1830s - Southern African Ndebele people settle in Matabeleland, joining the Shona tribe that had lived in the area for hundreds of years

1889 - British government awards colonisation mandate for the area to the British South Africa Company (BSA) run by Cecil John Rhodes

1890 - Rhodesia - later Zimbabwe - formed as white settlers begin to congregate around what will become the capital, Salisbury - later Harare

1893 - Ndebele uprising against BSA crushed by white authorities

1922 - After end of BSA rule, Rhodesia's white minority opts for self-government

1930 - New legislation forces many blacks into wage labour after their right to own land is restricted

1930-1960s - White colonial rulers under increasing pressure from black opposition

1964 - Ian Smith becomes prime minister and asks London to grant Rhodesia independence

1965 - After talks with London end in failure, Smith unilaterally declares independence from Britain. International sanctions imposed against Rhodesia

1972 - Guerrilla war breaks out in December after a white farm attacked

1978 - Smith, under international pressure, agrees to negotiate a settlement, but country remains in the grip of civil war

1979 - Peace agreement and new constitution guaranteeing minority rights signed during British-brokered talks in London

1980 - Veteran pro-independence leader Robert Mugabe and his Zanu party win British-supervised independence elections. Zimbabwe independence on April 18

1980s - Mugabe and allies crush opposition in Matabeleland and Midlands regions, accusing Ndebele people there of plotting against him. Tens of thousands killed, according to rights activists

1998 - Country gripped by economic crisis, which sparks series of riots and strikes

1999 - New opposition party formed, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Economic crisis continues to worsen

2000 - Mugabe tells a rally that white-owned land can be taken and given to landless blacks. Hundreds of thriving white-owned farms seized by squatters

2001 - Western agencies withhold aid in protest at Mugabe's land seizure policy. Government admits economy in crisis, saying foreign exchange reserves have run out and warns of severe food shortages

2002

Mar - Commonwealth suspends Zimbabwe after violence mars presidential elections

Apr - Worsening food shortages lead to a state of disaster being declared. World Food Programme blames crisis on disruption to agriculture caused by land seizures

Jun - 3,000 white farmers given 45 days to leave their land

Nov - Government says 35 million acres of white-owned land have been seized

2003

Mar - Brutal security service crackdown on general strike

Dec - Zimbabwe leaves Commonwealth

2005

May - Government begins a "clean-up", demolishing tens of thousands of shanty houses and street stalls. By July, U.N. experts say up to 700,000 have lost their homes or income

Dec - U.N. head of humanitarian affairs, Jan Egeland, says Zimbabwe is in "meltdown"

2006

Apr - World Health Organisation reports that Zimbabwe has the lowest life expectancy in the world: 34 years for women, 37 for men. Inflation rises above 1,000 percent

2007

Jan - Doctors and nurses strike for higher pay, followed by teachers and university lecturers

Mar - Opposition leaders badly beaten in police custody

State media reports that drought has decimated food crops across the country

June - Zimbabwe imposes price freeze, halving prices of basic goods. Shoppers panic buy and business executives are arrested for defying freeze

Oct - Government steps up drive to expel 600 white farmers after expiry of Sept 30 deadline to leave the country, according to South African media reports

Nov - Zimbabwe's chief statistician says impossible to work out the latest rate for the country's galloping inflation due to lack of goods on the shelves

Zanu-PF and MDC provisionally agree draft constitution negotiated by South Africa. Timing of 2008 elections is key obstacle to full agreement

Nov - South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki declares he's confident that talks he has been mediating between Zanu-PF and the MDC will lead to a solution to the political crisis

Dec - Mugabe attends the EU-Africa summit. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown boycotts summit over Mugabe's presence

Mugabe endorsed as Zanu-PF candidate for forthcoming elections

2008

Jan - Inflation tops 100,000 percent

Mediation efforts between government and MDC collapse after Mugabe announces March 29 as date for polls. MDC had called for elections to be delayed until new constitution adopted

Independent monitoring group Zimbabwe Election Support Network reports problems with voter registration and education

Feb - EU extends sanctions for another year

Former foreign minister Simba Makoni launches election challenge to Mugabe and is expelled from Zanu-PF

Mar 29 - Zimbabwe presidential and parliamentary elections

Apr - Results show ZANU-PF loses parliamentary majority for the first time since independence. MDC says Tsvangirai won presidential election and calls on Mugabe to concede

May - Electoral body says Tsvangirai won most votes, but not enough to avoid a run-off against Mugabe. Run-off set for June 27

Jun - Police detain U.S. and British diplomats after halting their convoy north of Harare. Government bans international aid groups. Violence escalates. Scores killed, thousands beaten up

Mugabe wins election run-off after Tsvangirai pulls out, saying his supporters would be risking their lives by voting. U.N. Security Council condemns pre-election violence

Aug - Ban lifted on aid groups

Sep - Mugabe and opposition agree power-sharing deal

Oct - Mugabe unilaterally claims all key ministerial posts as talks fail to break political deadlock on the issue

Nov - Aid agencies say political impasse is creating humanitarian crisis. U.N. warns 4 million face starvation by January, cholera epidemic spreading. Elders group of former statesmen meet regional leaders to discuss the situation after being refused entry to Zimbabwe

Dec - Tsvangirai threatens to quit talks unless authorities release activists and MDC supporters. Acute hunger spreads and over 1,500 killed by cholera

2009

Jan - Final deal on power-sharing government, including allocation of key ministries

Feb - Tsvangirai sworn in as prime minister