1948 Burma, which Britain annexed in 1852, initially as part of India, becomes independent, with the nationalist leader U Nu as prime minister.
1962 A government led by U Nu, elected two years before, is overthrown in a military coup.
1988 Protests in August against political oppression and the government mishandling of the economy are brutally suppressed, leaving 3,000 people dead. A junta seizes power in the aftermath and the National League for Democracy is formed.
1989 The junta declares martial law and changes the country's name to Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of the independence hero Aung San, who was assassinated in 1947, is held for "endangering the state". Other NLD leaders are arrested.
1990 The NLD wins a landslide victory in an election allowed by the junta, but the results are ignored by the military government.
1991 Aung San Suu Kyi wins the Nobel peace prize.
1992 The reclusive Than Shwe becomes the leading general in the regime.
1995 Aung San Suu Kyi is freed from house arrest.
2000 Aung San Suu Kyi is put under house arrest again for flouting a travel ban.
2002 Aung San Suu Kyi is freed again, but later placed in "protective custody" after a pro-government mob attacks her supporters.
2006 The government moves the capital from Rangoon (which it has renamed Yangon) to Naypyidaw, a newly built city in the jungle.
August 2007 Fuel prices rise sharply after fuel subsidies are scrapped. Within days, thousands take part in rallies in Rangoon, later joined by Buddhist monks.
September 2007 The protests escalate into a broader pro-democracy demonstration. Protesters greet Aung San Suu Kyi outside her home, the first sighting of her in public since 2003.
24 September 2007 Up to 100,000 people march in Rangoon, the biggest anti-government protest since 1988. Two days later a violent crackdown begins, with troops raiding monasteries and arresting protesters. Some demonstrators and a Japanese journalist are shot dead.
October 2007 A UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, meets Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi, urging the regime to negotiate with opposition leaders. Later in the month, talks take place but without any apparent breakthrough.
May 2008 Cyclone Nargis devastates large parts of Burma, particularly the Irrawaddy delta region, killing an estimated 130,000 people. The junta faces severe international criticism after it refuses permission for outside aid agencies to enter the country and assist the millions of people affected, a stance it later softens slightly. The authorities extend Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest order shortly before it is due to expire.
April 2009 The NLD says it will take part in elections planned for 2010 provided the junta releases all Burmese political prisoners, changes the constitution and allows international observers.
3 May John Yettaw, an American, swims across a lake to the compound where Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest. He stays two nights and swims back before being arrested.
14 May Aung San Suu Kyi and the two women who live with her are arrested and charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest.
18 May Their trial begins at Insein prison in Rangoon.
19 June Supporters around the world mark Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday, while the EU demands her release as court proceedings are delayed.
3-4 July The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, visits Burma but his request to meet Aung San Suu Kyi is rejected by the junta.
24 July Lawyers from both sides in the trial present their closing arguments.
31 July The court postpones its ruling until 11 August.
4 August Yettaw is taken to hospital after suffering seizures, and later recovers. Aung San Suu Kyi says the trial is a test of Burma's entire legal and governmental system.
11 August Aung San Suu Kyi is found guilty and sentenced to 18 months' house arrest.
