Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Meiji Restoration
At that time, the Shogun ruled Japan, helped by its Samurai. Many Shogun had split Japan into Domains for their Samurai. Japan traded with no one, except for the Dutch and Chinese, who were given limited trading rights. Then, about twenty-five years before the Restoration, Commodore Perry arrived in Japan with his fleet and forced Japan to sign a trade agreement with America, and ulimtaely, the rest of the world. Western nations now had influence in Japan.
In 1868, a series of events happened in Japan, which was ruled by the Shogun at the time. Two years eariler, the foundation of the restoration was set when Saigō Takamori, the leader of Satsuma, and Kido Takayoshi, the leader of Chōshū, formed an alliance between them. They both supported Emperor Kōmei. In late 1867, Emperor Kōmei died, and Emperor Meiji succeeded him. At this time, Japan as starting to be capitalist, and the Western nations had influence, causing problems in the feudal society. Tokugawa Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned, giving the emperor alot of power.
Meiji then declared abolition of the two and a half centuries of shogun rule acting in the name of restoring Imperial rule. This started with the Boshin war, but Sastuma remained loyal and the Imperial-Sastuma forces destroyed ex-shogun Yoshinobu. Yoshinobu agreed to Imperial rule shortly afterward.
That was not the end of the war, shogun forces fled to the most northern Japanese province (That time it was know as Ezo.) and created the Republic of Ezo. After barely six months, the Imperial troops crushed the republic and executed its leaders. There was little peace afterward. In 1869, all Tokugawa lands were all under Imperial control. Shortly afterward, due to the finicial burden that paying Samurai caused, the Emperor began reducing their numbers. At the same time, the Imperial government imposed a nationwide conscription on Japan. For the first time in hundreds of years, all classes of society could join the military, compared to with before when only Samurai could join.
This however, lead to a series of rebellions. The largest and worst was the Satsuma rebellion, led by Saigō Takamori. The Imperial army, newly trained with western arms and tactics, successfully won most of the battles. Takamori made his last stand at Battle of Shiroyama, where he and the rest of his army was killed, most of them in the final charge against the Gatling guns. Afterwards, there were no more serious Samurai revolts. The Samurai had gotten the message from the Imperial Government that their time was up.
The idea of Samurai society lived on and in World War II Samurai swords were still used. Many land reforms were conducted also, ending the domains belonging to Samurai.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The French and Indian War
The book begins with the end of The War of the Spanish Succession. Then, there is a chapter briefly summarying the European wars leading up to it, and the colonzation of North America. It explains the advantages the French and Birtish have in North America, and the disadvantages. For example, the French have a large majority of the land, while the British land is smaller, however, the French population is small, and the British population is twenty times bigger.
As the book goes on, it explains the early French victories in the undeclared war, such as Edward Braddock's defeat and the capture of Fort Oswego. The war then enter Europe, and opposing nations had to take sides. It also shows the British point of view, like a new government appointed to clean up the British defeats. From my point of view, the most interesting battle of the war was the Battle of Quebec. Braddock's defeat was a bit confusing to me.
The French and Indian War, in my opinion, is extremely well written enjoyable book, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for information on the French and Indian War.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Ox-Bow Incident was written by Walter Van Tilburg Clark in 1940. The book is about a group of cowboys going after rustlers who had killed a person. The author is trying to teach us that lynching is not justice.
The story opens in Nevada, in a fictional valley, where a town lays. Like in all westerns, we meet the characters in a saloon. The main characters are Davies, Gil, Tetley, Croft, and the Judge. At the beginning, a friend of a character is killed by rustlers as they are stealing cattle. The cowboys group together to form a posse. The Judge fears the rustlers, if caught, would be hanged before they see a fair trial. The posse leaves and catches the rustlers in the middle of the night. The rustlers plead for their lives, saying they are innocent, however, the posse feels otherwise. After the posse hangs them, some of them feel guilty, and Tetley commits suicide.
The moral of the story is that ordinary people should not take justice into . their own hands. The author lets the readers know in many ways. For example, the lynching, when several of the characters were opposed to it and they did not think it was right. Afterward one of the men that lynched the victims, feeling guilty, killed himself. The author also reminds the reader of Jesus (crucified between two thieves), when the Mexican is lynched between two white men.
I would say that this is the best Western I ever read. People should read the The Ox-Bow Incident because it shows the true nature of what would happen if people took matters into their own hands.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Gun politics
By Sebastian Turton
The issue of gun ownership is always in doubt. The American public has debated for decades (maybe centuries) about gun control and gun rights. On one side are pro-gun groups and gun owners who favor more gun rights. On the other side are gun-control groups who favor more gun control laws. Lets examine both sides on the issue.
During the 1960s and 1980s, a number of gun control laws were introduced after the high profile assassinations of John Lennon, J.F Kennedy, and an attempted assassination on Ronald Reagen. More laws were added after Waco Siege and Ruby Ridge. Occasional school shootings in recent years have recieved plenty of media attention. The Assault Weapons Ban, for example, was enacted in 1994 after Waco, but the ban ended ten years later and was replaced by a lesser strict assault weapon law. Seventy-five percent of homicides using firearms were handguns.
Gun rights groups claim that many crimes have been thwarted by use of firearms by ordinary people. According to estimates by gun rights groups, 2.5 million crimes have been thwarted annually. Gun owners also use their guns for hunting. Many gun owners also use guns for self defense. Guns are usually associated with American popular culture.
Gun control groups have said that there is a need for stricter gun laws due to recent mass shootings such as the Virginia Tech massacre. For example, during Luby's massacre in 1991, one of the victims had a gun but it was in the car, if everyone had a gun there, they would have certainly cause more injuries or even deaths. About two thirds of all gun shoot victims are accidental.
Afer reviewing all the arguments by both sides of the issue, I believe Americans have a right to own firearms, but there should be more gun control laws to prevent more gun violence. I hope this issue will be resolved soon.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Machine gun
Machine guns are automatic weapons that fire bullets in a quick succession. The first machine guns were hand cranked. Later versions were self powered. Here are some of the first machine guns.
James Puckle, in 1718, designed what he called the Defence Gun. Puckle demonstrated his weapon, which were actually two versions. The Demonstration failed to attract any investors, and the gun was never used. It may have been the first ‘machine gun” ever designed. There are currently no preserved models, but only a few drawings.
The Gatling gun was the first gun in history that could fire continuously. The Gatling was designed in 1861 by Dr. Richard J. Gatling, and built in 1862. It saw service in The American Civil War in limited numbers, and was exported widely after the war. The Gatling was widely used because of its reliability, its high rate of fire, and very easy to use. It fell out of use after the Maxim gun was introduced to Europe.
The Gardner Gun was designed by Captain William Gardner of the U.S army. The Gardner was quickly put into production for the American navy after a successful demonstration, but the army refused to buy any. Then, and Gardner was offered to Britain’s navy, and the Royal Navy accepted, and soon the British army bought some also. It was replaced by the Maxim gun later in the 1880s.
In 1884, Sir Hiram Maxim designed the Maxim gun. Unlike previous machine guns such as the Gardner Gun and the Gatling gun (Which were hand ranked), the Maxim Gun was self powered. The Maxim was more efficient then earlier machine guns because of a new mechanism. Though Maxims were heavy and bulky, and took a team of people to operate it. Maxim guns became the primary gun of European armies during World War One.
The first machine guns were unreliable and slow to reload. They jammed quite often. The maxim for example, needed a constant supply of water to cool the barrels, it was also too heavy to move. The Gardner jammed quite often also. Gatlings were reliable, and were the most common machine guns up till the maxim gun was released.
Machine guns impacted World War I greatly. Millions on both sides were killed by the Maxim. The future of machine guns looks promising. Today, machine guns can fire ten thousand bullets easily in one minute. Machine guns changed the future of warfare forever.
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_gun
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatling_gun
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardner_gun
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_gun
5.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Battle of the Bulge Report
Battle of the Bulge
Report by Sebastian Turton
The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle of the Western European front of World War II. It was the last great German offensive of the war. The Americans were nearly defeated in the battle, but they rallied and beaten the Germans after a bloody three week battle. The Americans had suffered problems such as their winter clothing were too thin, and many of them suffered frostbite. The German offensive partly failed because many of the German tanks ran out of fuel in the end and the Germans had to get back to Germany on foot, and Hitler did not realize America’s capabilities.
The key German commanders in the battle were the following: Walter Model
,Gerd von Rundstedt, Jochen Peiper, Hasso von Manteuffel, Sepp Dietrich, and Otto Skorzeny, who was famous for the rescue of Mussolini. Allied commanders were the following: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar N. Bradley, George S. Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st airborne division at Bastogne (Who we would see later).
Prelude
The Germans by October 1944, were ready. Their army had suffered heavy losses during the fighting in the summer, but the Germans had an advantage, shorter supply lines. The Allies had stretched their supply lines too long, so the Allied advances had to be halted,. The Soviets on the Eastern Front suffered the same problems. The Germans managed to rebuilt their battered forces in the west and became a formidable fighting force.
Adolf Hitler was very frustrated by the failure of the Germans to stop the Allies from reaching the German border. Now the Allies was on his border, but his forces finally stopped the Allies. During a meeting some of the German army commanders, he then announced that the Germans would launch a great offensive that would spilt the allies and the allies would be forced to have peace with Germany.
The German commanders argued against this, saying that the Allied planes had control of the air, so Hitler proposed that the offensive would be deliberately launched in the wnter, that way that Allied fighters were grounded. Preparations for the offensive began. The German generals were swore to secrecy and couriers delivering messages also did the same. There was radio silence and the Germans used telephone and teleprinters to communicate, so the Allies could not hear their messages.
The Germans set aside some oil and gas needed for the offensive. Now all railroads were diverted to carrying troops to the western front. But the trains operated at night to prevent being seen by the allied aircraft. Every movement to the western front was during night.
Colonel Otto Skorzeny, a special operations colonel, was summoned to Hitler’s room and there he was told of the offensive. Skorzeny was to disguise his men as Americans and infiltrate the Allied lines, and cause confusion. He was described by British intelligence as “the Most dangerous man in Europe.”
By early December, everything was ready,. the Allies were in the dark. The Allies did believe that the Germans were not capable of launching an offensive. Eisenhower was out playing golf, other commanders were preparing for celebrations. Hitler issued final preparations and gave the final shocking order to all the German division commanders.
The Opening Days
At dawn, the Germans began the Battle of the Bulge. One thousand, nine hundred German artillery pieces opened up for a bombardment. The Americans were completely surprised, they had heard the Germans had few artillery pieces for example, an American officer thought that the Germans only had two horse drawn artillery pieces in his sector, when he heard the bombardment, he remarked” They are working those horse’s to death.”. After an hour of bombarding, it ceased and the German panzers struck.
In some places, the Germans outnumbered the Americans by five to one. The Americans mistakenly had put raw troops at the front, get some combat experience, but the Germans had captured thousands of them now. The surprise was complete. The weather had prevented the Allies from launching their fighters, but the weather also proved bad for the Germans. Roads were in poor condition. Poor traffic control hampered the German’s progress,
Hitler had the paratroopers dropped behind the lines to cut off the Americans, but the paratroopers were given only a few days to prepare and 2/3 of their number were killed while trying to land behind the lines. The German paratroopers however, caused more chaos behind the American lines. The Americans believed as many as a whole German division was dropped.
Otto Skorzeny’s men had penetrated the American lines and disguised as Americans, his men had caused more chaos now. One German disguised as an American directed a American unit to go the wrong way, another German told an American captain of the Germans unstoppable advances, and the captain gave up and retreated. Germans had also changed signs, which made a few American regiments go the wrong way.
The Germans had problems as they advanced, such as massive traffic jams, and mines laid by their own men when they were retreating a while back. One German commander (Jochen Peiper) was impatient and ordered his tanks to drive over the mines, and lost half a dozen tanks.
The SS Germans had shot American prisoners at Malmedy, this causing outrage among the Americans, and the Americans vowed no SS prisoners would be taken. The Malmedy Massacre had also hardened the resolve of the Americans. .The Americans had learned how to fight a harsh war.
In the north, the Germans did not flare well without tanks, and they did not make much advances until the end of the day. The center attack was successful, and the Germans were moving, but their progress was hampered by die-hard Americans all along the roads and by American Engineers laying mines while they retreated,
The American commanders were beginning to be aware of Germans among the Americans, so Military Police began questioning every soldier, asking questions such as the identity of Mickey Mouse’s girlfriend, baseball scores, or the capital of Illinois. General Bradley was arrested briefly because he answered the question right even though his questioner thought it was wrong.
Five Germans were caught in American disguise, but they made up a story saying that the Germans were on their way to Paris to kill General Eisenhower. The Allied security believed it and increased security around Paris. People were stopped randomly at Paris and were questioned. Eisenhower was a prisoner in his own house.
December 20 – December 25
The Germans continued to advance slowly. Their progress was slowed by American troops who were blowing up bridges and also supply dumps. St Vith was captured after hard fighting, but the Germans captured it on December 23, even though they had planned to capture it on December 17. Thousands of American prisoners were taken in St. Vith.
During a meeting, General Patton told General Eisenhower that his forces could be sent down in forty eight hours, to the disbelief of the other generals. Patton had earlier, already sent his men down south to counter attack the German forces before they could cross the Meuse River.
Two airborne divisions, the 101st, and the 82nd were rushed to battle. The 101st reached a crucial road junction, Bastogne by December 19, and the following day the Germans surrounded it. When the Germans demanded the town’s surrender, General Anthony McAuliffe gave his famous one word response, “Nuts”.
Now there were fifteen German divisions surrounding Bastogne, The Americans had one airborne division, one element from an armored division, and a Field Artillery battalion. There were also a few survivors from the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge that arrived at the town before it was surrounded.
The Americans were able to hold out since the Germans only attacked different points of the defensive positions of Bastogne, instead of attacking in one big mass. The Americans however, lacked clothing, food, medicine, and even leadership. (Since most of the officers were somewhere else). In the later stages of the battle, the artillery guns nearly ran out of ammunition, and reserved them for anti-tank rounds. Later they resumed shelling German positions because the weather had cleared, and the Allied planes could drop supplies.
By Late December, the weather began the clear, and the Allies counter –attacked. The German advance was completely stalled by December 24. Now the Germans had outrun their supply lines, and there were shortages of ammunition and fuel. General Hasso von Manteuffel recommended to Hitler that the German army should halt all offensive operations and retreated back to Germany. That way the Germans could regroup and continue to defend Germany with plenty of experienced men left. Hitler, true to this character, rejected this.
December 26 to January
Patton’s army on December 26 reached Bastogne after heavy fighting. Patton had kept his promise. The siege was over. To keep their offensive going, the German Air Force launched a attack on Allied airfields in the low countries. Hundreds of German planes attacked Allied airfields in a surprising attack, and left many allied planes destroyed and damaged. But the German aircraft themselves suffered heavy losses, and the Luftwaffe was now very weak, while the Allies replaced their losses in a few days.
The German ground forces also launched an offensive against the US seventh army. attacked from three sides, the American seventh army retreated. The Germans still controlled some areas. Montgomery and Patton’s armies attacked and forced the Germans back, but by then, the Germans were retreating successfully, but the Germans had to leave behind their heavy equipment.
On January 7, Hitler ordered a withdrawal from the Ardennes. The Germans did a successful fighting withdrawal and escaped the battle area, but the fuel situation had become so bad, that the Germans had to abandon their armored vehicles.
Aftermath
The Germans had lost plenty of their experienced soldiers at the battle of the Bulge. They were forced retreated to the Siegfried Line but were forced to retreat again as the Allied army resumed it offensive. In February, the Allied forces crossed the Rhine and by May, Germany surrendered to the Allied forces.
Conclusion
The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle of the western front. But many more Allied lives were saved since Hitler’s great Panzer divisions were smashed at the Bulge. If Hitler had stayed behind the Siegfried Line, thousands of Allied troops would certainly die trying to break through the line.
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge
2. John Toland’s Battle of the Bulge
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bastogne
4.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Introduction
Kosovo was part of a nation called Yugoslavia. Formed shortly after World War 1, Yugoslavia had different types of states and people. Alexander the 1st united it. He hoped to curb nationalist passions around Yugoslavia, but he never succeeded in managing to do that. Yugoslavia was invaded in World War 2 by the Germans and split it into several provinces and a puppet state. Over the course of war, Josip Broz Tito’s Communist partisans declared the creation of the Democratic Federative Yugoslavia in 1943.. Eventually all the other powers recognized it. In 1945, the Germans, after a long war with Tito’s army, were driven away from Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia under Tito was the only communist nation free from the influence of the Soviet Union, so the economy improved, and Yugoslavia’s people had more
freedom than people in the Soviet Union. However, Tito “threatened” to kill
anyone that tried to split the country into factions. After Tito died in 1980, ethnic nationalism began to rise again in Yugoslavia, and problems were going on around Yugoslavia. Kosovo Albanians demanded to be given the status of a constituent republic, which would give Kosovo the right to leave Yugoslavia anytime. The Serbs became angry and protested the demand. In 1988, Slobodan Milošević took charge of Yugoslavia. He replaced the
Albanian Kosovo’s representative with one of his allies, which the Kosovo people became angered and protested and demanded the reinstatement of their old representative. Yugoslav troops put down the protests with force.
Protests continued around the country, causing Yugoslav troops to be based around the cities to protect the Serbs. The European Union (EU) realized that Yugoslavia was slowly dissolving and urged Slobodan Milošević to accept that fact. Slobodan Milošević however refused the plan, saying it was not in the interests of the Serbs to see Yugoslavia dissolved. On July 2, 1990, an unconstitutional Kosovo parliament declared Kosovo an independent country, The Republic of Kosova was declared. During its lifetime, Kosova was only recognized by Albania, and a few other nations
Yugoslav troops began invading Kosovo to restore order. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fought them , though Yugoslavia troops had the advantage in numbers. Massacres began around Kosovo, of civilians suspected to be in the KLA. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the US-led anti-Soviet military organization, tried to negotiate by saying that NATO could send in as many as 30,000 troops to maintain order in Kosovo, but the Serbs and Russians refused. The NATO Bombing campaign then began.
NATO's bombing campaign lasted from March 24 to June 11, 1999, involving up to 1,000 aircraft operating mainly from bases in Italy and aircraft carriers stationed nearby. Cruise missiles were also used, fired from aircraft, ships and submarines. All of the NATO member states were involved. Over the ten weeks of the conflict, NATO aircraft flew over 38,000 combat missions. For the German Air Force, it was the first time it had joined in a conflict since World War II..
The bombing did accidentally hit refugee camps and foreign embassies, causing protests around the world. In May, when it became apparent that the Russians would not come to Serbia’s aid, Slobodan Milošević accepted the conditions, and NATO, under UN command, sent troops into Kosovo. The Yugoslav Army began withdrawing out of Kosovo, and the province was administered by the United Nations.
After the war ended, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1244 that placed Kosovo under an UN administration (UNMIK) and authorized KFOR, a NATO-led peacekeeping force. Resolution 1244 also stated that Kosovo would have autonomy within Yugoslavia (today, the legal successor of Yugoslavia is Serbia).
In 2001, UNMIK promulgated a Constitutional Framework for Kosovo that established the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), including an elected Kosovo Assembly, Presidency and office of Prime Minister. Kosovo held its first free, Kosovo-wide elections in late 2001
In March 2004, Kosovo experienced its worst ethnic violence since the Kosovo War. The unrest in 2004 was sparked by a series of minor events that soon cascaded into large-scale riots. NATO peacekeepers battled Albanian protesters for a week before it finally ended.
International negotiations began in 2006 to determine the final status of Kosovo, as envisaged under UN Security Council Resolution 1244. The UN-backed talks, lead by UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, began in February 2006.
In February 2007, Ahtisaari delivered a statussettlement proposal to leaders in Serbia and Kosovo, the basis for a draft UN Security Council Resolution which proposes 'supervised independence' for the province. Russia, which holds a veto in the Security Council as one of five permanent members, had stated that it would not support any resolution which was not acceptable to both Belgrade and Kosovo Albanians. While most observers had, at the beginning of the talks, anticipated independence as the most likely outcome, others have suggested thata rapid resolution might not be preferable.
After many months of discussions at the UN, the United States, United Kingdom and other European members of the Security Council formally 'discarded' a draft resolution backing Ahtisaari's proposal on 20 July 2007, having failed to secure Russian backing. Beginning in August, a group of negotiators consisting of people from European Union, the United States and Russia launched a new effort to reach a outcome acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina. Despite Russian disapproval, the U.S., the United Kingdom, and France appeared likely to recognize Kosovo independence. A declaration of independence by Kosovo Albanian leaders was postponed until the end of the Serbian presidential elections (4 February 2008). Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008. Over the following weeks, several countries like the United States, Turkey, Albania, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Australia and others, have announced their recognition, despite protests by Serbia in the UN Security Council. Serbia removed ambassadors for nations that recognized Kosovo as an independent nation.
The UN Security Council remains divided on the question (as of 25 February 2008). Of the five members with veto power, three (USA, UK, France) recognize the declaration of independence, and two (Russia and China) consider it illegal. The European Union has no official position towards Kosovo's status. As of today, most of member-countries of NATO, EU, WEU and OECD have recognized Kosovo as independent.
Of Kosovo's immediate neighbor states, Albania recognizes the declaration of independence, Macedonia announced they will likely recognize it within "a few weeks" and Montenegro stated they will wait for a decision of the European Union. Croatia, Bulgaria and Hungary, all neighbors of Serbia, announced in a joint statement that they would also recognize the declaration.
Slobodan Milosevic
Born on August 20, 1941, He got separated for his parents after WW2. His father committed suicide in 1962, and his mother hanged herself in 1974. He joined the communist party while he was studying law at the Belgrade University. He became advisor to the Mayor of Belgrade, and continued working his way up the party ranks. On April 16, 1984 Slobodan Milosevic was elected to a two-year term as president of the Belgrade League of Communists City Committee. [
On February 21, 1986 the Socialist Alliance of Working People supported him as presidential candidate for the SKJ's Serbian branch Central Committee. Milosevic was elected by a majority vote at the 10th Congress of the Serbian League of Communists on May 28, 1986.
In 1988, Ivan Stambolic resigned, and Slobodan became President. In June 1991 Slovenia and Croatia seceded from the Yugoslav federation. They were followed by the republics of Macedonia in September and Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 1992. This provoked the beginning of the Yugoslav wars.
Milosevic was opposed to granting the republics greater freedom or independence. However he had little opposition to Slovenia leaving the country. In early 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina was also plunged into war even before its formal declaration of independence. Milosevic signed an agreement to end the war.
Another war broke out in Kosovo, the Kosovo Liberation Army fought the Serbian army hard. Milosevic continued the massacres until NATO forced him to back down. On May 27, 1999, he was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. The possibility of his standing trial seemed remote at this point; despite the loss of Kosovo, he still appeared to retain popular support. He died in 2006 while the trial was still ongoing.
Year | Event |
1988 | Slobodan Milosevic becomes president of Yugoslavia. |
1990- July | Ethnic Albanian leaders declare independence from Serbia. Belgrade dissolves the Kosovo government. |
1990- September | Sacking of more than 100,000 ethnic Albanian workers, including government employees and media workers, prompts general strike. |
1991 | Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia break away from Yugoslavia and declare their independence. |
1992 | War breaks out in the Balkans |
1992 July | An academic, Ibrahim Rugova, is elected president of the self-proclaimed republic. |
1998 - March-September | Open conflict between Serb police and separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Serb forces launch a brutal crackdown. Civilians are driven from their homes. |
1998 September | North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) gives an ultimatum to President Milosevic to halt the crackdown on Kosovo Albanians. |
1999 March | Internationally-brokered peace talks fail. NATO launches air strikes against Yugoslavia lasting 78 days before Belgrade yields. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees pour into neighbouring countries, telling of massacres and forced expulsions which followed the start of the Nato campaign. |
1999 June | President Milosevic agrees to withdraw troops from Kosovo. NATO calls off air strikes. The UN sets up a Kosovo Peace Implementation Force (KFOR) and NATO forces arrive in the province. The KLA agrees to disarm its forces. Serb civilians flee revenge attacks. |
2002 February | Ibrahim Rugova is elected as president by the Kosovan parliament after ethnic Albanian parties reach a power-sharing deal. Bajram Rexhepi becomes prime minister. |
2003 October | First direct talks between Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders since 1999. |
2003 December | UN sets out conditions for final status talks in 2005. |
2004 March | 19 people are killed in the worst clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians since 1999. The violence started in the divided town of Mitrovica. |
2004 October | President Rugova's pro-independence Democratic League tops poll in general election, winning 47 seats in 120-seat parliament. Poll is boycotted by Serbs. |
2004 December | Parliament re-elects President Rugova and elects former rebel commander Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister. Mr Haradinaj's party had entered into a coalition with the president's Democratic League. |
2005 February | Serbian President Boris Tadic visits, promises to defend rights of Serbs in Kosovo. |
2005 March | Mr Haradinaj indicted to face UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, resigns as prime minister. Bajram Kosumi succeeds him. President Rugova unhurt when explosion rocks convoy of vehicles in which he is travelling through Pristina. |
2005 July | Nearly-simultaneous blasts go off near UN, OSCE and Kosovo parliament buildings in Pristina. No-one is hurt. |
2005 August | Two Serbs shot dead and two injured when their car is fired on. |
2006 January | President Rugova dies in Pristina of lung cancer. He is succeeded in February by Fatmir Sejdiu. |
2006 February | UN-sponsored talks on the future status of Kosovo begin. |
2006 March | Prime Minister Kosumi resigns following criticism of his performance from within his own party. He is succeeded by former KLA commander Agim Ceku. |
2006 July | First direct talks since 1999 between ethnic Serbian and Kosovan leaders on future status of Kosovo take place in Vienna. |
2006 October | Voters in a referendum in Serbia approve a new constitution which declares that Kosovo is an integral part of the country. Kosovo's Albanian majority boycotts the ballot and UN sponsored talks on the future of the disputed province continue. |
2007 February | United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari unveils a plan to set Kosovo on a path to independence, which is immediately welcomed by Kosovo Albanians and rejected by Serbia. |
2007 November | Hasim Thaci emerges as winner in the Kosovo elections. |
2008 February | Kosovo declares independence. Serbia says declaration illegal. Europe's major powers and the United States recognize independence. |