereditary Druk Gyalpo, ending the dual system and founding the Wangchuck dynasty.
Founding of the Wangchuck Monarchy
Sources: Bhutan — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)
- THAPolitics & Power
Battambang and Siem Reap ceded to France
Under continued French pressure, Chulalongkorn surrenders the Cambodian provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap to French-ruled Cambodia.
Siam's Survival: Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, and the Imperial Century
Sources: Thailand: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)
Oceania
- NZLPolitics & Power
New Zealand · 26 September 1907
New Zealand becomes a Dominion
New Zealand's status was raised from colony to Dominion within the British Empire, a symbolic advance toward nationhood that left its close ties to Britain largely intact.
Colony, women's suffrage, and Dominion
Sources: Statute of Westminster enacted (NZ History (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage)) · New Zealand (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
12 records
Africa
- COMColonisation
Annexation and administration via Madagascar
The islands are formally brought under French possession and attached to the colony of Madagascar; the last sultan relinquishes power by 1912.
French Colonisation
Sources: History of the Comoros (Wikipedia) · Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Said Ali bin Said Omar of Grande Comore (Wikipedia)
- CODColonisation
Belgian Congo established
The colony is administered by Belgium for half a century, its economy built on Katangan copper and other minerals.
Belgian Congo & Independence
Sources: Congo Free State (Wikipedia) · Congo, Democratic Republic of the (CIA World Factbook)
- CODColonisation
DR Congo · 15 Nov 1908
Belgium annexes the Belgian Congo
Under international pressure, Belgium takes the territory from Leopold II, ending the Free State and creating the Belgian Congo colony.
The Congo Free State
Sources: Congo Free State (Wikipedia) · Congo Free State (1885–1908) (BlackPast.org)
Asia
- IDNPolitics & Power
Founding of Budi Utomo
The cultural society Budi Utomo is founded, widely regarded as the start of organised Indonesian nationalism and the National Awakening.
The Dutch East Indies and the National Awakening
Sources: Indonesian National Awakening (Wikipedia) · Indonesia (toward independence; Japanese occupation; after Suharto) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- IRNEconomy & Trade
Iran · 1908 CE
Discovery of oil
Oil is struck in south-western Iran, making the country a strategic prize and tying its economy to foreign-controlled concessions for decades to come.
The Qajars, Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Shahs
Sources: Iran — history (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- JOREconomy & Trade
The Hejaz Railway crosses the plateau
The Ottomans completed the Hejaz Railway through the territory, linking Damascus toward the holy cities and binding the region more tightly to the empire on the eve of the Arab Revolt.
Islam, the Caliphates and Four Centuries of Ottoman Rule
Sources: Jordan: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division) · Great Arab Revolt Begins (EBSCO Research Starters)
- TURPolitics & Power
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk movement forced Sultan Abdülhamid II to restore the constitution, ushering in a turbulent constitutional era dominated by the Committee of Union and Progress.
The Ottoman Empire: Height and Decline
Sources: Ottoman Empire (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Kemal Atatürk (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Europe
- BELColonisation
Annexation of the Congo by Belgium
Under international pressure over the atrocities, Leopold II was forced to cede his private colony to the Belgian state, which took it over as the Belgian Congo.
Leopold II, the Congo, and the Curiosities of the Border
Sources: Belgian Congo (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Congo Free State (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- BIHPolitics & Power
Annexation by Austria-Hungary
Vienna formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering a European diplomatic crisis and inflaming South Slav nationalist opposition to Habsburg rule.
Habsburg Rule, Sarajevo 1914 and the Yugoslav Kingdom
Sources: Bosnia and Herzegovina: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Lumen Learning, History of Western Civilization II)
- BGRIndependence
Bulgaria · 22 Sep 1908
Proclamation of independence
Prince Ferdinand proclaimed Bulgaria's full independence at Tarnovo and took the title of tsar, ending Ottoman suzerainty; the United States recognised the kingdom's independence in 1909.
San Stefano, Berlin and the Making of Modern Bulgaria
Sources: About Bulgaria: History (Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria (gov.bg)) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Bulgaria (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)
North America
- TTOEconomy & Trade
Commercial oil production begins
The first commercial oil flowed near the Pitch Lake at La Brea, beginning the petroleum industry that would dominate Trinidad and Tobago's economy for over a century.
Indenture, oil, and one colony
Sources: Historical Facts on the Petroleum Industry of Trinidad and Tobago (Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, Trinidad and Tobago) · Trinidad and Tobago: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
South America
- VENPolitics & Power
Venezuela · 1908-1935
The dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gomez
Gomez seizes power in 1908 and rules until 1935, presiding over the rise of the oil industry while suppressing opposition.
Caudillos, the Federal War and the Rise of Oil
Sources: Venezuela: A Country Study (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division) · Venezuela (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
2 records
Africa
- STPEconomy & Trade
Cadbury and the cocoa boycott
After Joseph Burtt's report confirmed the abuses, the chocolate firms Cadbury, Fry and Rowntree announced a boycott of São Tomé cocoa, an international scandal that shamed Portugal but left coerced labour largely intact.
Cocoa, the roças and the 'cocoa slavery' scandal
Sources: Sugar, Cocoa, and Slavery in Portuguese Colonial Africa (Chocolate Class (Harvard University course site)) · The Serviçais — Plantation Contract Workers (São Tomé Expert)
Asia
- THAPolitics & Power
Northern Malay states ceded to Britain
Siam relinquishes its claims to the Malay states of Kelantan, Trengganu, Kedah, and Perlis to Britain, in exchange for legal jurisdiction over British subjects on its soil and a large loan for railway construction. Much diminished, Siam remains independent as a buffer between British and French territory.
Siam's Survival: Mongkut, Chulalongkorn, and the Imperial Century
Sources: Thailand: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)