Language/Reunion-creole-french/Culture/Réunion-Timeline
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Historical Timeline for Réunion - A chronology of key events
Réunion Timeline[edit | edit source]
Date | Event |
---|---|
-3 million years | Emersion of the Piton des Neiges (end of activity: -12,000 years). |
-500,000 years | Collapse of the old massif of Reunion Island (the Piton des Neiges), formation of circuses. Around the same time, the Piton de la Fournaise was born. |
12th century | First written mention of the island in Arab stories. |
1500 | The Portuguese Diego Diaz drifts because of a storm at the Cape of Good Hope and discovers Mauritius, Reunion and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, but does not dock there. |
1516 | Another Portuguese, Dom Pédro de Mascarenhas, on approaching the archipelago formed by Reunion Island, Mauritius and Rodrigues, calls them Mascareignas or Mascareignes, but still does not land there. |
1638-1640 | France takes possession of the two islands under the name of Bourbon (Reunion) and Isle de France (Mauritius). |
1646 | First colonization by deported mutineers. They stay there for three years. |
1663 | Definitive occupation of Bourbon by the French. |
1665 | Etienne Regnault and 20 colonists land on Bourbon Island. |
1715 | Introduction of coffee cultivation by the Malouins. |
1735 | Mahé de La Bourdonnais becomes Governor General of the Islands until 1746. |
1738 | Saint-Denis becomes the capital of Bourbon. Beginning of the wars between the French and the English in India. |
1767 | Buyout of Île de France and Île Bourbon from the Compagnie des Indes. Effective retrocession of the islands on July 14. |
1789 | French Revolution. |
1793 | The Convention changes the name of "Bourbon" to that of "La Réunion". Troubles and disunity on the island. |
1810 | Conquest of Île Bourbon by the English (who took the name of Bonaparte). The English also take Mauritius, Rodrigues and the Seychelles. |
1815 | Île Bourbon is returned to France by the Treaty of Paris and takes the name of Réunion again. The English keep everything else. |
1848 | December 20: effective abolition of slavery. |
1863 | Sugar crisis. Production falls by half. |
1914-1918 | First World War. |
1919 | Spanish flu and cyclone. |
1940 | A government appointed by Vichy is put in place. |
1942 | A commando of Gaullists dislodges the illegitimate government. |
1946 | Departmentalization. |
1959 | Creation of the PCR (Reunion Communist Party) by Mr. Paul Vergès (split from the French Communist Party). |
1975 | The CFA franc is replaced by the French franc. |
1991 | Riots in the sensitive district of Chaudron: several deaths. |
1996 | The minimum wage is aligned with that of the metropolis. |
2002 | The French franc gives way to the euro. The RMI is aligned with that of the metropolis. |
2005/2006 | Chikungunya epidemic, which affects one in four Reunionese in a few months and causes 250 deaths. |
2007 | Cyclone Gamède, the most intense cyclone historically observed. December: Miss Réunion is elected Miss France 2008. |
2009 | Opening of the Tamarins route |
2010 | After 12 years at the head of the Réunion region, Paul Vergès (PCR) gives way to the UMP candidate, Didier Robert. At the end of the year, the island is classified as a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and just after gigantic fires erupt in its heart in the Hauts de l'Ouest. |
2011-2012 | New fires in the Western and Southern Highs cause even more widespread damage, as the Low faces an upsurge in shark attacks, killing 5 people. In May, the Reunionese vote 71% for François Hollande, almost the record for France. |
2013 | The first stone of the New Coastal Route site was laid on December 20 at La Possession. |
2014 | On January 2, Cyclone Bejisa hits the west coast of the island. The state of natural disaster is declared. Municipal: four municipalities switch to the right (Saint-Paul, Saint-André, Saint-Louis and Le Tampon). Reunion's historic communist strongholds, such as the Port and the Possession, are dethroned. |
2015 | Nassimah Dindar is re-elected president of the Departmental Council of La Réunion, for a fourth term. |
2017 | Cyrille Melchior takes over the presidency of the Departmental Council. |
2018 | Reunion is strongly impacted by meteorological phenomena. Cilaos remains isolated for several months, the forests of the East are very damaged, many hiking trails are closed. |