History of Libya

Libya's history covers its rich mix of ethnic groups added to the indigenous Amazigh people Amazigh nomad tribes. Amazigh have been present throughout the entire history of the country, from Amazigh in Somalia to Timbuktu in Mali, since the era of Numidians. For most of its history, Libya has been subjected to varying degrees of scholar control, from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The modern history of independent Libya, as reflected in the many revolutions denoted under many moons began before Romantic time or Justinian scribing.
The history of Libya comprises six distinct perspectives: Ancient Libya, the Roman era, the Islamic era, Ottoman rule, Italian rule, and the Modern era.
Prehistoric and Berber Libya.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Sahara Desert, which now covers roughly 90% of Libya, was lush with green vegetation. It was home to lakes, forests, diverse wildlife and a temperate Mediterranean climate. Archaeological evidence indicates that the coastal plain was inhabited by Neolithic peoples from as early as 8000 BCE. These peoples were perhaps drawn by the climate, which enabled their culture to grow, subsisting on the domestication of cattle and the cultivation of crops.
Rock paintings at Wadi Mathendous and the mountainous region of Jebel Acacus are the best sources of information about prehistoric Libya, and the pastoralist culture that settled there. The paintings reveal that the Libyan Sahara contained rivers, grassy plateaus and an abundance of wildlife such as giraffes, elephants and crocodiles.
The onset of the Piora Oscillation's intense aridification resulted in the "green Sahara" rapidly transforming into the Sahara Desert. Dispersal in Africa from the Atlantic coast to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt seems to have followed, due to climatic changes which caused increasing desertification.
The African ancestors of the Berber people are assumed to have spread into the area by the Late Bronze Age. The earliest known name of such a tribe is that of the Garamantes, who were based in Germa, southern Libya. The Garamantes were a Saharan people of Berber origin who used an elaborate underground irrigation system; they were probably present as tribal people in the Fezzan by about 1000 BCE, and were a local power in the Sahara between 500 BCE and 500 CE. By the time of contact with the Phoenicians, the first of the Semitic civilizations to arrive in Libya from the East, the Lebu, Garamantes, Berbers and other tribes that lived in the Sahara were already well established.
Phoenician and Greek Libya.
The Phoenicians were some of the first to establish coastal trading posts in Libya, when the merchants of Tyre (in present-day Lebanon) developed commercial relations with the various Berber tribes and made treaties with them to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials. By the 5th century BCE, the greatest of the Phoenician colonies, Carthage, had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa, where a distinctive civilization, known as Punic, came into being. Punic settlements on the Libyan coast included Oea (later Tripoli), Libdah (later Leptis Magna) and Sabratha. These cities were in an area that was later called Tripolis, or "Three Cities", from which Libya's modern capital Tripoli takes its name.
In 630 BCE, the Ancient Greeks colonized Eastern Libya and founded the city of Cyrene. Within 200 years, four more important Greek cities were established in the area that became known as Cyrenaica: Barce (later Marj); Euhesperides (later Berenice, present-day Benghazi); Taucheira (later Arsinoe, present-day Taucheria); Balagrae (later Bayda and Beda Littoria under Italian occupation, present-day Bayda); and Apollonia (later Susa), the port of Cyrene. Together with Cyrene, they were known as the Pentapolis (Five Cities). Cyrene became one of the greatest intellectual and artistic centers of the Greek world, and was famous for its medical school, learned academies, and architecture. The Greeks of the Pentapolis resisted encroachments by the Ancient Egyptians from the East, as well as by the Carthaginians from the West.
Achaemenid Libya.
In 525 BCE the Persian army of Cambyses II overran Cyrenaica, which for the next two centuries remained under Persian or Egyptian rule. Alexander was greeted by the Greeks when he entered Cyrenaica in 331 BCE, and Eastern Libya again fell under the control of the Greeks, this time as part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. Later, a federation of the Pentapolis was formed that was customarily ruled by a king drawn from the Ptolemaic royal house.
Roman Libya.
After the fall of Carthage the Romans did not occupy immediately Tripolitania (the region around Tripoli), but left it under control of the Berber kings of Numidia, until the coastal cities asked and obtained its protection. Ptolemy Apion, the last Greek ruler, bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome, which formally annexed the region in 74 BCE and joined it to Crete as a Roman province. During the Roman civil wars Tripolitania (still not formally annexed) and Cyrenaica sustained Pompey and Marc Antony against respectively Caesar and Octavian. The Romans completed the conquest of the region under Augustus, occupying northern Fezzan ("Fasania") with Cornelius Balbus Minor. As part of the Africa Nova province, Tripolitania was prosperous, and reached a golden age in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when the city of Leptis Magna, home to the Severan dynasty, was at its height. On the other side, Cyrenaica's first Christian communities were established by the time of the Emperor Claudius but was heavily devastated during the Kitos War and almost depopulated of Greeks and Jews alike, and, although repopulated by Trajan with military colonies, from then started its decadence.
Regardless, for more than 400 years Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were part of a cosmopolitan state whose citizens shared a common language, legal system, and Roman identity. Roman ruins like those of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, extant in present-day Libya, attest to the vitality of the region, where populous cities and even smaller towns enjoyed the amenities of urban life—the forum, markets, public entertainments, and baths—found in every corner of the Roman Empire. Merchants and artisans from many parts of the Roman world established themselves in North Africa, but the character of the cities of Tripolitania remained decidedly Punic and, in Cyrenaica, Greek. Tripolitania was a major exporter of olive oil, as well as a center for the trade of ivory and wild animals conveyed to the coast by the Garamantes, while Cyrenaica remained an important source of wines, drugs, and horses. The bulk of the population in the countryside consisted of Berber farmers, who in the west were thoroughly "romanized" in language and customs. Until the 10th century the African Romance remained in use in some Tripolitanian areas, mainly near the Tunisian border.
The decline of the Roman Empire saw the classical cities fall into ruin, a process hastened by the Vandals' destructive sweep though North Africa in the 5th century. The region's prosperity had shrunk under Vandal domination, and the old Roman political and social order, disrupted by the Vandals, could not be restored. In outlying areas neglected by the Vandals, the inhabitants had sought the protection of tribal chieftains and, having grown accustomed to their autonomy, resisted re-assimilation into the imperial system.
When the Empire returned (now as East Romans) as part of Justinian's reconquests of the 6th century, efforts were made to strengthen the old cities, but it was only a last gasp before they collapsed into disuse. Cyrenaica, which had remained an outpost of the Byzantine Empire during the Vandal period, also took on the characteristics of an armed camp. Unpopular Byzantine governors imposed burdensome taxation to meet military costs, while the towns and public services—including the water system—were left to decay. Byzantine rule in Africa did prolong the Roman ideal of imperial unity there for another century and a half however, and prevented the ascendancy of the Berber nomads in the coastal region. By the beginning of the 7th century, Byzantine control over the region was weak, Berber rebellions were becoming more frequent, and there was little to oppose Muslim invasion.
Islamic Libya.
Tenuous Byzantine control over Libya was restricted to a few poorly defended coastal strongholds, and as such, the Arab horsemen who first crossed into the Pentapolis of Cyrenaica in September 643 CE encountered little resistance. Under the command of 'Amr ibn al-'As, the armies of Islam conquered Cyrenaica, and renamed the Pentapolis, Barqa. They took also Tripoli, but after destroying the Roman walls of the city and getting a tribute they withdrew. In 647 an army of 40,000 Arabs, led by Abdullah ibn Saad, the foster-brother of Caliph Uthman, penetrated deep into Western Libya and took Tripoli from the Byzantines definitively. From Barqa, the Fezzan (Libya's Southern region) was conquered by Uqba ibn Nafi in 663 and Berber resistance was overcome. During the following centuries Libya came under the rule of several Islamic dynasties, under various levels of autonomy from Ummayad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates of the time. Arab rule was easily imposed in the coastal farming areas and on the towns, which prospered again under Arab patronage. Townsmen valued the security that permitted them to practice their commerce and trade in peace, while the Punicized farmers recognized their affinity with the Semitic Arabs to whom they looked to protect their lands. In Cyrenaica, Monophysite adherents of the Coptic Church had welcomed the Muslim Arabs as liberators from Byzantine oppression. The Berber tribes of the hinterland accepted Islam, however they resisted Arab political rule.
For the next several decades, Libya was under the purview of the Ummayad Caliph of Damascus until the Abbasids overthrew the Ummayads in 750, and Libya came under the rule of Baghdad. When Caliph Harun al-Rashid appointed Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab as his governor of Ifriqiya in 800, Libya enjoyed considerable local autonomy under the Aghlabid dynasty. The Aghlabids were among the most attentive Islamic rulers of Libya; they brought about a measure of order to the region, and restored Roman irrigation systems, which brought prosperity to the area from the agricultural surplus. By the end of the 9th century, the Shiite Fatimids controlled Western Libya from their capital in Mahdia, before they ruled the entire region from their new capital of Cairo in 972 and appointed Bologhine ibn Ziri as governor. During Fatimid rule, Tripoli thrived on the trade in slaves and gold brought from the Sudan and on the sale of wool, leather, and salt shipped from its docks to Italy in exchange for wood and iron goods. Ibn Ziri's Berber Zirid dynasty ultimately broke away from the Shiite Fatimids, and recognised the Sunni Abbasids of Baghdad as rightful Caliphs. In retaliation, the Fatimids brought about the migration of thousands from two troublesome Arab Bedouin tribes, the Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal to North Africa. This act drastically altered the fabric of the Libyan countryside, and cemented the cultural and linguistic Arabisation of the region. Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.
Zirid rule in Tripolitania was short-lived though, and already in 1001 the Berbers of the Banu Khazrun broke away. Tripolitania remained under their control until 1146, when the region was overtaken by the Normans of Sicily. It was not until 1159 that the Moroccan Almohad leader Abd al-Mu'min reconquered Tripoli from European rule. For the next 50 years, Tripolitania was the scene of numerous battles between the Almohad rulers and insurgents of the Banu Ghaniya. Later, a general of the Almohads, Muhammad ibn Abu Hafs, ruled Libya from 1207 to 1221 before the later establishment of a Tunisian Hafsid dynasty independent from the Almohads. The Hafsids ruled Tripolitania for nearly 300 years, and established significant trade with the city-states of Europe. Hafsid rulers also encouraged art, literature, architecture and scholarship. Ahmad Zarruq was one of the most famous Islamic scholars to settle in Libya, and did so during this time. By the 16th century however, the Hafsids became increasingly caught up in the power struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Empire. After a successful invasion of Tripoli by Habsburg Spain in 1510, and its handover to the Knights of St. John, the Ottoman admiral Sinan Pasha finally took control of Libya in 1551.
Ottoman Libya.
After a successful invasion by the in the early 16th century, Charles V entrusted its defense to the Knights of St. John in Malta. Lured by the piracy that spread through the Maghreb coastline, adventurers such as Barbarossa and his successors consolidated Ottoman control in the central Maghreb. The Ottoman Turks conquered Tripoli in 1551 under the command of Sinan Pasha. In the next year his successor Turgut Reis was named the Bey of Tripoli and later Pasha of Tripoli in 1556. As Pasha, he adorned and built up Tripoli, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African coast. By 1565, administrative authority as regent in Tripoli was vested in a "pasha" appointed directly by the "sultan" in Constantinople. In the 1580s, the rulers of Fezzan gave their allegiance to the sultan, and although Ottoman authority was absent in Cyrenaica, a "bey" was stationed in Benghazi late in the next century to act as agent of the government in Tripoli.
In time, real power came to rest with the pasha's corps of janissaries, a self-governing military guild, and in time the pasha's role was reduced to that of ceremonial head of state. Mutinies and coups were frequent, and in 1611 the "deys" staged a coup against the pasha, and Dey Sulayman Safar was appointed as head of government. For the next hundred years, a series of "deys" effectively ruled Tripolitania, some for only a few weeks, and at various times the dey was also pasha-regent. The regency governed by the dey was autonomous in internal affairs and, although dependent on the sultan for fresh recruits to the corps of janissaries, his government was left to pursue a virtually independent foreign policy as well. The two most important Deys were Mehmed Saqizli (r. 1631–49) and Osman Saqizli (r. 1649–72), both also Pasha, who ruled effectively the region. The latter conquered also Cyrenaica.
Tripoli was the only city of size in Ottoman Libya (then known as Tripolitania Eyalet) at the end of the 17th century and had a population of about 30,000. The bulk of its residents were Moors, as city-dwelling Arabs were then known. Several hundred Turks and renegades formed a governing elite, a large portion of which were "kouloughlis" (lit. sons of servants—offspring of Turkish soldiers and Arab women); they identified with local interests and were respected by locals. Jews and Moriscos were active as merchants and craftsmen and a small number of European traders also frequented the city. European slaves and large numbers of enslaved blacks transported from Sudan were also a feature of everyday life in Tripoli. In 1551, Turgut Reis enslaved almost the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo, some 6,300 people, sending them to Libya. The most pronounced slavery activity involved the enslavement of black Africans who were brought via trans-Saharan trade routes. Even though the slave trade was officially abolished in Tripoli in 1853, in practice it continued until the 1890s.
Lacking direction from the Ottoman government, Tripoli lapsed into a period of military anarchy during which coup followed coup and few deys survived in office more than a year. One such coup was led by Turkish officer Ahmed Karamanli. The Karamanlis ruled from 1711 until 1835 mainly in Tripolitania, but had influence in Cyrenaica and Fezzan as well by the mid 18th century. Ahmed was a Janissary and popular cavalry officer. He murdered the Ottoman Dey of Tripolitania and seized the throne in 1711. After persuading Sultan Ahmed III to recognize him as governor, Ahmed established himself as pasha and made his post hereditary. Though Tripolitania continued to pay nominal tribute to the Ottoman padishah, it otherwise acted as an independent kingdom. Ahmed greatly expanded his city's economy, particularly through the employment of corsairs (pirates) on crucial Mediterranean shipping routes; nations that wished to protect their ships from the corsairs were forced to pay tribute to the pasha. Ahmad's successors proved to be less capable than himself, however, the region's delicate balance of power allowed the Karamanli to survive several dynastic crises without invasion. The Libyan Civil War of 1791–1795 occurred in those years. In 1793, Turkish officer Ali Benghul deposed Hamet Karamanli and briefly restored Tripolitania to Ottoman rule. However, Hamet's brother Yusuf (r. 1795–1832) reestablished Tripolitania's independence.
In the early 19th century war broke out between the United States and Tripolitania, and a series of battles ensued in what came to be known as the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War. By 1819, the various treaties of the Napoleonic Wars had forced the Barbary states to give up piracy almost entirely, and Tripolitania's economy began to crumble. As Yusuf weakened, factions sprung up around his three sons; though Yusuf abdicated in 1832 in favor of his son Ali II, civil war soon resulted. Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II sent in troops ostensibly to restore order, but instead deposed and exiled Ali II, marking the end of both the Karamanli dynasty and an independent Tripolitania. Anyway, order was not recovered easily, and the revolt of the Libyan under Abd-El-Gelil and Gûma ben Khalifa lasted until the death of the latter in 1858.
The second period of direct Ottoman rule saw administrative changes, and what seemed as greater order in the governance of the three provinces of Libya. It would not be long before the Scramble for Africa and European colonial interests set their eyes on the marginal Turkish provinces of Libya. Reunification came about through the unlikely route of an invasion (Italo-Turkish War, 1911–1912) and occupation starting from 1911 when Italy simultaneously turned the three regions into colonies.
Italian Libya.
From 1912 to 1927, the territory of Libya was known as Italian North Africa. From 1927 to 1934, the territory was split into two colonies, Italian Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitania, run by Italian governors. Some 150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting roughly 20% of the total population.
In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony (made up of the three provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan). Idris al-Mahdi as-Senussi (later King Idris I), Emir of Cyrenaica, led Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two world wars.
Ilan Pappé estimates that between 1928 and 1932 the Italian military "killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through disease and starvation in camps)." Italian historian Emilio Gentile sets to about 50,000 the number of victims of the repression.
In 1934, the political entity called "Libya" was created by governor Balbo with capital Tripoli. The Italians emphasized infrastructure improvements and public works. In particular, they hugely expanded Libyan railway and road networks from 1934 to 1940, building hundreds of kilometers of new roads and railways and encouraging the establishment of new industries and dozen of new agricultural villages.
During WW2, since June 1940 Libya was at the center of destructive fighting between the Axis and the British empire: the Allies conquered from Italy all of Libya only by February 1943.
From 1943 to 1951, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were under British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal of some aspects of foreign control in 1947. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.
Kingdom.
On 21 November 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before 1 January 1952. Idris represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. On 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence as the United Kingdom of Libya, a constitutional and hereditary monarchy under King Idris, Libya's only monarch.
1951 also saw the enactment of the first Libyan Constitution. The Libyan National Assembly drafted the Constitution and passed a resolution accepting it in a meeting held in the city of Benghazi on Sunday, 6th Muharram, Hegiras 1371: 7 October 1951. Mohamed Abulas’ad El-Alem, President of the National Assembly and the two Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly, Omar Faiek Shennib and Abu Baker Ahmed Abu Baker executed and submitted the Constitution to King Idris following which it was published in the Official Gazette of Libya.
The enactment of the Libyan Constitution was significant in that it was the first piece of legislation to formally entrench the rights of Libyan citizens following the post-war creation of the Libyan nation state. Following on from the intense UN debates during which Idris had argued that the creation of a single Libyan state would be of benefit to the regions of Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica, the Libyan government was keen to formulate a constitution which contained many of the entrenched rights common to European and North American nation states. Though not creating a secular state – Article 5 proclaims Islam the religion of the State – the Libyan Constitution did formally set out rights such as equality before the law as well as equal civil and political rights, equal opportunities, and an equal responsibility for public duties and obligations, "without distinction of religion, belief, race, language, wealth, kinship or political or social opinions" (Article 11).
During this period, Britain was involved in extensive engineering projects in Libya and was also the country's biggest supplier of arms. The United States also maintained the large Wheelus Air Base in Libya.
Arab Republic and "Jamahiriya".
On 1 September 1969, a small group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer Muammar Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, launching the Libyan Revolution. Gaddafi was referred to as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official Libyan press.
On the birthday of Muhammad in 1973, Gaddafi delivered a "Five-Point Address". He announced the suspension of all existing laws and the implementation of Sharia. He said that the country would be purged of the "politically sick". A "people's militia" would "protect the revolution". There would be an administrative revolution, and a cultural revolution. Gaddafi set up an extensive surveillance system. 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for the Revolutionary committees, which monitored place in government, in factories, and in the education sector. Gaddafi executed dissidents publicly and the executions were often rebroadcast on state television channels. Gaddafi employed his network of diplomats and recruits to assassinate dozens of critical refugees around the world. Amnesty International listed at least 25 assassinations between 1980 and 1987.
In 1977, Libya officially became the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya". Gaddafi officially passed power to the General People's Committees and henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead, but domestic and international critics claimed the reforms gave him virtually unlimited power. Dissidents against the new system were not tolerated, with punitive actions including capital punishment authorized by Gaddafi himself. The new "jamahiriya" governance structure he established was officially referred to as a form of direct democracy, though the government refused to publish election results. Later that same year, Libya and Egypt fought a four-day border war that came to be known as the Libyan-Egyptian War, both nations agreed to a ceasefire under the mediation of the Algerian president Houari Boumediène. In February 1977, Libya began to provide military supplies to Goukouni Oueddei and the People's Armed Forces in Chad. The Chadian–Libyan conflict began in earnest when Libya's support of rebel forces in northern Chad escalated into an invasion. Much of the country's income from oil, which soared in the 1970s, was spent on arms purchases and on sponsoring dozens of rebels groups around the world. An airstrike failed to kill Gaddafi in 1986. Libya was accused in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland and the 1989 bombing of UTA Flight 772 over Chad and Niger; Libya was finally put under United Nations sanctions in 1992. Gaddafi financed various other groups from anti-nuclear movements to Australian trade unions.
From 1977 onward, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa, while the Human Development Index became the highest in Africa and greater than that of Saudi Arabia. This was achieved without borrowing any foreign loans, keeping Libya debt-free. In addition, the country's literacy rate rose from 10% to 90%, life expectancy rose from 57 to 77 years, employment opportunities were established for migrant workers, and welfare systems were introduced that allowed access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing. The Great Manmade River was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country. In addition, financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs.
Gaddafi doubled the minimum wage, introduced statutory price controls, and implemented compulsory rent reductions of between 30 and 40%. Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the Revolutionary Women's Formation to encourage reform. In 1970, a law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity. In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation. In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage.
Gaddafi assumed the honorific title of "King of Kings of Africa" in 2008 as part of his campaign for a United States of Africa. By the early 2010s, in addition to attempting to assume a leadership role in the African Union, Libya was also viewed as having formed closer ties with Italy, one of its former colonial rulers, than any other country in the European Union. The eastern parts of the country have been "ruined" due to Gaddafi's economic theories, according to "The Economist".
2011 uprising and civil war.
After popular movements overturned the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt, its immediate neighbors to the west and east, Libya experienced a full-scale revolt beginning on 17 February 2011. By 20 February, the unrest had spread to Tripoli. In the early hours of 21 February 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, oldest son of Muammar Gaddafi, spoke on Libyan television of his fears that the country would fragment and be replaced by "15 Islamic fundamentalist emirates" if the uprising engulfed the entire state. He admitted that "mistakes had been made" in quelling recent protests and announced plans for a constitutional convention, but warned that the country's economic wealth and recent prosperity was at risk and warned of "rivers of blood" if the protests continued.
On 27 February 2011, the National Transitional Council was established under the stewardship of Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi's former justice minister, to administer the areas of Libya under rebel control. This marked the first serious effort to organize the broad-based opposition to the Gaddafi regime. While the council was based in Benghazi, it claimed Tripoli as its capital. Hafiz Ghoga, a human rights lawyer, later assumed the role of spokesman for the council. On 10 March 2011, France became the first state to officially recognise the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
By early March 2011, some parts of Libya had tipped out of Gaddafi's control, coming under the control of a coalition of opposition forces, including soldiers who decided to support the rebels. Eastern Libya, centred on the port city of Benghazi, was said to be firmly in the hands of the opposition, while Tripoli and its environs remained in dispute. Pro-Gaddafi forces were able to respond militarily to rebel pushes in Western Libya and launched a counterattack along the coast toward Benghazi, the "de facto" centre of the uprising. The town of Zawiya, from Tripoli, was bombarded by air force planes and army tanks and seized by Jamahiriya troops, "exercising a level of brutality not yet seen in the conflict."
In several public appearances, Gaddafi threatened to destroy the protest movement, and Al Jazeera and other agencies reported his government was arming pro-Gaddafi militiamen to kill protesters and defectors against the regime in Tripoli. Organs of the United Nations, including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemned the crackdown as violating international law, with the latter body expelling Libya outright in an unprecedented action urged by Libya's own delegation to the UN. The United States imposed economic sanctions against Libya, followed shortly by Australia, Canada and the United Nations Security Council, which also voted to refer Gaddafi and other government officials to the International Criminal Court for investigation.
On 17 March 2011 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 with a 10–0 vote and five abstentions. The resolution sanctioned the establishment of a no-fly zone and the use of "all means necessary" to protect civilians within Libya.
Shortly afterwards, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa stated that "Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations".
On 19 March, the first Allied act to secure the no-fly zone began when French military jets entered Libyan airspace on a reconnaissance mission heralding attacks on enemy targets. Allied military action to enforce the ceasefire commenced the same day when a French aircraft opened fire and destroyed a vehicle on the ground. French jets also destroyed five tanks belonging to the Gaddafi regime. The United States and United Kingdom launched attacks on over 20 "integrated air defense systems" using more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles during operations Odyssey Dawn and Ellamy.
On 27 June 2011, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, alleging that Gaddafi had been personally involved in planning and implementing "a policy of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and demonstrators and dissidents".
By 22 August 2011, rebel fighters had entered Tripoli and occupied Green Square, which they renamed to its original name, Martyrs' Square in honour of those killed during the Italian occupation. Meanwhile, Gaddafi asserted that he was still in Libya and would not concede power to the rebels.
On 16 September 2011, the U.N. General Assembly approved a request from the National Transitional Council to accredit envoys of the country's interim controlling body as Tripoli's sole representatives at the UN, effectively recognising the National Transitional Council as the legitimate holder of that country's UN seat.
The National Transitional Council had been plagued by internal divisions during its tenure as Libya's interim governing authority. It postponed the formation of a caretaker, or "interim" government on several occasions during the period prior to the death of Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte on 20 October 2011. Mustafa Abdul Jalil led the National Transitional Council and was generally considered to be the principal leadership figure. Mahmoud Jibril served as the NTC's "de facto" head of government from 5 March 2011 through the end of the war, but he announced he would resign after Libya was declared to have been "liberated" from Gaddafi's rule.
The "liberation" of Libya was celebrated on 23 October 2011, and Jibril announced that consultations were under way to form an interim government within one month, followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months and parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within a year after that. He stepped down as expected the same day and was succeeded by Ali Tarhouni. At least 30,000 Libyans died in the civil war.
Transition and 2014 Civil War.
After the Libyan Civil War, the National Transitional Council (NTC) has been responsible for the transition of the administration of the governing of Libya. The "liberation" of Libya was celebrated on 23 October 2011. Then Jibril announced that consultations were under way to form an interim government within one month, followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months and parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within a year after that. He stepped down as expected the same day and was succeeded by Ali Tarhouni.
On 24 November, Tarhouni was replaced by Abdurrahim El-Keib. El-Keib formed a provisional government, filling it with independent or CNT politicians, including women.
After the fall of Gaddhafi, Libya has been faced with internal struggles. A protest started against the new regime of NTC. The loyalists of Gaddhafi rebelled and fought with the new Libyan army.
Because the Constitutional Declaration allowed a multi-party system, the political parties, like Democratic Party, Party of Reform and Development, National Gathering for Freedom, Justice and Development appeared. The Islamist movement started. To stop it, the CNT (NTC) government denied power to parties based on religion, tribal and ethnic bases.
On 7 July 2012, Libyans voted in their first parliamentary elections since the end of Gaddafi's rule. The election, in which more than 100 political parties registered, formed an interim 200-member national assembly. This will replace the unelected National Transitional Council, name a prime minister, and form a committee to draft a constitution. The vote was postponed several times to resolve logistical and technical problems, and to give more time to register to vote, and to investigate candidates.
On 8 August 2012, the National Transitional Council officially handed power to the wholly elected General National Congress, which is tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a new Libyan Constitution to be approved in a general referendum.
On 25 August 2012, in what "appears to be the most blatant sectarian attack" since the end of the civil war, unnamed organized assailants bulldozed a Sufi mosque with graves, in broad daylight in the center of the Libyan capital Tripoli. It was the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days.
On 7 October 2012, Libya's Prime Minister-elect Mustafa A.G. Abushagur stepped down after failing a second time to win parliamentary approval for a new cabinet. On 14 October 2012, the General National Congress elected former GNC member and human rights lawyer Ali Zeidan as prime minister-designate.
Libyan Constitutional Assembly elections took place in Libya on 20 February 2014.
Ali Zidan was ousted by the parliament committee and fled from Libya on 14 March 2014 after rogue oil tanker Morning Glory left the rebel port of Sidra, Libya with Libyan oil that had been confiscated by the rebels. Ali Zeidan had promised to stop the departure, but failed.
On 30 March 2014 General National Congress voted to replace itself with new House of Representatives.
Abdullah al-Thani served as the prime minister since 11 March 2014 in interim capacity. He resigned on 13 April 2014, after he and his family were victims of a "traitorous attack" but continued to remain prime minister since there was no replacement. Ahmed Maiteeq was elected Prime Minister of Libya in May 2014 but his election as prime minister took place under disputed circumstances, Libyan Supreme Court ruled on 9 June that Maiteeq's appointment was illegal and Maiteeq resigned the same day.
, the parliament building was reported to heve been stormed by troops loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, reportedly including the Zintan Brigade, in what the Libyan government described as an attempted coup.
House of Representatives elections were held in Libya on 25 June 2014.
On 14 July, the United States Support Mission in Libya evacuated its staff after 13 people were killed in clashes in Tripoli and Benghazi. The fighting, between government forces and rival militia groups, also forced Tripoli International Airport to close. A militia, including members of the Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (LROR), tried to seize control of the airport from the Zintan militia, which has controlled it since Gaddafi was toppled. Both militias are believed to be on the official payroll. In addition Misrata Airport was closed, due to its dependence on Tripoli International Airport for its operations. Government spokesman, Ahmed Lamine, stated that approximately 90% of the planes stationed at Tripoli International Airport were destroyed or made inoperable in the attack, and that the government may make an appeal for international forces to assist in reestablishing security.


Olowo Rerengejen

Olowo Rerengejen was the traditional ruler of Owo Kingdom, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria. He was the King that married Queen Oronsen, the goddess that brought about Igogo festival.


Bugweri kingdom

Bugweri (sometimes called Bugweri Bufutulu) is one of the six traditional chiefdoms of the kingdom of Busoga in Uganda.
It was founded around 1726 and became a part of the British protectorate in Busoga in 1896. Its ruler is known as the Menya.


Tagwai Sambo

Tagwai Sambo (born December 24, 1936) is the monarch of Asholyio (Moroa) Chiefdom with headquarters at Manchok, a Nigerian traditional state in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. He is also known by the title "Chief of Moro'a (Asholyio)".
Life.
Sambo was born in Tsok (Manchok), Northern Region, British Nigeria (now Manchok, southern Kaduna State, Nigeria) on 24 December, 1936.
Kingship.
Sambo was appointed Chief of Moroa and Member of the Jema’a Native Authority and also became a member, Northern House of Chiefs (later known as Kaduna State Council of Chiefs) in 1966.
On the crises in the Southern Kaduna area, HRH Sambo in December 2016 said he hoped the Kaduna State governor would make a speech about the events if call for calm and dialogue in anticipation for peace.
Sambo became the founding chancellor of the Kaduna State University (KASU) when it was established and remained so from Saturday, January 1, 2005 not until March 11, 2020 when the state governor, Nasir Elrufai, appointed the deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, to replace him as the school's Chancellor just a week after his banishment from Kano.
References.


Valesius Skipton Gouldsbury

Valesius Skipton Gouldsbury (17 March 1839 – 11 November 1896) was a British surgeon, military officer, and colonial administrator. He served as Administrator of the Gambia from 1877 to 1884, and Administrator of Saint Lucia from 1891 to 1896.
Early life and education.
Gouldsbury was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1839. He studied at the Ledwich School of Medicine, and became a Licentiate of Medicine at Coombe Hospital in 1857. In 1862, he graduated with a doctorate in medicine without honours from the Queen's University of Ireland, and was admitted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in the same year.
Military career.
Gouldsbury was appointed as a Staff Assistant Surgeon on 30 September 1863. He served in the Anglo-Ashante Wars in the Gold Coast from 1873 to 1874 and was presented with a sword by the Secretary of State for the Colonies for his conduct. He was promoted to Surgeon Major in 1876 and was placed in charge of the Salafa Expedition in that same year. He was promoted to Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel in 1883, and placed on retirement pay with the rank of Brigade Surgeon in 1885.
Colonial service.
Before serving in the Gambia, Gouldsbury was Civil Commandant at Accra.
Gouldsbury was assigned as Administrator of the Gambia in 1877. He was a controversial administrator, and his policies were criticised by the Gambia Native Association. Among his achievements was appointing J.D. Richards to the Legislative Council in 1883, being the first African member. Gouldsbury led an expedition into the Gambia in 1881, as far as Futa Jallon, to investigate trade opportunities. He also established friendly relations with a number of rulers, and signed a number of treaties. Gouldsbury's negative report of trade prospects confirmed a feeling in London that further expansion into the interior would cost more than it gained. Gouldsbury left the Gambia in March 1884.
He was appointed as Administrator of Saint Lucia on 2 April 1891. He was also appointed as Acting Governor of the Windward Islands on the same date, in the absence of a Governor. He served in Saint Lucia until 1896.
Death.
Gouldsbury suffered from failing health in Saint Lucia, and left in 1896 to return to England in an attempt to recover. He died in London on 11 November 1896.


Menen Liben Amede

Menen Liben Amede (fl. 1819 - fl. 1858), was empress consort of Ethiopia by marriage to emperor Yohannes III in 1840-1841, 1845 and 1850-1851.
She was also regent of Begemder in 1831-1841 during the minority of her son Ali II of Yejju, who was her son in her first marriage to Alula of Yejju. She was a significant personage during the "Zemene Mesafint" of the 19th century before Tewodros II reunited the Ethiopian Empire in 1855.
Life.
She married first to Alula of Yejju (sometime governor of Damot and then of Gojjam), with whom she had a son, "Ras" Ali II of Yejju around the year 1819. After the death of her first spouse, she married the future emperor Yohannes III.
Regency.
On a meeting of the chief nobles of the Yejju at the dynastic capital of Debre Tabor, after the death of "Ras" Dori on July 1831, Dori's cousin, Menens son Ali was appointed Ruler of Begemder and Imperial Regent at the age of 12. As his father Alula was dead by this time and Ali was a minor, a council of regents was appointed from the nobles of that people. However, Menen soon came to control this council and exerted much influence over political decisions for the next decade.
A palace was built for Menen Liben Amede, though it was not as large as Ras Ali II's.
Empress.
Following the death of "Ras" Kinfu, people fought for control of his lands in Gojjam. Eventually Menen gained the upper hand in the Battle of Chenti Ber (October, 1839), defeating and capturing Kinfu's relative Walda Tekle. Not long afterwards, she deposed Sahle Dengel on 29 August 1840 in favor of her husband Yohannes. However, Yohannes offended her son "Ras" Ali by favoring his rival Wube Haile Maryam, and "Ras" Ali restored Sahle Dengel in October 1841.
Occupation of the imperial throne alternated between Yohannes and Sahle Dengel until Kassa of Qwara (the future Tewodros II) defeated Empress Menen in combat on 18 June 1847 near the northern shores of Lake Tana, capturing her and Yohannes. He then traded them to "Ras" Ali for the title of "Dejazmach" and the territories of the deceased "Ras" Kinfu in Gojjam. Another source states that when Kassa finally usurped the Imperial throne, Yohannes agreed to acquiesce to the change on the condition that the new Emperor guarantee that he would not ever be made to reunite with his much hated wife, Empress Mennen.
Later life.
On her part, in order to have influence over Kassa Menen offered her granddaughter Tewabech Ali as a bride to him. Nevertheless, Kassa came to love her and was faithful to her until her death in 1858. Menan also awarded Kassa all of Ye Meru Qemas for the same reasons.
Menen disappears from the historical record soon after this.


Namibia Christian Democratic Party

The Namibia Christian Democratic Party was a political party in Namibia, led by Hans Röhr. It was founded in 1978 in Kavango. Wolfgang Adam was the honorary president of the party.
The party participated in the 1978 South West African Legislative Assembly elections, and won 2.8 percent of the votes.


Economic Party (South West Africa)

The Economic Party was a political party in South West Africa. It was initially formed on 27 August 1925 as the "Omaruru Political Society" by S. Proctor.


Elections in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly ("Assemblée Nationale") has 225 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies.
Côte d'Ivoire is a one party dominant state with the Ivorian People's Front in power. Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. Following a peace deal between the government and former rebels in March 2007, the next elections were planned for early 2008. These elections however, were postponed to November 2009 first, and then to early 2010.


Battle of Elandslaagte

The Battle of Elandslaagte (21 October 1899) was a battle of the Second Boer War, and one of the few clear-cut tactical victories won by the British during the conflict. However, the British force retreated afterwards, throwing away their advantage.
Prelude.
When the Boers invaded Natal, a force under General Johannes Kock occupied the railway station at Elandslaagte on 19 October 1899, thus cutting the communications between the main British force at Ladysmith and a detachment at Dundee. De Kock's forces consisted mainly of men of the Johannesburg Commando with detachments of German, French, Dutch, American, and Irish Boer foreign volunteers.
Learning that the telegraph had been cut, Lieutenant General Sir George White sent his cavalry commander, Major General John French to recapture the station. Arriving shortly after dawn on 21 October, French found the Boers present in strength, with two field guns. He telegraphed to Ladysmith for reinforcements, which shortly afterwards arrived by train.
The battle.
While three batteries of British field guns bombarded the Boer position, and the 1st Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment advanced frontally in open order, the main attack commanded by Colonel Ian Hamilton (1st Battalion, the Manchester Regiment, 2nd Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders and the dismounted Imperial Light Horse) moved around the Boers' left flank. The sky had steadily been growing dark with thunderclouds, and as the British made their assault, the storm burst. In the poor visibility and pouring rain, the British infantry had to face a barbed wire farm fence, in which several men were entangled and shot. Nevertheless, they cut the wire or broke it down, and occupied the main part of the Boer position.
Some small parties of Boers were already showing white flags when General Kock led a counterattack, dressed in his top hat and Sunday best. He drove back the British infantry in confusion, but they rallied, inspired by Hamilton (and reportedly, a bugler of the Manchesters and a Pipe Major of the Gordons) and charged again. Kock and his companions were killed or severely wounded.
As the remaining Boers mounted their ponies and tried to retreat, two squadrons of British cavalry (from the 5th Lancers and the 5th Dragoon Guards) got among them with lances and sabres, cutting down many. This was one of the few occasions during the Boer war in which a British cavalry charge made contact.
The two Boer field guns fell into British hands. They were found to have originally been British and had been captured by the Boers in the aftermath of the Jameson Raid.
Aftermath.
The way was now clear for the British detachment at Dundee to fall back on the main British force, but Sir George White feared that 10,000 Boers from the Orange Free State were about to attack Ladysmith, and ordered the force at Elandslaagte to fall back there. The British were tired and many officers had been killed, and the retreat became a disorderly scramble. The detachment at Dundee was once again isolated, and was forced to make an exhausting detour before they could reach safety. The Boer forces re-occupied Elandslaagte two days later.
General Kock was captured by the British and died from his wounds shortly after the battle. Also captured in the battle was Adolf Schiel, a German officer who had lived in South Africa since 1878. Schiel, who held the commission of Lieutenant Colonel, led a German commando in the battle. Schiel returned to Germany after the war, but died from wounds he had received at Elandslaagte in 1903.
Among the British dead was Colonel John James Scott-Chisholme, commander in the Imperial Light Horse. He was killed while leading from the front and encouraging his men by waving a coloured sash.
The Battle was also notable for being the first and last battle of the volunteer Hollanderkorps. The Hollanderkorps was a group of ca. 150 Dutch volunteers which had been established a mere month earlier. During the battle the Hollanderkorps suffered 9 fatalities, including Herman Coster, along with fellow officer Cars Geerts de Jonge and seven soldiers: P.J. van den Broek, H. van Cittert, J.A. Lepeltak Kieft, Jan Moora, J.Th. Rummeling, M. Schaink, and F.W. Wagner. A further 35 of the Hollanders were taken prisoner by the British. Among the prisoners was Willem Frederik Mondriaan (brother of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian) who was wounded in the battle. Although he was able to crawl away from the battlefield he was taken prisoner by the British shortly after. He was later sent to Saint Helena as a prisoner of war, returning to South Africa in 1903. Cornelis Vincent 'Cor' van Gogh, the brother of the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, also fought in the battle where he was wounded and taken prisoner. He died shortly after. The Boer generals were deeply unhappy with the Hollanderkorps' performance, and it was disbanded after the battle though several hundred Dutch volunteers continued to fight in Boer regiments. The names of the deceased Hollanders, including Coster, were inscribed at a monument at the location of the battle. The monument was destroyed by vandals in 2014.
References.
Learn More In.
Nasson, Bill. The Boer War: The Struggle for South Africa. Stroud, United Kingdom: The History Press, 2011.
Pretorius, Fransjohan. The A to Z of the Anglo-Boer War. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2010.


Malcolm Stevenson

Sir Malcolm Stevenson (15 March 1878 – 27 November 1927) was a British colonial administrator. He served as the Governor of Cyprus and later as the Governor of the Seychelles.
Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Ireland, and educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College Dublin, from which he graduated in 1901. He entered the Ceylon Civil Service in that year, rising to Second Assistant Colonial Secretary in May 1911. From December 1912 to October 1913 he was seconded to the Colonial Office in London, but then returned to Ceylon as private secretary to Governor Sir Robert Chalmers. In 1914 he married Chalmers's daughter, Mabel, and in 1915 he was promoted to Principal Assistant Colonial Secretary.
In May 1917, Stevenson was appointed Chief Secretary of Cyprus, in which post he administered the government from November 1918 to August 1920, when he was appointed High Commissioner. In May 1925, when Cyprus was given the status of a Crown Colony, he became the first Governor, holding the post until November 1926. In May 1927 he was appointed Governor of the Seychelles but died suddenly just six months later.
Stevenson was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours and Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1923 Birthday Honours.
He died on 27 November 1927 in the Seychelles.


Operation Shed

Operation Shed was a British plan for military intervention in Zanzibar following the 1964 Zanzibar revolution. It was one of a series of operations devised by the British to be implemented in the case of an attempt to seize power from President Abeid Karume by the radical left-wing Umma Party. Shed succeeded the earlier Operations Parthenon and Boris and was an alternative to Operation Finery. Shed would have involved an airlift of a battalion of troops to Unguja to provide support to Karume and to protect European citizens. The risk of a coup passed by 29 April 1964 and it was determined that any intervention would be opposed by Karume's forces and a Soviet training team. With this in mind Shed was modified on 9 June to an airborne assault by Royal Marine commandos from HMS "Centaur", which would then be supported by the landing of a battalion and armoured cars from Kenya. The continuing presence of British and friendly nationals in Zanzibar complicated the matter and, around 23 September 1964, Shed was replaced by Plan Giralda.
Background.
The Zanzibar Revolution had occurred on 12 January 1964 and since then British forces had kept a presence in the area to safeguard European citizens. Since 30 January British forces had also been kept on standby to launch a military intervention in the event that the radical left-wing Umma Party staged a coup to overthrow President Abeid Karume's moderate Afro-Shirazi Party which controlled the governing Revolutionary Council. Operation Shed was the fourth British plan for this eventuality, following Operations Parthenon, Boris and Finery. Parthenon and Boris had been cancelled by the time that Shed was designed and Shed was to act as a supporting operation to Finery. Finery would have involved a helicopter assault by Royal Marines from the commando carrier HMS "Bulwark". However, "Bulwark" was required for operations in the Middle East and so Finery could only be launched following 14 days notice. In addition, the merger of Zanzibar and Tanganyika to form Tanzania on 23 April had raised concerns in the British commanders that the Umma Party would launch a coup to prevent the merger which would limit their power. Shed was designed as a contingency plan to provide a quicker response if it seemed likely that the Umma Party could stage a coup quicker than Finery could be launched or if British citizens were in immediate danger.
Operation.
Shed would have entailed the airlift of a battalion of British troops to Unguja, the main base of revolutionary power, to provide support to Karume and any forces loyal to him. The primary objectives were to seize the airfield and other strategic locations, protect Karume and his government, protect British and European citizens and to disarm any forces which were a threat to Karume. The operation was planned on the basis that troops would only be sent with the agreement of Karume and that their disembarkation would be unopposed. The Commonwealth Relations Office had sought to persuade the Nigerian government to support Shed with additional troops but had been turned down.
Aftermath.
By 29 April the danger of a coup had passed so Operation Finery was scrapped and Shed stepped down to 24 hours readiness. On 21 May the Chiefs of Staff acknowledged that Karume's agreement probably would not be gained and that a landing may be opposed. Intelligence sources also stated that Karume's 300-strong police force were now outnumbered by other security forces of unknown loyalties and that elements of the Zanzibari Army and a Soviet training team guarded the airfield by night. The Zanzibari army was known to be in possession of light anti-aircraft guns, heavy machine guns, 120 mm mortars and 57 mm anti-tank guns. Karume's police were also expected to side with the army against any foreign intervention unless specifically ordered not to by Karume. A 300 strong Tanganyikan police unit was already on the island to keep the peace and was expected to support the British intervention, however it was of negligible use as a fighting unit. In light of this information Shed was modified on 9 June to an airborne assault by Royal Marine commandos from HMS "Centaur" which would then be supported by the landing of the battalion and armoured cars from Kenya. Despite these modifications the Minister of Defence, Peter Thorneycroft, stated that losses amongst British and Zanzibari forces would likely be high if the plan went ahead. The continuing presence of 87 British citizens and 40 "friendly nationals" in the country also complicated matters as British troops would be expected to protect these civilians from violence. Thus Shed was replaced by Plan Giralda around 23 September 1964.


List of presidents of Ethiopia

This is a list of presidents of Ethiopia and also a list of heads of state after the fall of the Ethiopian Empire in 1974.
Until 1974, the heads of state of the Ethiopian Empire were either emperors or regents. From the coup d'état of the Derg leading to the fall of the empire in September 1974 until March 1975, the Derg considered the crown prince Asfaw Wossen (later regnal name Amha Selassie) as the king (not emperor) and the nominal "head of state" – which the crown prince refused to accept. During this time, the "chairmen of the Derg", the leaders of the Derg, were to be considered as "acting heads of state". On 21 March 1975, the "Derg military junta" abolished the monarchy and fully took over. Until the establishment of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1987, still dominated by Derg figures, chairmen of the Derg have to be considered "heads of state" – but not "presidents". After the fall of the Derg and the establishment of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia in 1991, the first immediate president (Meles Zenawi) has to be considered an "Interim President".
Since the formal establishment of the office of president in 1987, there have been 6 official presidents. The president is the head of state of Ethiopia. The current president is Sahle-Work Zewde, who is also the first female president of Ethiopia, elected on 25 October 2018 by members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly.
List.
In the list, the "chairmen of the Derg" are considered to be "heads of state" – but are not considered to be president. Consequently, the numbering starts with the first establishment of the office of the "president of Ethiopia" in 1987.


Ethiopian prisoners of war during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War

During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Italians captured and either imprisoned as prisoners of war or executed selected prominent Ethiopians. The majority of the public executions and mass incarcerations happened in the wake of the assassination attempt on Rodolfo Graziani. The Italian occupying force gave permission to the black shirts to murder educated Ethiopians, sparing only a few notables who were transported to various concentration camps maintained in the Harar region, Italian Somaliland, Eritrea and Italy. While the majority of prisoners who were kept at Asinara and other camps in Italy survived, tens of thousands of detainees perished under the severe conditions they were forced to live in. According to famous survivors like Ambassador Imru Zeleke, conditions were worse in Italian Somaliland camps due to the scarcity of food, water and medicine. According to Imru Zeleke, tens of thousands of Ethiopians died every year.
Princess Romanework Haile Selassie, Emperor Haile Selassie's daughter and the wife of Dejazmatch Beyene Merid, would later contract tuberculosis and was transferred to Ospedale Maggiore in Turin from Asinara, where she died on 14 October 1940. She was the only child of the Emperor who was captured.
Woizero Denknesh Teklemariam and Lij Abate Mulat were among the young prisoners at Asinara. Lij Abate was captured with the renowned patriot Ras Desta Damtew. Woizero Denknesh was rounded up with her parents who were all imprisoned on the Italian island. While the fascist forces executed the Ras and select patriots, they shipped off other notable prisoners to Asinara and elsewhere.
Asinara prison camp.
It is virtually impossible to find out the exact number of Ethiopian POWs who were imprisoned at different camps. The Asinara prison camp is an exception, due to its location in Europe and due to the personalities of the incarcerated individuals, the identities of many of the POWs and their approximate number became available through the years from people who kept records of their experiences in captivity.
According to the book "Etsub Dinq" written in Amharic by Balemberas Mahateme Selassie Wolde Meskel who was one of the prisoners at Asinara, the total number of prisoners was well over 400. He came up with names of close to 279 notables he remembered. Ras Imru Haile Selassie spent a few months at Asinara and later transferred to another detention camp where Ras Seyoum Mengesha was kept before the former's repatriation by the orders of Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, the Viceroy and Governor General of Italian East Africa. Ambassador Imru Zelleke was never incarcerated outside of East Africa.
List of Ethiopian POWs at Asinara.
The prisoners held on Asinara are as follows:


Sinking of MV Spice Islander I

On 10 September 2011, , a passenger ferry carrying over 2,000 passengers, sank off the coast of Zanzibar. The ferry was travelling between Unguja and Pemba, two islands off the coast of mainland Tanzania, when it capsized. Early estimates put the death toll at around 200, but a report published by the Tanzanian government in January 2012 claimed that over 1,500 people had been killed.
Incident.
At 21:00 local time (19:00 UTC), MV "Spice Islander I" sailed from Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar archipelago, for Pemba Island to the north. The ship's official capacity was 45 crew and 645 passengers, but it was reported to be heavily overloaded. Around four hours after departure, "Spice Islander I" sank between Zanzibar and Pemba. The ship is thought to have capsized after losing engine power. Of those on board, around 620 were rescued, with at least 40 of them suffering serious injuries. In addition to passengers, the ferry was believed to have been transporting cargo such as rice.
Death toll.
Early news reports claimed that the ferry was carrying an estimated 800 people at the time of her sinking, and by 12 September, it was reported that over 240 bodies had been recovered. However, on 14 October, the Tanzanian government confirmed that the vessel had in fact been carrying around 3,586 passengers, of whom 2,764 were unaccounted for. In an investigative report published on 19 January 2012, these figures were revised downward, with 2,470 passengers, 203 confirmed dead, and 1,370 missing.
Response.
The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar set up a center for people involved in the tragedy and called upon reserves from Zanzibar to join the effort. It also called for foreign support from African countries. The survivors were rescued by ferries and brought back to Zanzibar's main harbour, in Stone Town.
On 11 September, three days of mourning began for those who died in the incident. An investigation into the sinking was also announced; the Zanzibar minister of state, Mohamed Aboud Mohamed said: "The government will take stern measures against those found responsible for this tragedy, in accordance with the country's laws and regulations."
Eight months later, the , another ferry on the same route, also sank, also with large loss of life.


List of rulers of the Kingdom of Dagbon

This is a tree of the monarchs of the traditional Kingdom of Dagbon, the kingdom of the Dagomba people, located in northern Ghana.
The term "Yaa-Naa" means "king of strength" in the Dagbani language. It was adopted by king ("Naa") Shitobu, and has since been the term for the king of Dagbon.


Mwanawina II

Mwanawina II was a King or Chief of the Lozi people in Zambia, Africa, a member of the third dynasty of "Litungas". His full title was "Mulena Yomuhulu Mbumu wa Litunga".
Biography.
Family.
Mwanawina was a son of Prince Sibeso, who was a son of the King Mulambwa Santulu. Sibeso was killed in 1863.
Siblings of Mwanawina were Chief Musiwa and one more chief (name unknown).
He became a king after his uncles Silumelume and Mubukwanu.
Reign.
Mwanawina was proclaimed king at Katongo. His daughter was named Mwangala, but her mother is not known.
Mwanawina appointed Mwangala when she was one year old to the throne in the south.
He was deposed and expelled by his nobles and killed (poisoned or starved to death) on an island near Ng'ambwe in 1879.


Patricia Skinner

 Patricia Skinner (born 12 May 1930) is a former fencer. She competed in the women's individual foil event at the 1964 Summer Olympics representing Northern Rhodesia.


Natalia Republic

The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic founded in 1839 after a Voortrekker victory against the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River. The area was previously named "Natália" by Portuguese sailors, due to its discovery on Christmas ('Natal' is the Portuguese word for Christmas). The republic came to an end in 1843 when British forces annexed it to form the Colony of Natal. After the British annexation of the Natalia Republic, most local Voortrekkers trekked north into Transorangia, later known as the Orange Free State, and the South African Republic.
History.
European settlement and setbacks.
On Christmas Day 1497 Vasco da Gama was sailing past the region now known as Transkei and named the country Terra Natalis. He next sighted the bluff at the entrance to what is now the harbour of Durban. Da Gama made no landing here, but in later years the name Natália became associated with it. Like the rest of South Africa, Natal was neglected by the Portuguese, whose nearest settlement was at Delagoa Bay.
It is not proven when the clan settled in the region which was inhabited by Nguni people. A small clan living north of the Tugela River, the amaZulu, was greatly enlarged by its leader Shaka, and between 1818 and 1820 his Zulu Kingdom’s military campaigns overran the area. British traders established a small settlement at Port Natal, so founding what became the town of Durban, established in 1835.
The next Europeans to settle the country were emigrant Boers from the Cape Colony, who came by land over the passes of the Drakensberg. These Voortrekkers were led by Piet Retief. Passing through the almost deserted upper regions, Retief arrived at Port Natal in October 1837. During this journey, he chose a site for the capital of the future state which he envisioned. He went to the kraal of Shaka’s successor Dingane, ruler of the Zulu Kingdom, to obtain a cession of territory for the Boer farmers. Dingane consented on condition that the Boers recover cattle stolen by another chief. Retief managed that and, with the help of missionary the Rev Francis Owen, living at Dingane’s kraal, he drew up a deed of cession in English. Dingane and Retief signed it on 4 February 1838.
Two days later, Dingane ordered the execution of Retief and all of his party, 66 whites and 34 Khoikhoi servants. The Zulu king commanded his impis to kill all the Boers who had entered Natal. The Zulu forces crossed the Tugela River the same day, and the most advanced parties of the Boers were massacred, many at a spot near where the town of Weenen now stands, its name (meaning wailing or weeping) commemorating the event. Other of the farmers hastily laagered and were able to repulse the Zulu attacks; the assailants suffering serious loss at a fight near Bushman River. In one week after the murder of Retief, the Zulus had killed 600 Boers.
Hearing of the attack on the Boers, the British settlers at the bay sent a force to help them. Robert Biggar commanded 20 British and a following of 700 friendly Zulus and crossed the Tugela River near its mouth. On 17 April, in a desperate fight with a Zulu force, the British were overwhelmed and only four Europeans escaped to the bay. Pursued by the Zulus, the surviving inhabitants of Durban took refuge on a ship then in harbour. After the Zulus retired, fewer than a dozen Englishmen returned to live at the port; the missionaries, hunters and other traders returned to Cape Colony.
The Boers had repelled the Zulu attacks on their laagers; joined by others from the Drakensberg, about 400 men under Hendrik Potgieter and Piet Uys advanced to attack Dingane. On 11 April, they were attacked and with difficulty cut their way out. Among those slain were Piet Uys and his son Dirk, aged 15.
Battle of Blood River.
Toward the end of the year, the Boers received reinforcements. In December 460 men set out under Boer general Andries Pretorius to take on the Zulus. Andries Pretorius selected Jan Gerritze Bantjes (1817-1887) as his scribe and secretary in recording events of the campaign and coming retaliation battle with the Zulus. Bantjes documented daily in his journal the progress of the commando, from their start on 27 November 1838 until they reached their selected battle site on 15 December 1838. They avoided being led into a trap as happened on the previous attempt to attack the Zulus in April which ended in disaster. On the journey, they had small skirmishes with various kraals but the main Zulu army had not arrived yet to attack. Boer and Zulu scouts were constantly monitoring each other's whereabouts. On 9 December 1838 as Bantjes wrote in his journal, the Boers congregated under a clear sky to sing appropriate psalms and celebrate the Sabbath, taking a vow which became known as the "Day of The Vow or Covenant" that "if the Lord might give us victory, we hereby deem to found a house as a memorial of his Great Name at a place where it shall please Him", and that they also implore the help and assistance of God in accomplishing this Vow and that they write down this Day of Victory in a book and disclose this event to our very last posterities in order that this will forever be celebrated in the honour of God."
On 16 December 1838, while laagered near the Umslatos River or Hippo Pool, they were attacked by more than 10,000 Zulus. As Bantjes wrote in his journal:
The Boers fought off the Zulu. After three hours, the Boers had killed thousands of Zulus and had fewer than a dozen of their men wounded. The Zulus withdrew in defeat, many crossing the river which had turned red with blood and thereafter known as the Battle of Blood River. Modern-day Afrikaners still celebrate the Day of the Vow every year on 16 December.
British at Port Natal.
Returning south, Pretorius and his fighters found that the British had annexed Port Natal (now Durban) on 4 December with a detachment of the 72nd Highlanders from Cape Colony. While the governor of the Cape, Major-General Sir George Napier, had invited the British emigrants from Natal to return to the colony, and stated his intention to take military possession of the port. In sanctioning the occupation of the port the British government of the day had no intention of making Natal a British colony, but wished to prevent the Boers establishing an independent republic upon the coast with a harbour through which access to the interior could be gained. After remaining at the port just over a year the Highlanders were withdrawn, on 24 December 1839.
Overthrow of Dingane.
After the battle, Pretorius took advantage of dissension in the Zulu kingdom to ally himself with Mpande, brother of the Zulu king Dingane. Dingane's attempt to extend his kingdom north to compensate for losses to the Boers had failed. He was defeated by the Swazi people in 1839, leading to discontent with his rule. In exchange for cattle and territory Pretorius agreed to support Mpande's bid to overthrow Dingane. A Boer force supported Mpande's Zulu impi in the invasion. At the Battle of Maqongqo, Dingane was crushed and was put to flight with what retainers chose to follow him into exile. Pretorius took 36,000 head of cattle and proclaimed a large tract of land extending from St Lucia Bay to be part of the Natalia Republic.
Government of Natalia.
Internal affairs.
Meantime the Boers had founded Pietermaritzburg, named in honour of leaders Piet Retief and Gerrit Maritz. They made it their capital and the seat of their volksraad.
Legislative power was vested in the volksraad (consisting of 24 members), while the president and executive were changed every three months. For issues of importance, a meeting was called of "het publiek", that is, of all who chose to attend, to sanction or reject it. "The result," says the historian George McCall Theal, "was utter anarchy. Decisions of one day were frequently reversed the next, and every one held himself free to disobey any law that he did not approve of. ... Public opinion of the hour in each section of the community was the only force in the land."
Territorial policy.
The Zulus continued to exist as a distinct and numerous people with their own dispensation within their own territory to the north and east, in the region known as Zululand.
The settlers were in loose alliance with and in quasi-supremacy over the Boer communities that had left the Cape and settled at Winburg and at Potchefstroom. They declared a free and independent state under the title of "The Republic of Port Natal and adjacent countries," and sought (September 1840) from Sir George Napier an acknowledgment of their independence by Great Britain.
Sir George did not give an answer but was friendly to the Boer farmers. He was disturbed when a commando force under Andries Pretorius attacked the Xhosa in December 1840. The national government declined to recognize Natalia's independence but proposed to trade with it if the people would accept a military force to defend against other European powers. Sir George communicated this decision to the volksraad in September 1841.
British and Dutch influences.
The Boers strongly resented the contention of the British that they could not shake off British nationality, though beyond the bounds of any recognized British possession. They also wanted control of the British Natal Port (now renamed Durban). They rejected Napier's overtures.
On 2 December 1841, Napier announced his intention to resume military occupation of Port Natal, citing the Boers' attack on the Xhosa. On 21 February 1842 the settlers responded, with a document written by Jacobus Boshoff. The farmers complained about the lack of representative government, and concluded by a protest against the occupation of any part of their territory by British troops.
Soon after, an event occurred which encouraged the Boers in their opposition to Great Britain. In March 1842 a Dutch vessel sent out by Gregorius Ohrig, an Amsterdam merchant who sympathized with the farmers, reached Port Natal. Johan Arnold Smellekamp concluded a treaty with the volksraad assuring them of the protection of the Netherlands. The Natal Boers believed the Netherlands to be one of the great powers of Europe, and were firmly persuaded that its government would aid them in resisting Great Britain.
Transfer to colonial government.
Battle of Congella.
On 1 April 1842 Captain T. C. Smith with a force of 263 men left his camp at the Umgazi, on the eastern frontier of Cape Colony, and marching overland reached Durban without opposition, and encamped, on 4 May, at the base of the Berea hills. The Boers, cut off from their port, called out a commando of some 300 to 400 men under Andries Pretorius and gathered at Congella at the head of the bay. On the night of 23 May, Smith made an unsuccessful attack on the Boer camp, losing his guns and fifty men were killed or wounded. On 26 May the Boers captured the harbour and settlement, and on 31 May blockaded the British camp, the women and children being removed, on the suggestion of Pretorius, to a ship in the harbour of which the Boers had taken possession. Meantime, an old Durban resident, Dick King, had undertaken to convey tidings of the perilous position of the British force to the commandant at Grahamstown. He started on the night of 24 May, and escaping the Boer outposts rode through the dense bush, and in nine days reached his destination—a distance of in a direct line, and nearly by the route to be followed. This remarkable ride was accomplished with one change of mount, obtained from a missionary in Pondoland. A comparatively strong force under Colonel A. J. Cloete was at once sent by sea to Port Natal, and on 26 June, Captain Smith was relieved. The besieged had suffered greatly from lack of food. Within a fortnight Colonel Cloete had received the submission of the volksraad at Pietermaritzburg. The burghers represented that they were under the protection of the Netherlands, but this plea was peremptorily rejected by the commander of the British forces.
The British government was still undecided as to its policy towards Natal. In April 1842 Lord Stanley, then Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in the second Peel Administration, wrote to Sir George Napier that the establishment of a colony in Natal would be attended with little prospect of advantage, but at the same time stated that the pretensions of the emigrants to be regarded as an independent community could not be admitted. Various measures were proposed which would but have aggravated the situation.
Annexation.
Finally, in deference to the strongly urged views of Sir George Napier, Lord Stanley, in a despatch of 13 December, received in Cape Town on 23 April 1843, consented to Natal becoming a British colony. The institutions adopted were to be as far as possible in accordance with the wishes of the people, but it was a fundamental condition "that there should not be in the eye of the law any distinction or disqualification whatever, founded on mere difference of colour, origin, language or creed."
Sir George then appointed Mr Henry Cloete (a brother of Colonel Josias Cloete) a special commissioner to explain to the Natal volksraad the decision of the government. There was a considerable party of Natal Boers still strongly opposed to the British, and they were reinforced by numerous bands of Boers who came over the Drakensberg from Winburg and Potchefstroom. Commandant Jan Mocke of Winburg (who had helped to besiege Captain Smith at Durban) and others of the "war party" attempted to induce the volksraad not to submit, and a plan was formed to murder Pretorius, Boshoff and other leaders, who were now convinced that the only chance of ending the state of complete anarchy into which the country had fallen was by accepting British sovereignty.
Extent of the colony.
On 8 August 1843 the Natal Volksraad unanimously agreed to the terms proposed by Lord Stanley, setting Drakensberg as the northern limit of Natal. Many of the Boers who would not acknowledge British rule trekked once more over the mountains into what became the Orange Free State and Transvaal provinces to seek their freedom and independence. At the end of 1843 there were not more than 500 Dutch families left in Natal.
Cloete, before returning to the Cape, visited Mpande and obtained from him a valuable concession. Hitherto the Tugela River from source to mouth had been the recognized frontier between Natal and Zululand. Mpande gave up to Natal all the territory between the Buffalo and Tugela rivers, which later formed Klip River county.
Aftermath.
Proclaimed a British Colony of Natal in 1843, it became a part of Cape Colony in 1844, not being separated again until 1856. The power of the volksraad did not truly end until 1845, when an effective British administration was established under Martin West as lieutenant-governor. After the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the British defeated the Zulu army, and annexed Zululand to Natal in 1897. One of the four founding provinces of South Africa, it is now KwaZulu-Natal. This province is still home to the Zulu nation; native speakers of the Zulu language form 77.8% of the population. The province also has a large ethnic Indian population, as well as Boer-descended residents and ethnic British descendants.


Black December

Black December refers to at least nine shark attacks on humans causing six deaths that occurred along the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, from December 18, 1957 to April 5, 1958.
Perfect storm.
In December 1957 several key factors occurred simultaneously to attract sharks to the Durban area, including: (1) whaling ships operating in the area; (2) rivers had flooded and washed livestock into the Indian Ocean and made the river deltas murky; and (3) recent resort development had increased the number of tourists swimming off the beaches.
Adding to the confusion was the lack of adequate shark research and the knowledge to prevent shark attacks in 1957.
Attempted solutions.
Tourists fled the Durban area during Black December causing a devastating impact on the local economy. The local authorities desperately made attempts to protect swimmers and surfers from sharks. These attempts included enclosures built from wooden poles and netting; however, both were ineffective and were destroyed by the surf. A South African Navy frigate dropped depth charges causing few shark fatalities and attracted many more sharks into the area that feasted on the dead fish.
KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board.
As a result of Black December the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, previously the "Natal Sharks Board" and "Natal Anti-Shark Measures Board", was formed in 1962. The organization's mandate is to maintain shark nets and drum lines at 38 places, along 320 km of coastline of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, to protect bathers and surfers from possible shark attacks.


Willem Helot

Willem Helot (27 October 1675 – 7 November 1749), was secunde and Acting Governor of the Cape Colony.
Career.
Helot arrived at the Cape as a soldier in 1694 and Simon van der Stel employed him provisionally as an assistant and he was later permanently appointed to serve as assistant and chief clerk. In 1706 he was secretary of the Council of Policy and on 9 June 1707 he was promoted to assistant merchant. In April 1710 he was given the post of chief merchant, becoming secunde (second-in-command) at the Cape.
After the death of Governor Louis van Assenburgh in 1711, Helot acted as Governor until the arrival of Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes on 28 March 1714. He subsequently again served as secunde or chief administrator, but in May 1714 he was accused of dishonesty and dereliction of duty and after a suspension, he was dismissed from the service of the VOC. In 1715 he left with his wife and children for the Netherlands.
Personal life.
Helot was married twice. His first marriage took place in 1704, to Christina de Beer, the daughter of the Cape free burgher Jan Dirksz de Beer and his wife, Anna van Veldhuisen. Their three daughters, Wilhelmina, Anna Christina and Louisa Adriana, were baptised in 1705, 1707 and 1709 respectively. After Christina's death in 1709, he married Maria Engelbrecht on 27 July 1710.


Daud Mahamed

Sultan Daud Mahamed (, ) is the ninth and current Grand Sultan of the Isaaq Sultanate. He was crowned on 13 February 2021 in Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, a day after his father Sultan Mahamed Abdiqadir died, in a ceremony held beside the grave of his father, per the traditions of the Isaaq.


Elections in Sierra Leone

Elections in Sierra Leone are held on a national level to elect the president and the
unicameral Parliament. Sierra Leone has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties.
Both the president and the members of Parliament are elected for five-year terms. The Parliament has 124 members, 112 elected through plurality vote in single-member constituencies and 12 members elected by indirect vote.
An independent Electoral Commission, composed of a chairman and four commissioners, is selected by the president, subject to the approval of Parliament. The commission is responsible for voter registration and elections and referenda. and the registration of both voters and political parties. There must also be an independent Political Parties Registration Commission, made up of four members chosen by the president.
Voters must be 18 years old and of sound mind. Voting is by secret ballot.
The last election was held on the 7th of March, 2018.


Kafanchan Peace Declaration

The Kafanchan Peace Declaration is a peace accord signed by five local government areas in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. The local government areas involved in the process were the Sanga, Kachia, Kaura, Zangon Kataf and Jema'a. The five areas include 29 ethnic communities headed by 32 chairs. The declaration has been signed on the 23rd of March, 2016 in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The peace accord has been facilitated by the Swiss-based organization Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).
Background.
Communities from Southern Kaduna, including the Sanga, Kachia, Kaura, Zangon Kataf and Jema'a, have suffered from violent conflict in the past. Many ethnic communities from southern Kaduna State have been in conflict with each other in the past. These conflicts arose due to tension regarding settling differences, clashes between farmers and grazers, the resettlement of internally displaced people and many other issues. Sporadic armed conflicts erupted due to deep hatred between ethnic and religious groups in some parts of southern Kaduna.
Participants.
Among the participants of the inter-communal dialogue were community leaders, youth, women, religious leaders, elders and cultural associations.
Special observers to the signing ceremony included the Canadian Ambassador to Nigeria, the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Kaduna state, Mrs. Amina Dyeris Asijuwade, the Chief of Staff of Kaduna State, Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman and traditional rulers in Southern Kaduna.
Agreement and implementation.
The Kafanchan Peace Declaration is the culmination of the Southern Kaduna State Inter-Communal Dialogue, which started in 2015 at the initiative of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD). It is a commitment to non-violent conflict resolution by communities from five local government areas in southern Kaduna State.
The purpose of the declaration is to break down the obstacles to peaceful coexistence among the communities in southern Kaduna State. All parties agree that the divisions between and within communities are caused by an institutional structure which polarizes the groups along ethnic and religious lines. These divisions can be overcome by dialogue and long term intervention in order to reduce violence based on prejudice, biases and stereotypes.
The Declaration asks the signatories to nurture a peaceful coexistence among Kaduna’s communities by launching political and social goals as well as a timeline for action. A conflict prevention plan, incorporating all stakeholders, will aim to put in place a tension management mechanism that would allow the communities to prevent future conflict.
It called on the Nigerian government to improve the infrastructure in the existing grazing reserves and reactivate the farmers marketing boards to support the needs of the farmers. It also encourages the government to increase security measures in girls' schools to protect female students from abduction, harm and violence.
Results.
The Kaduna State Government welcomed the Kafanchan Peace Declaration and congratulated the five communities and its leaders for choosing dialogue over conflict.
Signatories.
The declaration was signed by the following communities in the local government areas of:


Kikulwe of Buganda

Kikulwe Mawuba was Kabaka of the Kingdom of Buganda between 1736 and 1738. He was the twenty first (21st) Kabaka of Buganda.
Claim to the throne.
He was the fourth (4th) son of Kabaka Ndawula Nsobya, the nineteenth (19th) Kabaka of Buganda. His mother was Nakikulwe Namirembe, the third (3rd) of his father's seven (7) wives. He ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, Kabaka Kagulu Tebukywereke. He established his capital at Kibibi.
Married Life.
He is reported to have married five (5) wives:
Issue.
He is recorded to have fathered at least nine children:
The final years.
Kabaka Kikulwe was murdered by his elder half-brother, Prince Mawanda Sebanakitta, who seized the throne around 1738. Ssekabaka Kikulwe is buried at Kaliiti, Busiro.


Yeta II Nalute

"Mulena Yomuhulu Mbumu wa Litunga" Yeta II Nalute was an African High Chief, king of the Lozi people and Barotseland in Zambia.
Biography.
Yeta was a son of the Great King Ngalama and grandson of Prince Ingulamwa and was named after the king Yeta I.
His brother was king Ngombala.
It is said that his divine ancestor was god Nyambe, king of the Sky.
He exiled at the Mashi, together with his mother, during his father's lifetime, and was captured and sold into slavery, but returned to Barotseland, after his father's death. He was drowned by his people for cannibalism.


Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope

The Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, is the oldest continuously existing scientific institution in South Africa. Founded by the British Board of Longitude in 1820, it now forms the headquarters building of the South African Astronomical Observatory.
The institution was located on a small hill south-east from the centre of Cape Town. Over the following century a suburb of the city grew up in the area; the suburb was named Observatory after the pre-existing Royal Observatory. It was declared a National Heritage Site in December 2018 and has also been the subject of an ICOMOS/IAU Case Study as a World Heritage Site.
History.
The proposal for a Southern observatory in all likelihood originated among the same group of people who founded the Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom. Its official establishment took place on 20 October 1820 through an Order in Council of King George IV of the United Kingdom. It remained a separate entity until 1972 when it was amalgamated with the Republic Observatory Johannesburg to form the present-day South African Astronomical Observatory. Its site is now the headquarters of the South African Astronomical Observatory.
In accordance with its mandate, the principal activity of the Observatory was Astrometry and it was over its existence responsible for publishing many catalogues of star positions. In the 20th century it turned in part towards Astrophysics but by the nineteen-fifties the city lights of Cape Town had rendered work on faint objects impossible and a new site in the Karoo semi-desert was sought. An agreement to facilitate this was ratified on 23 September 1970. Nevertheless, several telescopes remained in operation until the 1990s. These are rarely made use of today except for public outreach events. Alan Cousins was the last serious observer to work from the Royal Observatory site.
The Royal Observatory was responsible for a number of significant events in the history of astronomy. The second HM Astronomer, Thomas Henderson, aided by his assistant, Lieutenant William Meadows, made the first observations that led to a believable stellar parallax, namely of Alpha Centauri. However, he lost priority as the discoverer of stellar parallax to Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel who published his own (later) observations of 61 Cygni before Henderson got around to his.
Around 1840, Thomas Maclear re-measured the controversial meridian of Nicolas-Louis de La Caille, showing that the latter's geodetic measurements had been correct but that nearby mountains had affected his latitude determinations
In 1882, David Gill obtained long-exposure photographs of the great comet of that year showing the presence of stars in the background. This led him to undertake in collaboration with J.C. Kapteyn of Groningen the Cape Photographic Durchmusterung, the first stellar catalogue prepared by photographic means. In 1886, he proposed to Admiral A.E.B. Mouchez of Paris Observatory the holding of an international congress to promote a photographic catalogue of the whole sky. In 1887 this congress took place in Paris and resulted in the Carte du Ciel project. The Cape Observatory was assigned the zone between declinations −40° and −52°. The Carte du Ciel is regarded as the precursor of the International Astronomical Union.
In 1897 Frank McClean, a close friend of Gill's and the donor of the McClean telescope, discovered the presence of oxygen in a number of stars using an objective prism attached to the Astrographic Telescope.
In 1911, J.K.E. Halm, then the Chief Assistant, put forward a pioneering paper on stellar dynamics in which he hypothesized that the star streams discovered by Kapteyn arose from a Maxwellian distribution of stellar velocities. This paper also contains the first suggestion that stars obey a mass-luminosity relationship.
A later 20th-century HM Astronomer, H. Spencer Jones, was active in an international project for determining the solar parallax through observations of the minor planet Eros.
In the second half of the twentieth century Alan Cousins set up very precise southern standards for UBV and introduced a widely used system of VRI photometry that enjoyed international recognition for precision.
In 1977 the occultation of the star SAO 158687 was observed by Joseph Churms from the former Royal Observatory and these observations provided needed confirmation of the Uranian rings discovered from the Kuiper aeroplane by Elliot et al.
During the 19th century the Observatory was regarded as the main advisor to the colonial government on scientific matters. it served as the repository for standard weights and measures of the Colony and was responsible for timekeeping and geodetic surveying. A magnetic observatory was constructed in 1841 but burned down during the following decade. The Observatory also possesses a long series of meteorological records.
The history of the Royal Observatory has been the subject of several works.
Astronomers at the Cape.
The Royal Observatory's directors were known as His or Her Majesty's Astronomers at the Cape. They were as follows:
A full list of people who worked at the Royal Observatory and their publications, up to 1913, is given in Gill (1913). Other notable staff included:
Principal buildings.
A heritage survey was recorded in 2011 of a complete list of the buildings at the Observatory. They include:
Principal telescopes.
Historically, the main building contained a 10 feet focal length Transit by Dollond and a 6-feet Mural Circle by Thomas Jones. These were replaced by in 1855 by an 8-inch Transit Circle designed by George Biddell Airy, Astronomer Royal at Greenwich. The Airy instrument was removed in 1950. Some parts of these telescopes are in the Observatory's Astronomical Museum.
A 40-inch reflector by Grubb Parsons was installed in 1964 but was removed to Sutherland in 1972.
Astronomical Museum.
The former spectroscopic laboratory of the McClean telescope was converted into a museum in 1987, retaining the original 19th-century fittings. The building still contains the original hydraulic apparatus for raising the observing floor and a darkroom which contains specimens of darkroom equipment taken from various domes after photography went out of use. Items on display include telescope models, measuring machines, altazimuth instruments by Dollond (1820) and Bamberg (ca 1900), calculating machines, early office equipment, early electronic devices, lenses from early telescopes including the photographic telescopes of Gill, a clockwork telescope drive, a signal pistol, chemistry equipment etc.
Natural history.
The Royal Observatory site is situated in the Two Rivers Urban Park, a wetland area. The underlying rock is Malmesbury shale with a zone of greywacke and quartzitic limestone. Some of its original ecology is preserved and it supports a wide variety of animals and plant life. It is the northern limit of the Western Leopard Toad (Bufo Pantherinus) and the only remaining natural habitat of the rare iris, Moraea aristata.


Ntare I of Burundi

Ntare I Kivimira Savuyimba Semunganzashamba Rushatsi Cambarantama was the king of Burundi from 1680 to 1709. He was a legendary descendant of the Ntwero family, and was probably the first king of Burundi.
There is one main legend stating that the ancient kingdom of Burundi was founded by a man named Cambarantama. The legend states that in pre-colonial Burundi,Cambarantama came from the southern state of Buha.
In order to celebrate this great king, "NTARE RUSHATSI, The Lion and the Sheep" A critically acclaimed short 2D animation film about the King Ntare Rushatsi's life was created by Nifasha Florian a Burundian movie Director in 2019.