Timeline: Sri Lanka
From BBC
A chronology of key events:
Fifth century BC - Indo-Aryan migrants from northern India settle on the island; the Sinhalese emerge as the most powerful of the various clans.
Third century BC - Beginning of Tamil migration from India.
1505 - Portuguese arrive in Colombo, marking beginning of European interest.
1815 - British become first European power to win control over whole island, known as Ceylon. Start bringing in Tamil labourers from southern India to work tea, coffee and coconut plantations. 
1833 - English made official language.
1931 - British grant the right to vote and introduce power sharing.
1948 - Ceylon gains full independence.
Sinhala nationalism
1949 - Indian Tamil plantation workers disenfranchised.
1956 - Solomon Bandaranaike elected on wave of Sinhalese nationalism. Sinhala made sole official language and other measures introduced to bolster Sinhalese and Buddhist feeling. More than 100 Tamils killed in widespread violence after Tamil parliamentarians protest at new laws.
1958 - Anti-Tamil riots leave more than 200 people dead. Thousands of Tamils displaced.
1959 - Bandaranaike assassinated by a Bhuddist monk. Succeeded by widow, Srimavo, who continues nationalisation programme.
1965 - Opposition United National Party wins elections and attempts to reverse nationalisation measures.
1970 - Srimavo Bandaranaike returns to power and extends nationalisation programme.
Ethnic tensions
1971 - Sinhalese Marxist uprising led by students and activists.
1972 - Ceylon changes its name to Sri Lanka and Buddhism given primary place as country's religion, further antagonising Tamil minority.
1976 - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formed as tensions increase in Tamil-dominated areas of north and east.
1977 - Separatist Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) party wins all seats in Tamil areas. Anti-Tamil riots leave more than 100 Tamils dead.
1981 Sinhala policemen accused of burning the Jaffna Public Library, causing further resentment in Tamil community.
1983 - 13 soldiers killed in LTTE ambush, sparking anti-Tamil riots leading to the deaths of an estimated several hundred Tamils. Conflict develops in north of island between army and LTTE.
Civil war intensifies
1985 - First attempt at peace talks between government and LTTE fails.
1987 - Government forces push LTTE back into northern city of Jaffna. Government signs accords creating new councils for Tamil areas in north and east and reaches agreement with India on deployment of Indian peace-keeping force.
1988 - Left-wing and nationalist Sinhalese JVP begins campaign against Indo-Sri Lankan agreement.
1990 - Indian troops leave after getting bogged down in fighting in north. Violence between Sri Lankan army and separatists escalates.
1991 - LTTE implicated in assassination of Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi in southern India.
War and diplomacy
1993 - President Premadasa killed in LTTE bomb attack.
1994 - President Kumaratunga comes to power pledging to end war. Peace talks opened with LTTE.
1995 - Peace talks collapse and LTTE resumes bombing campaign. Government launches major offensive, driving separatists out of Jaffna.
1996 - State of emergency extended across the country after LTTE bombs capital, Colombo.
1997 - Another major government offensive against LTTE.
1998 - Tigers bomb Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist site. Tigers capture key northern town after intensive fighting.
1999 - President Kumaratunga is wounded in a bomb attack at an election rally. She is re-elected president.
2000 February - Norway says it will act as intermediary in peace push.
2000 April - LTTE captures strategic Elephant Pass in north of island.
2000 October - President Kumaratunga's People's Alliance wins general elections.
2001 February - Britain labels LTTE as "terrorists" under new anti-terrorism law designed to halt funding and support for UK-based militant groups.
2001 July - President Kumaratunga suspends parliament for two months to save her minority government from defeat in a no-confidence vote.
2001 July - Suicide attack by Tamil Tigers on the international airport.
2001 October - Kumaratunga dissolves parliament hours before a no-confidence vote which her Marxist-backed minority government seemed likely to lose. Elections set for 5 December.
2001 December - New cabinet, led by Ranil Wickramasinghe, is sworn in after the opposition United National Party narrowly won the parliamentary election.
Peace moves
2002 February - Government and Tamil Tiger rebels sign a permanent ceasefire agreement, paving the way for talks to end the long-running conflict. The peace initiative is sponsored by Norway.
2002 March-May - De-commissioning of weapons begins; the road linking the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of Sri Lanka reopens after 12 years; passenger flights to Jaffna resume.
2002 September - Government lifts ban on Tamil Tigers - a rebel demand. First round of talks begins in Thailand. Both sides exchange prisoners of war for first time. Rebels drop demand for separate state. 
2002 December - At peace talks in Norway the government and rebels agree to share power. Under the deal, minority Tamils would have autonomy in the mainly Tamil-speaking north and east.
2003 February - Peace process talks get under way in Berlin.
2003 April - Tamil Tigers suspend their participation in peace talks, saying they are being marginalised.
2003 May - Country's worst-ever floods leave more than 200 people dead and drive some 4,000 people from their homes.
Political crisis
2003 November - President Kumaratunga dismisses three ministers, suspends parliament. She had been at odds with government over peace process. Parliament reopens after two weeks but negotiations with Tamil Tigers are put on hold.
2004 March - Renegade Tamil Tiger commander, known as Karuna, leads split in rebel movement and goes underground with his supporters.
2004 April - Early general elections held amid political power struggle. Party of President Kumaratunga wins 105 of 225 parliamentary seats, falling short of overall majority. Mahinda Rajapakse sworn in as prime minister.
2004 July - Suicide bomb blast in Colombo - the first such incident since 2001 - raises fears for the fragile peace process.
2004 December - More than 30,000 people are killed when massive waves, generated by a powerful undersea earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, devastate coastal communities. Hundreds of thousands are forced from their homes. The government declares a national disaster.
2005 June - Deal reached with Tamil Tiger rebels to share nearly $3bn in tsunami aid among Sinhalas, Tamils and Muslims. Sinhala nationalist JVP party pulls out of coalition in protest.
2005 August - State of emergency declared after Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar is assassinated.
2005 November - Mahinda Rajapakse, prime minister at the time, wins presidential elections. Most Tamils in areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers do not vote.
Mounting violence
2006 February - Government and Tamil Tiger rebels declare their respect for the 2002 ceasefire at talks in Geneva.
2006 April - Explosions and rioting in Trincomalee, in the north-east, leave 16 people dead. Police blame Tamil Tiger rebels for the blasts, which come amid a marked escalation in deadly violence.
A suicide bomber attacks the main military compound in Colombo, killing at least eight people. The military launch air strikes on Tamil Tiger targets. 
2006 May - Tamil Tiger rebels attack a naval convoy near Jaffna. International monitors describe the deadly attack as a "gross violation" of the 2002 ceasefire.
2006 June - 64 people are killed in a mine attack on a bus in Anuradhapura district. Days later, more than 30 people are killed in a land and sea battle between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.
Tamil Tigers insist that most of the 65-person Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission be replaced in light of an EU terror ban against the rebels.
2006 August - Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces clash in the north-east. It is the worst fighting since the 2002 ceasefire. Hundreds of people are killed and the UN says tens of thousands have fled their homes.
2006 September - The government says it has pushed Tamil Tiger rebels from the mouth of strategic Trincomalee harbour. This is seen as the first major capture of enemy territory by either side since a 2002 ceasefire.
2006 October - A suicide bomber attacks a military convoy, killing more than 90 sailors.
Tamil Tigers attack a naval base in Galle, the southern city frequented by tourists.
Peace talks resume in Geneva but fail over the rebels' demand that the government reopen a key highway to Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula that was closed owing to fighting in August.
2007 January - After weeks of heavy fighting the military says it has captured the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Vakarai, in the east. Tens of thousands of civilians flee the area.
President Mahinda Rajapakse's government secures a long-elusive parliamentary majority after 25 opposition MPs defect to its ranks.
2007 February - Unidentified gunmen shoot dead a Hindu priest days after he welcomed President Rajapakse to the former Tamil Tiger stronghold of Vakarai. The government blames the killing of Selliah Parameswar, an ethnic Tamil, on Tamil Tiger rebels, who deny responsibility.
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