History

Pocket history of Albania

By the seventh century BC, the Illyrians (the apparent ancestors of the Albanian nation) settle in what is now Albania. In 229-168 BC the Romans defeat the Illyrians and establish the protectorate of Illyricum.

4th Century
The Roman Empire is divided in 395 AD, and the territory of today’s Albania falls into the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire.

14th Century
The Ottomans invade what is now Albania in 1385. Their rule lasts more than 500 years.

15th Century
Skanderbeg, the Albanian leader, wages a war of independence against the Ottomans starting in 1443 and enjoys remarkable success in keeping them at bay until his death in 1468.

19th Century
In the 1830s, the Ottomans crush Albanian autonomy. Uprisings break out over taxation policy in the 1840s. After Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire, the Prizren League is founded in 1878 to fight for autonomy and against the partitioning of Albanian territory.

20th Century
Local uprisings break out in 1909-1912. Albanians proclaim independence in Vlora on November 28, 1912. The Treaty of London recognises Albania in 1913, but Kosovo is given to Serbia. In 1914, during WWI, Italy invades Albania. In 1920 Albania regains independence. In 1925 Ahmet Zogu becomes president of the new Republic of Albania, but in 1928 Zogu proclaims a kingdom and crowns himself King Zog I. He cooperates with the Italians, who invade again in 1939, occupying Albania until 1943, when the Germans take over until their retreat in November 1944. The Communist-led National Liberation Front takes power. Yugoslavia, Albania’s erstwhile ally, tries to absorb the country, causing Albania to break with Belgrade in 1948. After 1956, when most of Eastern Europe undergoes de-Stalinization, Albania maintains a hardline stance. It criticises the Soviet Union, with which it breaks relations in 1961. In 1968 Albania withdraws from the Warsaw Pact. Albania cultivates relations with China. Imitating Beijing, Albania purges ‘reactionary’ influences. In its own version of the Cultural Revolution in 1967, it outlaws religion and closes all 2169 of the country’s churches and mosques. In 1978 the leadership condemns even China as revisionist and is left with no friends. Party head Enver Hoxha dies on April 11, 1985.

1990
After the totalitarian regimes collapse everywhere else in Eastern Europe, Communist Party leader Ramiz Alia announces cautious democratisation in March. Reform comes slowly. The People’s Assembly rescinds the ban on religion and on travel abroad in May. On December 12 the Democratic Party is founded, Albania’s first non-Communist party in the postwar era. Nine days later, the authorities dismantle the statue of Stalin in Tirana.

1991
In February, students at Enver Hoxha University launch a strike, demanding reforms; weeks of protests culminate in the toppling of Enver Hoxha’s statue in Skenderbeg Square. Waves of refugees flee the country in March. On March 31 the first multi-party elections in 68 years result in a victory for the Communists. In June the faults in the economy become clear when thousands of Albanians seeking asylum in Italy commandeer ships. An estimated 100,000 Albanians had fled the country in the previous 12 months.

1997
Collapsing pyramid schemes spark months of rioting and lawlessness throughout Albania in January. In June, parliamentary elections, held amidst nationwide unrest, result in a landslide victory for the Socialists. President Berisha, blamed for allowing the pyramid schemes to flourish, resigns.

1999
In response to Serb attacks on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, NATO launches an air war on Yugoslavia on March 25. The war turns Albania into a NATO base of operations, and by May 500,000 Kosovars have flooded into the country.

2001
In October, Edi Rama, a former art lecturer and painter supported by the Socialist Party, is elected mayor of Tirana and initiates a series of projects that change the face of the city.

2005
In July, Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party wins the national elections from Fatos Nano’s Socialists. The election results are delayed after allegations of voting irregularities and three deaths. OSCE monitors report that the elections only partially complied with international standards. Novelist Ismail Kadare wins the first international version of Britain’s Man Booker Prize.

2006
Albania signs the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, the first step towards closer cooperation with the EU.

2007
In June, US president George W. Bush gets a hero's welcome on his visit to Albania, where he allegedly is robbed of his watch during a meet and greet with the crowds in Fushe Kruja.

2008
March 15 – An accident in a factory used for defusing old munition causes series of explosions, wiping out the village of Gërdec (14km from Tirana), killing 26 and wounding nearly 300 people. The explosions destroy hundreds of houses, shatters windows of cars on the highway, and is heard as far away as Skopje. The defence minister resigns.

2009
In April Albania joins NATO. In June Berisha's Democratic Party of Albania narrowly wins the tight-fought national elections, which were marred by many irregularities. A political stalemate ensues when the opposition Socialist Party boycotts parliament after a ballot recount is refused, and continues to organise many demonstrations.

2010
At both ends of the year the Drini river and Lake Shkodra devastatingly flood lower areas of northern Albania. Central Shkodra is inundated under half a metre of water and sustains much damage in December.
After delays due to dodgy Albanian passports, the EU finally announces visa-free travel for Albanians to Europe's Schengen countries in December. On the first day of free travel, there's no huge increase in cross-border traffic.

2011
January 21 – The political problems which to the frustration of many Albanians have been dragging on since 2009 lead to a violent protest. Demonstrators attack the Prime Minister's residence, and nervous guards shoot at them, killing three protesters. Foreign ambassadors continue to call for calm, dialogue and compromise to solve the problems. Yet even after this, politicians shamelessly continue their blame games.