THESE TIMELINES WERE BEGUN FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS RESOURCES FOR ANY KIND OF RESEARCH PAPER. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS AN AID TO GIVE A "JUMPING OFF POINT." THESE TIMELINES ARE NOT PEER-REVIEWED; THEREFORE, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO ANY NUMBER OF UNINTENTIONAL AUTHORIAL TYPING ERRORS AND/OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS. REMEMBER, INTERNET SOURCES (WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS) CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE SOURCES!!
Because I did these timelines initially only for my own personal use, I have paraphrased and quoted without citing as one should for a research paper; therefore, anyone using these timelines should consult the sources listed on the Historical Timelines Page.
DO NOT QUOTE FROM THESE TIMELINES!! ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK MY WORK!!!!
Asia:
India-
Sikh Wars (1845-6, 1848-9)
The first Sikh War occurred when the Sikhs, worried that the British were looking to conquer Punjab and add it to India (which was completely under British control at this time), crossed the Sutlej River with troops (December 11, 1845). The Brits defeated them in 1846. The Sikhs were forced to pay an indemnity and to cede Kashmir. Punjab was put under a British protectorate, which made the Sikhs less than thrilled and caused the second Sikh War.
The second Sikh War began when 2 British officers were killed in a riot in April of 1848. This led to a general uprising, which the Brits put down in early 1849. The Brits annexed Punjab (divided in the 1947 independence of India into East Punjab, which is now in India (the vast majority of the approximately 16,000,000 Sikhs live in East Punjab) and into West Punjab, which is now in Pakistan) in March of 1849.
Motilal Nehru (1861-1931), Indian Political Leader
Mahatma (means "The Great-Souled") Gandhi ("Father of India") (1869-1948), President of Indian National Congress (1925-1934) Indian Nationalist/Spiritual Leader, killed by radical Hindu
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1927- ) German/British/Indian Novelist/Screenwriter
Independence (1947)
Jawaharla Nehru (1889-1964), 1st Prime Minister of Independent India (1947-1964)
Arundhati Roy (1961- ) Indian Novelist
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), Indian Prime Minister (1966-1977, 1980-1984), killed by radical Sikh
China--
Sun-tzu (4th century BC) Chinese Writer/Military strategist
Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1858) 1st--Great Britain vs. China; 2nd--Great Britain and France vs. China
Treaty of Nanking (1842) opens several Chinese ports to British and cedes Hong Kong
Treaty of Tientsin (1858) China forced to open river ports
Chino/Sino-Japanese Wars
1st (1894-1895) fought over Korea. Japan won Formosa, Liaotung Peninsula, and Pescadores
2nd (1931-1945) China wins back above three areas
Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) Chinese try to eject or kill foreigners, representatives of foreign powers, and Chinese Christians
Mao Tse-tung (Zedong) (1893-1976), Chairman of Communist Party and People's Republic of China (1949-1959)
Great Leap Forward (1958-1960)
Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
Japan-
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
Rivalry between Russia and Japan over Manchuria and Korea. February 1904-Japanese break off relations with Russia. Japanese cross Yalu from Korea to Manchuria. Treaty of Portsmouth, NH (September 15, 1905)-shows that Japan is equal to countries in the West. Chinese sovereignty in Manchuria, cedes Kwantung Peninsula and Southern Manchurian Railway to Changchow to Japan. Japanese given Southern half of Sakhalin. Russia must recognize Japanese interest in Korea. This is the primary cause of Russian Revolution of 1905. Shows Japan is a world power.
World War I (1914-1918)
Franco-Prussian War almost makes this inevitable. Begins with the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.
Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and OttomanEmpire/Turks vs. Allies: Great Britain, Russia, Italy, France, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and Japan; U.S. enters in 1917.
World War II (1939-1945)
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Finland, Spain, Denmark, Manchukao, and Nanking vs. Allied Powers: England (except Ireland), France, Russia, Netherlands, and United States. Japanese wants to expand-1931-1932-Japanese take Manchuria and go into China (weakened by Civil War).
Vietnam--
Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969), President of Communist Vietnam (1945-1969), Leader of Viet Cong
Vietnam War (1965?-1973 or 4)
Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) Vietnamese political figure-communist. 1941-founded Viet Minh to fight Japanese. 1945-declared Vietnam independent with him as president. French returned until 1954. 1954-Geneva conference recognizes Ho as President of North. 1956-South refused to hold elections, Ho organized National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) to gain control of South.
1954-split into North (Communist)-which had USSR and Chinese aid and South (non-Communist)--which had U.S. aid. Tet Offensive launched by North Vietnamese (January 31, 1968). May 1975-South Vietnam fell to Communists. Viet Cong were Communist insurgents, not necessarily from the North. Civil War was aimed at reunification. By 1969-U.S. had approximately 550,000 troops in South Vietnam. Peace treaty in January 1973-involved South Vietnamese, U.S., N. Vietnamese, and National Liberation Front (provisional Communist government in S. Vietnam)
Korea-
Korean War (1950-1953) At conclusion of WWII, Korea was divided along 38th parallel-North went to USSR and South went to US. We wanted to united North and South Korea but Chinese didn't want that. November 1950-Chinese crossed border, UN/U.S. driven back to South Korea. Seoul is in South Korea. Retaken by Communists. Unifying Korea has been abandoned as an objective. July 27, 1953-Armistice signed-2 Koreas will remain independent of each other with 2.5 mile demilitarized zone.
U.S. and Southern Republic of Korea (south of 38th parallel) vs. Northern People's Democratic Republic of Korea (north of 38th parallel) and Chinese with help of USSR. June 25, 1950-North invaded South. U.S. drove them to Yalu River (which separates Korea and China) in November 1950.
General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) is the Supreme Commander of Korea, served in WWI and WWII. Fired for subordination on April 10, 1951.
Afghanistan-
Afghanistan Invasion-Soviet puppet of Communist government in Afghanistan with support of USSR. Rebels were fighting it and doing well so USSR came in and US began to back the rebels. Soviet forces invaded in 1979 and established puppet government. Rebels fled to Pakistan and Iran. USSR withdrew in early 1989.