History of Niger

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Map of Niger

This article covers the history of Niger .

Pre-colonial period

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In times when today's Sahara was more humid, the area of ​​today's Niger was densely populated. The graves of Gobero date from two epochs, from 7700-6200 BC. And from the so-called period of cattle , which here, unlike other regions, was around 5200 BC. Began and until 2500 BC. Lasted. They are the oldest known graves in what is now the Sahara region. With the drying up and devastation of the landscape, people moved further south, so that the north of Niger is now only sparsely populated by Tuareg nomads.

In the area of ​​today's Niger, Islam slowly gained acceptance from the 7th century, but finally gained acceptance in the 11th century. The region has long been under the influence of neighboring states such as the Songhaire Empire ( in the 7th century BC) as well as Gao (since 1010) and the Mali Empire (14th century). Long-distance trade was carried out with the Mediterranean region since the 11th century; Agadez was established as a trading center. The Songhay built a powerful Islamic empire from the end of the 15th century, which collapsed after fighting with Morocco at the end of the 16th century . After that Niger came under the influence of Kanem-Bornu as well as the emirate Katsina , Gobir and various other house states (since the 17th century). The large and powerful Sultanate of Damagaram , supported by Hausa and Tuareg, was established in Zinder in 1731 and lived on taxes on the caravan trade. His sultans still perform a ceremonial function today. The Hausa dynasties, however, have been increasingly threatened by Arab jihadists and the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria since the beginning of the 19th century , who accused the emirs of only nominal conversion to Islam and took over the Hausa emirates after armed conflict. During this time, however, a Zarma state was able to establish itself in Dosso .

Colony of France

In 1898 the leader of a French expedition in Zinder was murdered on behalf of the Sultan of Damagaram. The retaliatory strike was marked by extreme grayness. The captains even paid their soldiers wages in the form of slaves. In the same year England and France finally agreed on the future borders of their colonies in Upper Senegal, as the area was then called. In 1899/1900 there were further bitter battles against the colonial troops. In 1901 these were finally established in Zinder, which was replaced by Niamey as the capital in 1903 (except for the period 1910-26). Since 1912 the Niger territory was part of French West Africa . An intense Catholic mission began in the 1930s. In 1945 Niger became French overseas territory and sent members of the French National Assembly. The women's suffrage was introduced 1956th The first government of Niger put together in 1957 Djibo Bakary of the Sawaba party . Bakary resigned in 1958 when his party lost a referendum on full independence.

independence

The German President Heinrich Lübke on a state visit to Niger in 1969

On December 18, 1958, Niger became an autonomous republic within the French Community ( Communauté française, previously Union française ). The country gained independence on August 3, 1960, and Hamani Diori became the first president . In 1974, he was overthrown in a military coup on charges of corruption and a drought and famine that caused discontent. The Supreme Military Council was formed to rule the country. At its head was Colonel Seyni Kountché .

In 1971, uranium mining began in Niger , which was greatly expanded in the 21st century.

After Kountché's death in November 1987, General Ali Saibou succeeded him. It was not until 1990 that a wave of strikes and demonstrations led to the approval of opposition parties. At a constitutional conference called in July 1991, the powers of the president were declared null and void and a transitional government under André Salifou was convened.

Finally, in 1992 a new constitution was adopted by referendum. Parliamentary elections were held in 1993 and the Alliance for Forces of Change (AFC), a coalition of eight parties, emerged as the big winner. A month later, Mahamane Ousmane , the leader of the AFC, was elected president. The first AFC prime minister resigned in September 1994 after his party left the alliance.

His successor did not succeed in holding a parliamentary majority, so new elections were scheduled for January 1995. This resulted in the Mouvement National de la Société de Développement (MNSD, the former unity party) with 29 seats as the strongest single party. A multi-party coalition was formed.

On April 24, 1995, the Ouagadougou Agreement was signed between the Niger government and the Tuareg rebels of the Organization of the Armed Resistance , which put an end to a three-year civil war for the time being. The peace agreement was negotiated through the mediation of France, Burkina Faso and Algeria. Since the Niger government never properly implemented the agreement, the Tuareg rebels sought further talks. On December 15, 1995, Mano Dayak , the head of the Armed Resistance Coordination , was killed when his plane exploded on the way to negotiations with the Nigerien Prime Minister.

In January 1996 there was another military coup and the existing constitution was repealed. Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara became the new president . The head of government, Boukary Adji , appointed by the coup plotters , set up a transitional cabinet made up of only civilians.

In 1996 a new constitution was adopted in a referendum. In November 1997, President Maïnassara declared the government team that had been in office since the end of December 1996 to be incompetent. Maïnassara dissolved the government of Amadou Boubacar Cissé and two days later appointed Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki as the new prime minister.

On April 9, 1999, Maïnassara died in a military coup. A few days later, a National Council of Reconciliation consisting of the military , with General Daouda Malam Wanké as chairman, was set up as a governing body . Since Wanké wanted to transfer government responsibility to a civilian government as quickly as possible, presidential elections were held on November 26th. The former Colonel Tandja Mamadou , the candidate of the Mouvement National pour la Société de Développement (MNSD), was elected as the new head of state. The new head of government was Hama Amadou from the MNSD.

In 2005/2006 there was a hunger crisis in Niger .

As the government of Niger never fully implemented the Ouagadougou peace agreement , another uprising of the Tuareg rebels ( Nigerien Movement for Justice , MNJ) broke out in early 2007 . Above all, the MNJ is demanding that the Niamey government be able to use their traditional grazing areas. The Niger government allows companies from France, the USA, China and Canada to mine uranium in the pastureland of the Tuareg . In August 2007, the conflict spread to neighboring Mali . In a coup on February 18, 2010, Tandja Mamadou was deposed by a military junta led by the squadron commander Salou Djibo and the constitution was suspended.

Web links

Commons : History of Niger  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger. 4th edition, Lanham MD 2012, pp. XXV f.
  2. ^ Franz Ansprenger : Politics in Black Africa: The modern political movements in Africa with French characteristics. Springer Verlag 2013, p. 23.
  3. ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger. 4th edition, Lanham MD 2012, pp. XXVII ff.
  4. ^ Jad Adams: Women and the Vote. A world history. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870684-7 , page 438
  5. ↑ Udo Scholze , Detlev Zimmermann , Günther Fuchs : Under lily banner and tricolor: on the history of the French colonial empire . Leipziger Universitäts-Verlag 2001, ISBN 978-3934565968 , page 224
  6. ↑ coup end military kidnap President. In: Spiegel Online. February 18, 2010, accessed December 2, 2014 .