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| 1889 |
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| Death of Muhammad Bayram al-Khamis (b. 1840), advocate of Islamic reform. A descendant of one of Tunisia's most prominent ulama families, he studied and taught at the Zaytuna Mosque. He also served as the editor of the official government newspaper and supervisor of the government printing press. His own writings focused on Islamic reform as well as the history of 19th-century Tunisia. | 1 |
| Founding of La Dépêche Tunisienne, the daily newspaper of French protectorate policies. It continued until 1961. The views of French colonists were expressed in another paper, La Tunisie Française (1892). | 2 |
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| 1896 |
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| Khalduniyya School founded by graduates of Sadiqi College in order to offer those trained at the Zaytuna Mosque education in European subjects necessary for bureaucratic careers. | 3 |
| Beginning of the annual transfer of thousands of acres of habus land (property set aside as a trust for the support of a charitable institution or for the maintenance of a family's heirs) to the French Directorate of Agriculture. The confiscated land was then made available to French settlers. The practice continued until 1956. | 4 |
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| 1898 |
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| Government attempts to reform the Zaytuna Mosque curriculum were successfully resisted by the ulama. Traditional Islamic subjects, including Arabic grammar, Qur'anic commentary, and Islamic law, continued to be taught. | 5 |
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| c. 1907 |
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| FOUNDATION OF THE YOUNG TUNISIAN MOVEMENT. The first nationalist organization originated among a small, elite group of Sadiqi College graduates who in the 1880s had begun to discuss the future direction of their country. Their aims included economic and political modernization, goals that they argued could be achieved even under the French. They combined support for Western technological development with an insistence on the value of Islamic culture. By 1907, the group established its own newspaper in French, called Le Tunisien, which was published until 1911. | 6 |
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| c. 1911 |
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| The popularity of tea, an uncommon beverage in the 19th century, began to increase with the influx of Libyan refugees from the Italian invasion (1911). Tunisians adopted their custom of drinking green tea, which became the national drink in the 20th century. | 7 |
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| 1911 |
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| Imposition of martial law by the French. Riots provoked by French encroachment on a Muslim cemetery in Tunis prompted the declaration. | 8 |
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| 1912 |
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| A boycott of the Tunis tram system was organized by the Young Tunisians, who demanded that all non-Tunisians be dismissed and that indigenous employees receive equal pay. Riots broke out during the protest, leaders of the Young Tunisian movement were exiled, and the group was disbanded. (See Tunisia) | 9 |
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