Cuba
1492 - Christopher Columbus claimed Cuba for Spain.
1511 - Spanish conquest began by Diego de Velazquez, who established Baracoa and other settlements.
1526 - Slaves were imported from Africa.
1762 - Havana captured by a British force led by Admiral George Pocock and Lord Albemarle.
1763 - Havana returned to Spain by the Treaty of Paris.
1868 - War of independence began, lasted for 10 years, ended 1878 in a truce with Spain promising reforms and greater autonomy but never fulfilled.
1886 - Slavery abolished.
1895 - Jose Marti led a second war of independence until 1898 when the US declaredwar on Spain.
1898 - US defeated Spain, which gaveup all claims to Cuba and ceded it to the US.
1902 - Cuba becameindependent with Tomas Estrada Palma as its president; however, the Platt Amendment kept the island under US protection and gave the US the right to intervene in Cuban affairs.
1906 - Estrada resigned and the US occupied Cuba following a rebellion led by Jose Miguel Gomez.
1909 - Jose Miguel Gomez became president following elections supervised by the US, but was accused of corruption.
1912 - US forces returned to Cuba to put down black protests against discrimination.
1924 - Gerado Machado instituted reforms in mining, agriculture and public works, but subsequently established a brutal dictatorship.
1925 - Socialist Party founded, forming the basis of the Communist Party.
1933 - Sergeant Fulgencio Batista led a military coup that overthrew Machado.
1934 - The US abandoned its right to intervene in Cuba's internal affairs, revised Cuba's sugar quota and changed tariffs to favour Cuba.
1944 - Batista retired and was succeeded by the civilian Ramon Gray San Martin.
1952 - Batista returned to power and presided over an oppressive and corrupt regime.
1953 - On July 23, Fidel Castro led an unsuccessful revolt against the Batista regime.
1956 - Castro landed in eastern Cuba from Mexico and went into the Sierra Maestra mountains where, aided by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, he waged a guerrilla war.
1958 - The US withdrew military aid to Batista.
1959 - Castro led a 9,000-strong guerrilla army into Havana, forcing Batista to flee. Castro became prime minister, his brother, Raul, became his deputy and Guevara became third in command.
1960 - All US businesses in Cuba were nationalised without compensation; US broke diplomatic relations with Havana.
1961 - US sponsored an abortive invasion by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs; Castro proclaimed Cuba a communist state and began to ally it with the USSR.
1962 - Cuban missile crisis ignited when, fearing a US invasion, Castro agreed to allow the USSR to deploy nuclear missiles on the island. The crisis was subsequently resolved when the USSR agreed to remove the missiles in return for the withdrawal of US nuclear missiles from Turkey.
1965 - Cuba's sole political party renamed the Cuban Communist Party.
1972 - Cuba became a full member of the Soviet-based Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
1976 - Cuban Communist Party approved a new socialist constitution; Castro elected president.
1976-81 - Cuba sent troops first to help Angola's left-wing MPLA withstand a joint onslaught by South Africa, Unita and the FNLA and, later, to help the Ethiopian regime defeat the Eritreans and Somalis.
1980 - Around 125,000 Cubans, many of them released convicts, fled to the US.
1982 - Cuba, together with other Latin American states, gave Argentina moral support in its dispute with Britain over the Falkland islands.
1988 - Cuba agreed to withdraw its troops from Angola following an agreement with South Africa.
1991 - Soviet military advisers left Cuba following the collapse of the USSR.
1993 - The US tightened its embargo on Cuba, which introduced some market reforms in order to stem the deterioration of its economy. These included the legalization of the US dollar, the transformation of many state farms into semi-autonomous cooperatives, and the legalization of limited individual private enterprise.
1994 - Cuba signed an agreement with the US according to which the US agreed to admit 20,000 Cubans a year in return for Cuba halting the exodus of refugees.
1996 - US trade embargo made permanent in response to Cuba's shooting down of two US aircraft operated by Miami-based Cuban exiles.
1998 - Pope John Paul II visited Cuba.
1998 - The US eased restrictions on the sending of money to relatives by Cuban Americans.
1999 - In November, Cuban child Elian Gonzalez was picked up off the Florida coast after the boat in which his mother, stepfather and others had tried to escape to the US capsized. A huge campaign by Miami-based Cuban exiles began with the aim of preventing Elian from rejoining his father in Cuba and of making him stay with relatives in Miami.
2000 - In June, Elian was allowed to rejoin his father in Cuba after prolonged court battles. In October, the US House of Representatives approved the sale of food and medicines to Cuba. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Cuba and signed accords aimed at boosting bilateral ties.
2001 - In October, Cuba angrily criticized Russia's decision to shut down the the Lourdes radio-electronic centre on the island, saying President Putin took the decision as "a special gift" to US President George W. Bush ahead of a meeting between the two. In November, US exported food to Cuba for the first time in more than 40 years after a request from the Cuban government to help it cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Michelle.
2002 - In January, prisoners taken during US-led action in Afghanistan are flown into Guantanamo Bay for interrogation as al-Qaeda suspects. Russia's last military base in Cuba, at Lourdes, was closed. In April, the UN Human Rights Commission again criticized Cuba's rights record. The resolution was sponsored by Uruguay and supported by many of Cuba's former allies including Mexico. Uruguay broke ties with Cuba after Castro said it was a US lackey. In May, US Under Secretary of State John Bolton accused Cuba of trying to develop biological weapons, adding the country to Washington's list of "axis of evil" countries. Former US president Jimmy Carter made a goodwill visit which included a tour of scientific centres, in response to US allegations about biological weapons. Carter was the first US president to visit Cuba since the 1959 revolution. In June, the National Assembly amended the constitution to make socialist system of government permanent and untouchable. Castro called for the vote following criticisms from US President George W. Bush.
2003 - In March, a crackdown on dissidents drew international condemnation. 75 people were jailed for terms of up to 28 years; 3 men who hijacked a ferry in an attempt to reach the US were executed. In June, the EU halted high-level official visits to Cuba in protest at the country's recent human rights record.
2004 - In April, the UN Human Rights Commission censured Cuba over its rights record. Cuban foreign minister described the resolution that passed by single vote as "ridiculous". In May, US sanctions restricted US-Cuba family visits and cash remittances from expatriates. In October, President Castro announced ban on transactions in US dollars, and imposed 10% tax on dollar-peso conversions.
2005 - In January, Havana said it was resuming diplomatic contacts with the EU, frozen in 2003 following a crackdown on dissidents. In May, 200 dissidents held a public meeting, said by organisers to be the first such gathering since the 1959 revolution. In July, Hurricane Dennis caused widespread destruction and left 16 people dead.
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