1607 – In an effort to reduce contraband and improve coastal surveillance, insular administration of Cuba is reorganized into two governing units. Havana is formally established as the capital of the island under the authority of a captain-general and exercising juridical authority over all the colony and administrative responsibility for Mariel, Cabaña, Bahía Honda, Matanzas, and 50 leagues into the eastern interior, coast to coast. The administrative authority of Santiago de Cuba is restricted to Bayamo, Baracoa, and Puerto Príncipe.

1740 – The Real Compañía de Comercio is chartered for the purpose of consolidating Cuban trade and commerce into one monopoly enterprise.

1762-3 – The English seize and occupy Havana for ten months, opening the port to world trade.

1776 – North American colonies rebel against England, thereby encouraging increased commerce between the newly independent nation and Cuba.

1778 – A free trade decree provides a score of Cuban cities with direct commercial access to Spain and its colonies in the New World.

1789 – The island is divided into two ecclesiastical jurisdictions: the eastern half of Cuba is placed under the authority of the Bishop of Santiago de Cuba; the western half of the island, together with Louisiana and Florida, are placed under the jurisdiction of the newly established bishopric of Havana.

A royal decree authorizes free trade of slaves.

1848-51 – Three abortive filibustering expeditions are organized by Narciso López

1851 – Annexationist uprising led by Joaquín de Aguero in Camaguey provinces is suppressed in May. Another rebellion led by Isidoro Armenteros in Trinidad is put down in July.

1899-1902 – The formal military occupation of Cuba by the United States commences on January 1, 1899. In 1900 a constituent assembly convenes to prepare a new constitution. In February 1901, the United States enacts the Platt Amendment and requires the Cuban constituent assembly to incorporate the statute into the new constitution. In June, the constituent assembly adopts the Platt Amendment by a vote of 16 to 11, with four abstentions. In national elections in December 1901, Tomás Estrada Palma is elected president. On May 20, 1902, the United States ends the military occupation of Cuba, formally inaugurating the Cuban republic.

1903 – The United States and Cuba sign three treaties. The Permanent Treaty enacts the Platt Amendment into a formal treaty relationship. A second accord, the Reciprocity Treaty, concedes a 20 percent concession to Cuban agricultural products entering the U.S. market in exchange for reductions between 20 to 40 percent on U.S. imports. In the third agreement, Cuba leases the sites of Bahía Honda and Guantánamo to the United States. A naval base is constructed in Guantánamo.

1906-9 – The United States military occupies Cuba and governs the island through a provisional government.

1912 – The United States cedes its rights over Bahía Honda in exchange for larger facilities in Guantánamo Bay.

Armed rebellion by Afro-Cubans protesting political, social and economic conditions. The revolt is brutally repressed. The United States military intervenes at the site of the conflict in Oriente province to protect North American property.

1930 – The U.S. Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act reduces the Cuban share of the U.S. sugar market, exacerbating economic conditions on the island.

The CNOC, led by Rubén Martínez Villena, organizes a general strike in March against the Machado government. In September, student demonstrations result in the death of Rafael Trejo.

1933 – The worsening political crisis in Cuba prompts the United States to dispatch Ambassador Sumner Welles to organize mediations between the Machado government and the opposition. The mediations commence in July. A general strike in August brings the brewing political crisis to a climax with a military coup ousting Machado and installing Carlos Manuel de Céspedes as president. In September, the “Sergeants’ Revolt,” led by Batista overthrows the Céspedes administration and aids the establishment of a new provisional government headed by Ramón Grau San Martín. Known as the “government of 100 days,” the Grau regime inaugurates a wide range of social, economic and political reforms.

1934 – In January, Batista overthrows the Grau government and installs Carlos Mendieta as president. In May the United States abrogates the Platt Amendment.

Ramón Grau San Martín and others organize the first new post-Machado political party, the Partido Revolucionario Cubano (Auténtico).

1958 – In March, Raúl Castro establishes guerrilla operations on a second front in the Sierra Cristal mountains in northern Oriente province. In the same month, the United States imposes an arms embargo against the Batista government. The attempt of the 26 of July Movement in April to topple the Batista government through a general strike fails. In May the government launches a major offensive against guerrilla forces in the Sierra Maestra. Government military operations fail, and the guerrilla columns mount a counter-offensive. In late December, a military coup led by General Eulogio Cantillo ousts Batista.

1959 – A general strike in early January forces the military government to relinquish power to the 26 of July Movement. On January 8, Fidel Castro arrives in Havana. The following month, Castro becomes Prime Minister. In May the government enacts the agrarian reform bill.

1961 – In January the United States and Cuba sever diplomatic relations. In April the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón) invasion fails, with some 1,200 expeditionaries taken prisoner.

The Cuban government proclaims the “Year of Education,” inaugurating a national campaign to eliminate illiteracy.

1962 – October 22-28: the missile crisis

1977 – The United States and Cuba establish limited diplomatic relations by opening interests sections in Washington and Havana.

1980 – The Mariel boat lift results in the emigration of 125,000 Cubans to Florida.

The Second Party Congress is convened.

1983 – The U.S. armed intervention in Grenada results in the capture and arrest of Cuban construction workers and soldiers.

1985 – The United States inaugurates Radio Martí broadcasts to Cuba. Havana responds by suspending family visits to Cuba.

1992 – U.S. Congress enacts the Torricelli bill, increasing trade sanctions against Cuba by prohibiting U.S. subsidiaries in third countries from trading with the island.

1994 – A delegation of Cuban émigrés, including representatives of opposition, holds a series of meetings in Havana with government leaders.

Havana and Washington sign an agreement whereby the United States authorize the legal immigration of 20,000 individuals annually, and in return Cuba pledges to control illegal immigration.

1996 – Cuban air force fighters shoot down two civilian aircraft flown by Brothers to the Rescue.

Helms-Burton bill (“Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act”) enacted into law.

1999 – National Assembly enacts Law No. 88, the “Protection of National Independence and Economy of Cuba,” imposing terms of imprisonment for aiding the anti-Cuban policies of the U.S. government.

Five-year-old Elián González arrives in Miami.

2001 – Cuba authorized to purchase $30 million worth of agricultural products from the United States, the first commercial transaction between both countries in almost forty years.

2004 – The George W. Bush administration announces new restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba, including reduced Cuban-American family visits and the curtailment of remittances to the island.

The Cuban government ends dollar transactions in the local economy.

Source: Louis A. Perez, Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution (Oxford UP, 2005, 3rd ed).