This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms.
Africa CountryRiotNotesReferencesAlgeria1898 Algerian riotsBurundi 1972 Ikiza tragedy1993 ethnic violence in BurundiEgypt1945 Anti-Jewish riots in EgyptGhanasee: Ethnic conflict in GhanaIvory Coast2004 French–Ivorian clashesKenya (see: Ethnic conflicts in Kenya)Somali–Kenyan conflict2012 Baragoi clashes2012–13 Tana River District clashesLesotho2007 Anti-Chinese riot in Maseru in MaseruLibya1945 Anti-Jewish riots in Tripolitania1948 Anti-Jewish riots in Tripolitania1967 Tripoli pogromMauritania1989 race riots in MauritaniaRiots took place during Mauritania–Senegal Border WarMorocco1912 Fez riots1948 anti-Jewish riots in Oujda and JeradaMauritius1906 Pagoda riots1911 Curepipe riots1937 Uba riots1943 Belle Vue Harel Massacre1965 Mauritius race riots1968 Mauritian riots1999 Mauritian riots1999 L'Amicale riotsNigeria1966 anti-Igbo pogromSouth Africa1949 Anti-Indian riots in DurbanThese riots, taking place between 13–14 January 1949, were a pogrom in which Indians were targeted, predominantly by Zulus. In total 142 Asians died and another 1,087 people were injured; the riot resulted in the massacre of mostly poor Indians. It also led to the destruction of 58 shops, 247 dwellings, and one factory.1976 Soweto uprising1985 Anti-Indian riot in DurbanThis riot came as Zulu youth spilled into Asian suburbs of Durban (including Inanda) during the night. While this event was less severe in its intensity and of much shorter duration than the 1949 riots, this riot also saw hundreds of South-African Indians families fleeing their neighbourhoods in order to escape Zulu rioters who looted and torched their homes on the night of 7 August 1985."VIOLENCE SPREADS IN DURBAN AREA OF SOUTH AFRICA." New York Times. 1985 August 10.United Press International. 1985 August 8. "19 REPORTED DEAD IN SOUTH AFRICA RIOTING SPREADS TO ASIAN SUBURBS." South Florida Sun-Sentinel.Hassen, Fakir. 2006 May 23. "Current Africa race riots like 1949 anti-Indian riots: minister." The Indian Star. Archived from the original on 2009-02-03.2007 Anti-Somali riot in Port Elizabeth2020 riot in SenekalProtests in response to the killing of Brendin Horner turned violent. Rioters, largely Boers, stormed the courthouse where the two perpetrators were being held. Gunfire was exchanged, and a police van outside was turned over and set alight. Tanzania1964 Zanzibar RevolutionTook place on 12 January 1964.Tunisia1941 anti-Jewish riots in Gabès
Americas CountryRiotNotesReferencesBrazil1823 Anti-Portuguese riots in Rio de JaneiroRebelions in Bahia 1831 Anti-Portuguese riots in SalvadorCanada1784 Shelburne riots in Nova ScotiaThese riots took place in July 1784 by landless white Loyalist veterans of the American War of Independence against Black Loyalists and government officials in the Nova Scotian town of Shelburne, and the nearby village of Birchtown. They are considered the first race riots in Canada, and are one of the earliest recorded race riots in North America.Robertson, Jesse. 2014 November 19. "The Shelburne Race Riots." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada (last updated January 20, 2015).1835–45 Shiners' War 1847 Woodstock riotRiot between Catholics and members of the Orange Order in Woodstock, New Brunswick, that resulted in the deaths of up to ten people.Riot over a black person taking up a military uniform in 1852 in St. Catharines, Ontario.Riot over a black man marrying a white woman in 1860 in Chatham, Ontario.Riot over a blacks sitting in the main theatre section in 1860 in Victoria, British Columbia.1863 Oil Springs riot1875 Jubilee riots in Toronto1886 Vancouver anti-Chinese riotsAlso known as the Winter Riots.Anti-Chinese riot in 1892 due to a small-pox outbreak, (Calgary, Alberta)Anti-Chinese riot in 1907 due to an altercation between a Chinese employee and a white customer, (Lethbridge, Alberta)1907 Anti-Oriental riots in VancouverAs part of the larger anti-Asian Pacific Coast race riots of 1907, along the west coast of Canada and the US.Anti-German riots in reaction to World War I in 1916, (Calgary, Alberta)1918 Toronto anti-Greek riotAnti-Chinese riot in 1919, (Halifax, Nova Scotia)Anti-immigrant riot in 1919, (Winnipeg, Manitoba)1933 Christie Pits riot in TorontoAnti-black riot in 1940, (Calgary, Alberta)1969 Sir George Williams affair1990 Oka CrisisRiot by blacks against white-owned businesses in response to perceived discrimination against them in 1991, (Halifax, Nova Scotia)1992 Yonge Street riot in TorontoRioting by black protestors in response to the Rodney King verdict and another black victim of police brutality.1999 Burnt Church Crisis2020 Mi'kmaq lobster disputeMexico1911 Torreón massacrePeru1880s anti-Chinese riotsPeruvians held the Chinese as responsible for Chile's invasion during the War of the Pacific, due to Chinese support for Chile throughout the war. This would stem a sense of sinophobia among Peruvians, the first of its kind in Latin America.
In the Cañete region, Chinese immigrants were massacred by Afro-Peruvian peasants, led by women during the War of the Pacific. Following the war, Chinese were further targeted and murdered by native Peruvians. In the central Sierra, armed indigenous peasants sacked and occupied the haciendas of landed elite Criollo 'collaborationists', a majority of whom were of ethnic-Chinese descent. In Lima, Indigenous and mestizo Peruvians murdered Chinese shopkeepers. In response, Chinese coolies revolted, some even joining the Chilean Army. It was not until 1890s that anti-Chinese pogroms ended in Peru.Peloso, Vincent C. 2005. "Racial Conflict and Identity Crisis in Wartime Peru: Revisiting the Cañete Massacre of 1881." Social Identities 11(5):467–88. Kapsoli, Wilfredo. 1979. "El Peru en una coyuntura de crisis, 1879–1883." Pp. 35–36 in La Guerra del Pacífico, vol. 1, edited by W. Reategui, W. Kapsoli, et al. Lima: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. pp. 238 & ffTaylor, Lewis. Indigenous Peasant Rebellions in Peru during the 1880sBonilla, Heraclio. 1978. "The National and Colonial Problem in Peru." Past and Present1880s Indigenous uprising against white Peruviansde los Rios, Ramon Aranda, and Carmela Sotomayor Roggero. 1979. "Una sublevación negra en Chincha: 1879." In La Guerra del Pacífico, vol. 1, edited by W. Reategui, W. Kapsoli, et al. Lima: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. pp. 238 & ff
United States
Nativist period: 1700s–1860
1824: Providence, RI – Hard Scrabble Riots 1829: Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati riots of 1829 1831: Providence, RI - Hard Scrabble and Snow Town 1834: Ursuline Convent riots in Charlestown, Massachusetts – Convent burned to the ground 1834: Philadelphia, PA – pro-slavery riots 1834: New York, NY – New York City pro-slavery riots 1835: Boston, MA – pro-slavery riots 1835: Five Points Riot - "In June of the summer of 1835 occurred the Five Points riot, which grew out of the feeling between Americans and foreigners," 1835: Washington, D.C. – Snow RiotAugust 'Snow-Storm' Brought Devastation To D.C.. NPR. July 5, 2012.Snow-Storm in August: Washington City, Francis Scott Key, and the Forgotten Race Riot of 1835. 2012 book by Jefferson Morley. 1836: Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati riots of 1836 1841: Cincinnati, OH – Cincinnati riots of 1841 White Irish-descendant and Irish immigrant dock workers rioted against black dock workers. 1844: Philadelphia, PA – Philadelphia Nativist Riots 1851: Hoboken, NJ – anti-German riot 1855: Louisville, KY – "Bloody Monday" Protestant mobs attacked German and Irish immigrants.
Civil War period: 1861–1865
Reconstruction era: 1865–1877
1866: New Orleans massacre of 1866 1866: Memphis, Tennessee, mostly ethnic Irish against African Americans 1868: Pulaski riot 1868: St. Bernard Parish massacre, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, whites against blacks 1868: Opelousas massacre, Opelousas, Louisiana, whites against blacks 1868: Camilla massacre, Camilla, Georgia, whites against blacks 1870: Eutaw massacre, Eutaw, Alabama, whites against blacks 1870: Laurens, South Carolina 1870: New York City Orange Riot 1871: Second New York City Orange Riot 1871: Los Angeles, Chinese massacre. Mixed Mexican and white mob killed 17–20 Chinese in the largest mass lynching in U.S. history 1871: Meridian race riot of 1871, Meridian, Mississippi, whites against African Americans 1891: New Orleans, lynchings of Italians and riot 1873: Colfax massacre, white Democrats against black Republicans 1874: New Orleans, Louisiana (Battle of Liberty Place) After contested gubernatorial election, Democrats took over state buildings for three days 1874: Coushatta massacre, Coushatta, Louisiana, white Democrats against black Republicans 1874: Election Massacre of 1874 1874–1875: Vicksburg massacre, Vicksburg, Mississippi 1875: Yazoo City, Mississippi 1875: Clinton, Mississippi 1876: Hamburg massacre 1876: Ellenton massacre, Ellenton, South Carolina
Jim Crow era: 1878–1914
1885: Rock Springs, WY – Anti-Chinese riot 1886: Seattle, WA – Seattle riot of 1886No deaths were reported, but all Chinese and most other Asians were expelled from Seattle and Tacoma. Schwantes, Carlos A. "Protest in a Promised Land: Unemployment, Disinheritance, and the Origin of Labor Militancy in the Pacific Northwest, 1885–1886." Western Historical Quarterly. 13:4 (October 1982). 1889: Forrest City, AR – 1889 Forrest City riot 1891: New Orleans, LA – March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings 1898: North Carolina – Wilmington massacre (white Democrats overthrew elected government and attacked blacks)Thirty African Americans died. Robert A. Gibson, The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880–1950, Yale University, 1979. 1898: Lake City, SC – Lynching of Frazier B. Baker and Julia Baker 1898: Greenwood County, SC – Phoenix election riot 1900: New Orleans, LA – Robert Charles riots 1900: Manhattan, NY – Tenderloin anti-black mob and police riot 1904: Springfield, OH – Springfield race riot of 1904 1906: Springfield, OH – Springfield race riot of 1906 1906: Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Massacre of 1906 (whites against African Americans)Ten African Americans and two Caucasians died. Robert A. Gibson, The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880–1950, Yale University, 1979. 1906: Brownsville, TX – Brownsville affair 1907: Onancock, VA – Two buildings owned by black residents were burned, black residents were ordered to leave town, and some people were injured by gunfire. 1907: San Francisco, CA and Bellingham, WA – Pacific Coast race riots of 1907 (anti-Asian) 1908: Springfield, IL – Springfield race riot of 1908Two African Americans and four Caucasians died. Robert A. Gibson, The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880–1950, Yale University, 1979; Roberta Senechal, "Springfield Race Riot of 1908," Illinois History Teacher, Summer/Fall 1996. 1909: Omaha, NE – Greek Town riot 1910: Nationwide – Johnson–Jeffries riots (anti-black riots following the heavyweight championship victory of Jack Johnson against Jim Jeffries) 1910: Slocum, TX – Slocum massacre
War and interwar period: 1914–1945
1917: East St. Louis, IL – East St. Louis riotsAccording to federal, state and local government investigators, 39 African Americans died. But civilian investigations shortly after the riot indicate that between 100 and 200 African Americans died. The riot was notable for the brutality of white attackers, who used scalping, gouging out of eyes of victims. Some children were seen to kill others. Elliott M. Rudwick, Race Riot at East St. Louis, Southern Illinois University Press, 1964. 1917: Chester, PA – 1917 Chester race riot 1917: Philadelphia, PA - South Philadelphia Sugar Refinery Riot and The South Philadelphia Food Riots of 1917.