Venezuela
1810 - Venezuela declared independence from Spain; signed the Independence Act 1811.
1829 - Venezuela seceded from Gran Colombia and became an independent republic with its capital at Caracas.
1895 - Venezuela boundary dispute mediated by U.S.
1902 - Venezuela failed to repay loans and, as a result, its ports were blockaded by British, Italian and German warships.
1908 - Dictator Juan Vicente Gomez governed until 1935.
1914 - oil discovered on the east coast of Lake Maracaibo at the Zumaque well.
1921 - Standard Oil of Rockefeller family created Creole Petroleum Corporation in Venezuela; Creole developed the Maracaibo field concession granted 1932.
1948 - President Romulo Gallegos, Venezuela's first democratically elected leader, was overthrown within eight months in military coup led by Marcos Perez Jimenez, who formed government with backing from the armed forces and the US.
1958 - Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal ousted Marcos Perez Jimenez; leftist Romulo Betancourt of the Democratic Action Party (AD) won democratic presidential election.
1960 - Movement of the Revolutionary Left split from AD and commenced anti-government work.
1964 - Venezuela's first presidential handover from one civilian to another took place when Dr Raul Leoni (AD) was elected president.
1973 - Venezuela benefited from oil boom and its currency peaked against the US dollar; oil and steel industries nationalised.
1984 - Fall in world oil prices generated unrest and cuts in welfare spending; Dr Jaime Lusinchi (AD) elected president and signed pact involving government, trade unions and business.
1989 - Carlos Andres Perez (AD) elected president against the background of economic depression, which necessitated an austerity programme and an IMF loan. Social and political upheaval included riots, in which between 300 and 2,000 people are killed, martial law and a general strike.
1992 - Some 120 people are killed in two attempted coups, the first led by future president Colonel Hugo Chavez, and the second carried out by his supporters. Chavez was jailed for two years before being pardoned.
1995 - Ramon Jose Velasquez became interim president after Perez was ousted on charges of corruption; Rafael Caldera elected president.
1996 - Perez imprisoned after being found guilty of embezzlement and corruption.
1998 - Hugo Chavez elected president.
2000 - Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel disclosed plot to kill Chavez. Chavez won another six years in office and a mandate to pursue political reforms. Chavez became the first foreign head of state to visit Iraq since the 1991 Gulf war, in defiance of strong opposition from the US.
2001 - In November, President Chavez appeared on TV to hail 49 reform laws which his government introduced, including land and oil industry reforms, under powers which did not require them to be approved by the National Assembly.
2002 - On February 25, Chavez appointed new board of directors to state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela in move opposed by executives. On April 9, Trade unions and the Fedecamaras business association declared general strike to support Petroleos de Venezuela dissidents. On April 11, over 150,000 people rallied in support of strike and oil protest. National Guard and pro-Chavez gunmen clashed with protesters, more than 10 are killed and 110 injured. Military high command rebeled and demanded that Chavez resign. On April 12, the head of the armed forces announced Chavez had resigned, a claim later denied by Chavez. Chavez was taken into military custody, and the military named Pedro Carmona, one of the strike organisers, as head of transitional government. On April 14, Chavez returned to office after the collapse of the interim government. In December, a strike crippled the oil industry, organisers demanded that Chavez resign. The nine-week stoppage led to fuel shortages.
2003 - In May, the government and the opposition signed deal brokered by Organisation of American States (OAS) which set out framework for referendum on Hugo Chavez's rule.
2004 - In August, President Chavez won referendum to serve out the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term.
2005 - In January, President Chavez signed decree on land reform to eliminate Venezuela's large estates, said land redistribution would bring justice to rural poor; ranchers said move was an attack on private property. A bitter dispute broke out with Colombia over the capture of a Colombian rebel Farc leader on Venezuelan soil. In February, the presidents of both nations resolved the affair at talks in Caracas. In June, Venezuela and 13 Caribbean states launched a regional oil company at a summit in Caracas. Venezuela, a major producer, agreed to supply the nations with cheap fuel. Critics accused President Chavez of using oil to increase diplomatic influence. In December, parties loyal to President Chavez won all 167 seats in the National Assembly in elections boycotted by the opposition; Chavez may change the constitution with 2/3 vote to run for a third term in 2006.
2006 - In Feb., Chavez met in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to confirm the partnership to build a natural gas pipeline; South America leads the world in natural gas powered cars.
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