This is an abridged version of a lengthy chronology of Mali at ‘Timelines of Hisotry’, weblink below.
700s Region along what is now the border of Mali and Mauritania, which includes present day Mali, is dominated by the Ghana Empire.
c.1000 Islam introduced to region by north African Arab and Berber traders. Rise of the Malinke Kingdom of Mali, centered on the upper reaches of the Niger River. c.1200 Empire of Mali, which has grown rich on the trans-Saharan gold trade, dominates West Africa. Region now almost exclusively Muslim.
1312-1337 Timbuktu now a major center of Islamic culture under Mansa Musa.
c.1450-1591 Songhay Empire now dominates region, makes a base at Timbuktu. The city becomes a focal point for Islamic culture and an important trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route.
1493-1528 Songhay Empire at its peak under the leadership of Askia Muhammad.
1591 Songhay Empire defeated by Moroccan invasion.
1800s Fula and Toucouleur (Tukolor ) jihads spread across region. Various theocratic states formed.
1866 Beginning of the French conquest of Mali.
1880 The city of Timbuktu, later part of Mali, became part of the French colony of Upper Senegal.
1893 Timbuktu comes under French rule until Mali became independent in 1960.
1894 In Mali Touareg nomads first rebelled against the French and were bloodily suppresed.
1932 In Mali French colonial authorities planned a 2.47 million acre irrigation project to grow cotton and rice and to develop hydropower in the Mali desert. By 1982, only 6% of the region was developed. The World Bank took over in 1985 with some success in farming rice.
1946 France granted Malians French citizenship and limited self-rule.
1950s As France ceded independence to its West African colonies during the 1950s, the Touareg people and their ancestral lands were parceled out among the newly created nations of Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Chad.
1959 With French support, the French Sudan and Senegal formed the Federation of Mali. It became independent in June 1960. On Aug 20, 1960, Senegal broke from Mali federation and declared independence. On Sept Sep 22, 1960, Mali became an independent republic. Pres. Modibo Keita was elected the first president and introduced one-party rule.
1968 Nov 19, Gen’l. Moussa Traore (b.1936) began serving as the 2nd president of Mali after leading the military ouster of Pres. Modibo Keita. Traore ruled for 23 years.
1975 May 25, ECOWAS Treaty was signed. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was formed in Nigeria with 15 members that included: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
1980 Colonel Muammar Khaddafi of Libya recruited the nationless, disenfranchised Tuareg by implying that he would train them and provide weapons to fight for their independence from the Malian government. The rebels slowly realized that Khadaffi’s only intention was to use them in his own wars.
1982 The founding members of Tinariwen came together as a band, whilst they were in exile in Libya. They were deeply involved in the Touareg’s armed struggle.
1990 The “Second Tuareg Rebellion” broke out, a struggle to liberate a region in the north from the Malian government.
1991 Gen. Amadou Toumani Toure (‘ATT’) seized power in a coup. Prior to the period of French colonialism, each of 12 ethnic groups governed itself.
1992 The Republic of Mali proclaimed a new Constitution. Gen. Amadou Toumani Toure introduced multi-party democracy in Mali.
1994-2004 Gold production in Mali grew from 6.3 million tons to 39.3 million tons.
1996 The administration of Pres. Alpha Oumar Konare was privatizing and encouraging investment, foreign and domestic.
1996 The “Flame of Peace” ceremony, in which thousands of weapons were incinerated, marked a reconciliation between the Touareg nomads and the government. The annual “Festival in the Desert” music festival grew as an outshoot of this. It took place near Essakane, an oasis some 40 miles north-west of Timbuktu.
2002, May 12. Runoff elections were held. Retired Gen. Amadou Toumani Touré (‘ATT’) won 68% of the vote. The coalition candidate Siumaila Cisse, a wealthy former finance minister, conceded with 32%.
2004 US Special Forces began training local troops in Mauritania and Mali under a program called the Pan-Sahel Initiative. The program was renamed the Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative and taken over by Marines, who extended the training to Chad and Niger.
2005 The Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Initiative began operations in June. The US funded plan intended to provide military equipment and development aid to 9 north-east African countries considered fertile ground for Muslim militant groups. Participating countries included Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia. Meanwhile, Mali officials estimated that 4 million people faced starvation in Mali and Niger, due to drought and locusts from the previous year. 10% of the Mali’s population faced starvation.
2007 Apr 28, The 1st round of the Mali presidential election garnered a turnout of around 36%. Incumbent President Amadou Toumani Touré (59), one of 8 candidates, was widely expected to win a second term. General Touré and Soumaila Cisse, candidate for the ruling party Adema, faced each other for the 2nd round.
2008 Mar 20. Clashes began around Tinzaouatene, near the Algerian border, as insurgents attacked soldiers clearing mines in what the rebels feared was a prelude to a government offensive. Scores died in clashes in the months follwoing.
2008 Jul 18, In Algeria the government of Mali and ethnic Tuareg rebels reached a truce agreement in dangerous northern Mali. One faction of the Tuareg group refused to sign the deal, saying it did not do enough to help the Tuaregs.
2009 July. Dozens of people were killed during clashes in the Timbuktu region between the army and Al-Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) fighters.
2010 July. French-backed Mauritanian military operations against al Qaeda fighters in the Sahara desert wound up after four days of hunting Islamists deep inside Mali.
2011 Aug. Security sources said hundreds of armed Tuaregs from Mali and Niger who fought for toppled Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi have started to return to their home nations.
2011 Oct. Tuareg rebels met at a remote oasis near the Algerian border with deserters from the Malian army to found the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).
2011 Dec 6, Human Rights Watch said in a report that between 20,000 and 40,000 children work in artisanal gold mines in Mali, Africa’s third-largest producer of the precious metal.
2011 Dec 8, The UN’s World Food Program said meager rains and diminished harvests have left between five and seven million people in Africa’s Sahel region facing food shortages. The countries of Niger, Mauritania, Mali and Chad were worst hit.
2012 Jan 17. In eastern Mali, the MNLA launched its first attack. Rebel members under Col. Mahamed Ag Najim included former pro-Gadhafi fighters.
2012 Jan 31. Tuareg separatist rebels extended their reach, attacking a sixth town, Niafunke, in the country’s remote north.
2012 Feb 8. Tuareg rebels said they had seized control of Tinzawaten, a northeastern region, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged an end to the fighting amid growing global concern over the unrest.
2012 Feb 24. The UN said clashes between the army and Tuareg rebels in northern Mali have forced 126,400 people to flee their homes since mid-January.
2012 March 20. In northern Mali, Tuareg rebels fighting for autonomy claimed control of the country’s vast northeast, while also vowing to free dozens of prisoners.
2012 Mar 22. Rebel soldiers calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy seized control of Bamako overnight, citing the government’s “inability” to tackle terrorism and put down a Tuareg-led insurrection in the north. The coup sparked wide international condemnation and calls for reinstatement of the elected government of President Amadou Tomani Toure. Captain Amadou Sanogo declared a national curfew as the rebels announced all borders had been closed until further notice. The World Bank and the African Development Bank said they were suspending development aid to Mali.
Jan. 11, 2013 France begins an aerial bombing of northern Mali and launches a ground invasion with soldiers traveling from Ivory Coast.
