The ruler of Egypt, Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil, returns to Cairo in triumph after defeating the Knight Templar at Acre, the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and winning victories over three Syrian cities. Thousands of Egyptians line the streets with lighted candles to celebrate the ultimate victor of the Crusades. Two centuries ago, in 1095, the Crusades began when European Christians invaded the Middle East seeking control of the Biblical Holy Land.
During the Invasion of Cape Colony by the British to take control of the Dutch-administered territory, several citizens from a new, far-away country, the United States of America, are fighting for the British. When fighting at Muizenberg Pass turns against the British, the Americans switch sides, and fight for the Dutch.
King Shaka of Zululand (South Africa) shows appreciation for medical treatment and gifts from some British adventurers by granting to "F. G. Farewell & Company entire and full possession in perpetuity (of land including) the port or harbour of Natal.” The land grant will form the nucleus of the white Natal settlement and eventual colony.
Petro V begins his 32-year reign over the Kingdom of Kongo. His rule will be a period of economic transformation as fortunes are made from the slave trade and agricultural commodities, led by peanuts. He will rebuild the capital São Salvador. Although put in power by colonial power Portugal, he will be given full command of the country in 1870.
Natal Colony, South Africa, is permitted by the British government to import indentured workers from India. The colony’s sugar plantations hire workers on three-year contracts. The workers will be mercilessly exploited until Britain is compelled to intervene.
The German colony of South West Africa (Namibia) is officially proclaimed with the raising of the German flag over the colony’s man town Lüderitzbucht (Lũdertiz).
After the Sultan of Zanzibar protests Germany’s plan to colonise portions of East Africa, and declaring himself to be the ruler of both the island and the mainland, a German battleship arrives in Zanzibar and threatens to bombard the Sultan’s palace. The Sultan backs down, and Germany and Britain divide amongst themselves the mainland. These lands will become Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.
British and Egyptian soldiers capture the Sudanese settlement Abu Hamed from a garrison of rebels led by Mohammed Zain. The possession of Abu Hamed allows the British to complete a railway line through the Nubian Desert, which must pass through the town
Casablanca, Morocco is now rubble after two days of bombardment from French warships. All mosques and all business and residential neighbourhoods are destroyed. Thousands of Moroccans have died from bombs containing nitric acid gas. Rebels seeking to block France’s colonisation of the country are pushed out of the city.
Côte d’Ivoire achieves national independence, from France. The capital is Yamoussoukro. The national population is 3,504,000. (pic: President Félix Houphouët-Boigny)
General elections in Mauritius are held to determine the government when Independence from Britain is achieved next year. The elections are contested amid ethnic clashes between Chinese, Creole and Muslim clans. The overall winner is the Independence Party, formed last year as a coalition of three major political parties.
The War of Attrition between Egypt and Israel ends with a ceasefire agreement. Low-level aggression has been ongoing since the 1967 Six Day War. The war has seen no land change hands or altered the landscape militarily in any way.
The first black woman from sub-Saharan Africa to win a medal at an Olympics is Derartu Tulu. She also becomes the first Ethiopian woman to win an Olympic medal when she takes gold in the Women’s 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympic Games.
Two bombs explode simultaneously at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya (pic). 224 people are killed and 4,000 are injured, mostly Kenyans and Tanzanians. Truck bombs are exploded by the Islamic terror group al-Qaeda. The group's leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, will achieve world attention from these attacks, which are carried out by local members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Africa's largest multi-story indoor sports complex, named "The Dome," is officially opened in Swakopmund, Namibia by Namibian President Hage Geingob. Built in 2014, the complex spans over 7000m2 and has a five-story office block grafted onto the sports dome, which is covered by 14,000m2 of fabric.
Winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere, and in South Africa, preparations are underway for the start of next month's spring planting. Since democracy was established in South Africa in 1994, food production has nearly doubled. South Africa is the only African country among the world's Top 40 food producing nations (#32). The reasons are new farm technologies, better farming skills and growing market demand.
Kenyan paleontologist and anthropologist, in Kabete, East African Protectorate. His fossil discoveries with his wife and fellow paleontologist Mary Leakey in the Olduvai Valley offered essential evidence that humankind originated in East Africa.
Ethiopian runner and the first black African to earn an Olympic Games gold medal, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Famously running barefoot, he won the Men’s Marathon at the Summer Olympic Games in 1960. He repeated the feat by earning gold in the marathon at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games.
Kenyan independence leader and labour unionist, in Blasto Akumu, Nyanza Province, British Kenya. Angered by the exploitation of African workers during colonialism, he became a trade unionist noted for his skillful oratory. In 1973, he became the first Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity.
South African actress and the first African to win Hollywood’s Academy Award, in Benoni, South Africa. Her Oscar for Best Actress came for her role in the 2003 drama Monster. One of cinema’s highest-paid actresses, she has starred in box office action and fantasy hits, and has moved into filmmaking as a producer.
