On his return voyage, the first explorer to sail from Europe to India, Vasco da Gama, passes Mogadishu. From the sea, the Portuguese fleet is impressed by the Somali city’s size, noting its five-story tall buildings, a large palace and several mosques with tall minarets.
The first stone is laid for the Dutch Cape Colony’s Castle of Good Hope in present-day Cape Town. After restoration in the 1980s, the bastion fort will become the best-preserved Dutch East India Company fort.
British forces engaged in the Napoleonic Wars with France land at Cape Town. The battle is for control of Cape Colony, run by Bavaria, a vassal state of France.
Beverly Page Yates concludes his second term as Liberia’s Vice President. Immigrating to Liberia from the U.S. as a young man, he is now a respected merchant, judge and shaper of societal institutions. He points to his success as evidence that Liberia is a land of opportunity for resettled African-Americans.
The Jameson Raid concludes against South Africa’s Transvaal Republic. The attack fails to incite an uprising by British residents of the Boer republic, but does set in motion events leading to the Second Matabele War, which will weaken the Transvaal Republic. This will contribute to the Transvaal’s subsequent defeat during the Second Anglo-Boer War.
The annual parade the Coon Carnival (later called Tweede Nuwe Jaar) is organised by the Green Point Cricket Club in Cape Town, South Africa. The city’s first minstrel troupe was founded in 1887, and informal celebrations have become tradition as colourful troupes commemorate this day - 2 January- when slaves were given the day off, before slavery was abolished in Cape Colony in 1834. The “Second New Year” parades feature flamboyant costumes, dance, music and song.
It’s the height of the summer tourism season in Durban, South Africa, and “Zulu Rickshaw Boys” have begun wearing elaborate headdresses to attract business along the beaches.
Morocco’s army begins an offense against Rif rebels. While suffering some costly defeats, Morocco is ultimately victorious. Through the remainder of the 20th century, the Rif region of the country is punished by Rabat with neglect and marginalisation.
Anwar Sadat is named Man of the Year by Time magazine for the year 1977. He is the second African to receive this designation following Haile Selassie in 1935.
After a long absence, in Cape Town, South Africa, the Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade returns. A new generation uses the annual event to celebrate the working class’ survival of slavery, then colonialism and finally apartheid. Colourful minstrel troupes perform traditional songs. The annual event was banned in 1977 as the apartheid regime sought to obliterate all non-white cultural practices.
Egypt's Grand Mufti has forbidden Muslims from trading in Bitcoin. He considers the virtual currency to be a variation on gambling prohibited in Islamic Shari. He also notes a security concern: “This currency is used directly to fund terrorists.”
The first Muslim woman to become a physician in North Africa, in Tunis, French Tunisia. She was a pioneer gynecologist who did progressive work in contraception and abortion access. After her long career and life, she died at age 101 in 2010. She became the first woman to appear on Tunisian currency, the 10-dinar note, in 2020.
South African rugby player, in Vereeniging, South Africa. He led the South African national team to an historic victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, an event made into the movie Invictus with American movie star Matt Damon playing Pienaar.
Malian puppeteer, in Bamako, Mali. From a family of puppeteers, he acts as custodian to traditional Bambara puppetry.
