Human Saga

On April 7

On April 7, the Human Saga records one pivotal event: The Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi (1994).

On this day

7 April – 19 July 1994The Rwandan genocide against the TutsiMilitary & conflict

Over roughly 100 days from 7 April 1994, members of Rwanda's Hutu-led government, army and allied militias such as the Interahamwe carried out a systematic genocide against the Tutsi minority, also killing moderate Hutu and Twa.

Also this week in history (Apr 4 – Apr 10)

10 April 1815 (climactic eruption); global cooling through 1816Eruption of Mount Tambora and the Year Without a SummerEnvironment & climate

On 10 April 1815 Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) erupted in the most powerful volcanic event in recorded history, a VEI-7 explosion that ejected roughly 40 cubic kilometres of material and…

On 9 April 1288, the forces of Dai Viet, commanded by the Tran-dynasty grand commander Tran Hung Dao, annihilated the invading Yuan-Mongol fleet on the estuary of the Bach Dang River in present-day Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam.

5 April 1722Jacob Roggeveen reaches Rapa Nui (Easter Island)Exploration & colonisation

On Easter Sunday, 5 April 1722, the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to sight and land on Rapa Nui, which he named Paasch-Eyland (Easter Island) for the day of its discovery.

4 April 1949Founding of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty)Military & conflict

On 4 April 1949 twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

10 April 1998The Good Friday Agreement in Northern IrelandPolitics & governance

Signed on 10 April 1998, the Good Friday Agreement (also called the Belfast Agreement) brought a substantial end to the Troubles, the three-decade ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland between mainly Catholic Irish nationalists…

6 April 2014 (Nigeria GDP rebasing)Nigeria becomes Africa's largest economyEconomy & trade

On 6 April 2014 Nigeria announced the results of a long-overdue 'rebasing' of its gross domestic product, updating the base year for its national accounts from 1990 for the first time in decades.

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