Language/French/Culture/Gabon-Timeline
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Historical Timeline for Gabon - A chronology of key events
Prehistory, protohistory[edit | edit source]
−400,000 years | cut stones found near Otoumbi, in the center of the country, attest to a settlement from this time. |
−12,000 years | axes and stone arrowheads dating from this period are found in the province of Moyen-Ogooué and in the south of the country. |
−8000 years | drawings engraved on rock, dating from this period, are found near Cape Lopez. |
−5000 years | The first pygmies populate the territory of present-day Gabon. |
Iron Age | iron metallurgy in Gabon, attested by traces found in several sites. |
eleventh century | Bantu migrations from the north. Little by little, the Bantus are numerically supplanting the pygmies. |
Before colonization[edit | edit source]
1472 | Portuguese sailors are the first Europeans to enter the Komo estuary. |
1480 | the Portuguese navigator Fernan Vaz explores the lagoon that today bears his name, south of the Ogooué delta. |
1600 | the Dutch build a fort on the island of Corisco which will be destroyed shortly after by the Mpongwè. |
1609 | shipwreck of the Mauritius, a ship of the Dutch East India Company off Cape Lopez. |
1698 | Dutch sailors destroy several Mpongwe villages in the Gabon estuary. |
1722 | Pirate Captain Bartholomew Roberts is killed by the English navy off Cape Lopez. |
The colonial era[edit | edit source]
1839 | Mpongwe leader Denis Rapontchombo authorizes the French to settle on the left bank of the Komo estuary. |
1841 | the "king" Louis Dowe in turn authorizes the French to settle on the right bank of the Estuary. |
1843 | construction of Fort-d'Aumale, the first permanent French settlement on the Komo estuary. |
1849 | Louis-Édouard Bouët-Willaumetz founded Libreville where he installed slaves freed from a slave ship. |
1862 | treaty establishing French sovereignty over Cape Lopez. |
1873 | Alfred Marche and the Marquis Victor de Compiègne attempt to ascend the course of the Ogooué. |
1875-1878 | first expedition of Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza in the Ogooué basin. |
1886 | Gabon becomes a French colony. |
1889 | the Woermann company exports the first okoumé ball to Hamburg. |
1896 | the Awandji take the post of Lastourville and kill the French administrator. |
1898 | concessionary companies are allocated vast territories which they put in regulated section. |
1899 | André Raponda-Walker is the first Gabonese ordained priest. |
1900 | establishment of the border between Gabon and Spanish Guinea. |
1900 | death in captivity, in Gabon, of Samory Touré. |
1903-1908 | Mitsogo revolt against the French establishment in Ngounié. |
1908 | pacification of Haut-Ivindo by Captain Fabiani who founds the post of Makokou. |
1911 | France cedes Woleu-Ntem to Germany, which links it to Cameroon. |
1911 | surrender of the leader of the Bakaya, Mavurulu, after several years of guerrilla warfare. |
1913 | Albert Schweitzer founds a hospital in Lambaréné. |
1913 | the mitsogo chief Mbombé dies in prison in Mouila. |
1914-1915 | fighting in Woleu-Ntem between Senegalese tirailleurs and German troops from Cameroon. |
1922 | Administrator Montespan signs a peace treaty with Chief Wongo, thus temporarily putting an end to the Awandji guerrillas. |
1925 | Haut-Ogooué is attached to Moyen-Congo. |
1929 | the surrender of Chief Wongo puts an end to the Awandji uprising in Ogooué-Lolo. |
1933 | Léon Mba is exiled in Oubangui-Chari. |
1940 | the colony of Gabon rallies to Free France after some fighting between Vichysts and Gaullists. |
1946 | Jean-Hilaire Aubame, founder of the Democratic and Social Union of Gabon, is the first Gabonese deputy to the French National Assembly. |
1946 | Haut-Ogooué is definitively attached to Gabon. |
1956 | Léon Mba is elected mayor of Libreville. |
1956 | drilling of the first oil well, in Ozouri, by the Société des Pétroles d'Afrique Équatoriale, future Elf-Gabon. |
1958 | Gabon becomes an autonomous state within the framework of the French Community. |
Since independence[edit | edit source]
1960 | the Republic of Gabon becomes an independent state. |
1961 | Léon Mba is elected President of the Republic. |
1962 | COMILOG (Compagnie Minière de l'Ogooué) begins mining manganese. |
1964 | failure of an attempted military coup against Léon Mba thanks to the intervention of French soldiers. |
1967 | death of Léon Mba. Albert-Bernard Bongo succeeds him as President of the Republic. |
1968 | President Bongo establishes a one-party regime. |
1970 | opening of the first buildings of the University of Libreville. |
1971 | assassination in Libreville of the opponent Germain Mba by two mercenaries. |
1973 | Albert-Bernard Bongo converts to Islam and becomes Omar Bongo. |
1975 | Gabon becomes a member of OPEC. |
1976 | construction of the sports stadiumde Libreville which hosts the first Central African Games. |
1977 | assassination of the Gabonese poet Ndouna Dépénaud. |
1977 | Omar Bongo launches a series of major works in Libreville. |
1977 | creation of the national company Air Gabon. |
1977 | summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Libreville. |
1978 | the Gabonese government expels thousands of Beninese nationals. |
1981 | foundation of MORENA (MOuvement de REdressement NAtional), an illegal opposition party. |
1981 | Gabon expels several thousand Cameroonian nationals. |
1981 | Omar Bongo is received by Ronald Reagan in Washington. |
1982 | official trip of Pope John Paul II to Gabon. |
1983 | François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic, on an official trip to Gabon. |
1983 | creation, in Libreville, of CICIBA (Center International des CIvilisations BAntoues). |
1985 | capital execution of Captain Alexandre Mandja Ngokouta in Libreville. |
1986 | inauguration of the Libreville-Franceville railway line (the Transgabonais). |
1990 | after a period of political turmoil, reestablishment of the multiparty system. |
1990 | French military intervention in Port-Gentil and Libreville to evacuate foreign nationals (Operation Requin). |
1993 | presidential election, Omar Bongo wins over Father Paul Mba Abessole. |
1994 | the devaluation of the CFA franc leads to an increase in the price of imported products and a drop in the purchasing power of Gabonese. |
1994 | Gabon leaves OPEC. |
1995 | Gabonese police deport thousands of "undocumented" foreigners. |
1996 | Father Paul Mba Abessole is elected mayor of Libreville. |
1996 | an Ebola virus disease epidemic kills several dozen people in Ogooué-Ivindo (village of Mayibout). |
1997 | Omar Bongo supports the return to power of Denis Sassou-Nguesso in Congo-Brazzaville. |
1998 | re-election of Omar Bongo as President of the Republic. |
2001 | Omar Bongo, Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Idriss Déby lose the lawsuit they brought before the French courts against the writer François-Xavier Verschave for "insulting a foreign head of state". |
2002 | Creation of 13 national parks |
2002 | Paul Mba Abessole becomes minister in charge of human rights under President Bongo. |
2005 | new electoral success without surprise of Omar Bongo Ondimba in the presidential election. |
2006 | liquidation of the national company Air Gabon, which has been struggling with financial difficulties for years. |
2007 | creation of the private company Gabon Airlines. |
2009 | death of Omar Bongo on June 7. |
2009 | election of Ali Bongo Ondimba, Minister of Defense and son of Omar Bongo Ondimba (August 30). |
2012 | co-organization of the 2012 African Cup of Nations |
2013 | liquidation of the company Gabon Airlines. |
2016 | re-election of Ali Bongo Ondimba |
2017 | organization of the 2017 African Cup of Nations |
Source[edit | edit source]
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