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1492 - The navigator Christopher Columbus claims Cuba for Spain.
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1511 - Spanish conquest begins under the leadership of Diego de Velazquez, who establishes Baracoa and other settlements.
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1762 - Havana captured by a British force led by Admiral George Pocock and Lord Albemarle.
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1763 - Havana returned to Spain by the Treaty of Paris.
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1895-98 - Jose Marti leads a second war of independence; US declares war on Spain.
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1898 - US defeats Spain, which gives up all claims to Cuba and cedes it to the US.
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1925 - Socialist Party founded, forming the basis of the Communist Party.
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1952 - Batista seizes power again and presides over an oppressive and corrupt regime.
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1953 - Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful revolt against the Batista regime.
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1959 - Castro leads a 9,000-strong guerrilla army into Havana, forcing Batista to flee. Castro becomes prime minister, his brother, Raul, becomes his deputy and Guevara becomes third in command.
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1962 - Cuban missile crisis ignites when, fearing a US invasion, Castro agrees 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.
