550 B.C. Greeks settle at Empúries in northern Catalonia.
212 B.C. The Romans, using Empúries as an entry point, subjugate Spain.
206 B.C. Romans defeat Carthaginians.
1st C. A.D. Christians spread throughout Catalonia.
15 Barcino founded by Romans.
70 First Jewish settlements in Barcino.
415 Barcelona occupied by the Visigoths; capital until 554.
719 Moorish invasion of Iberian Peninsula reaches Barcelona.
878 Guifré el Pilós (Wilfred the Hairy) defeats Moors and founds dynasty of Counts of Barcelona (5-century-long autonomous rule).
1064 The Usatges, the first Catalan Bill of Rights, is drafted.
1137 A royal marriage unites Catalonia and the neighboring region of Aragón.
1213-35 Jaume I consolidates empire, conquers Mallorca, Ibiza, and Valencia.
1249 Barcelona forms the Consell de Cent (Council of 100) municipal government.
1283 Corts (Parliament) to govern Catalonia created.
1347-59 The Black Plague halves the city's population. The Generalitat (autonomous government) is founded.
1469 Fernando II, monarch of Catalonia-Aragón, marries Isabel, queen of Castille, uniting all of Spain.
1492 Columbus discovers America. The "Catholic Monarchs" expel all remaining Jews and Muslims.
1494 Catalonia falls under Castilian rule.
1522 Under the rule of Charles V, Catalans refused permission to trade in the New World.
1640?50 Catalan revolt known as the Guerra dels Segadors (Harvesters' War); Catalonia declares itself a republic, allied with France.
1701-13 Spanish War of Succession.
1759 Barcelona falls to Franco-Spanish army; the Catalan language is banned.
1808-14 French occupy Catalonia in Peninsular War with England.
1832 The Industrial Revolution begins in Barcelona with the first steam-driven factory.
1854-65 Old City walls torn down; work begins on the "new city", expansion called L'Eixample.
1873 First Spanish Republic established.
1888 First Universal Exposition in Barcelona held at Parc de la Ciutadella.
1892-93 Collectives demand Catalan autonomy. Anarchist throws bomb in the Teatre Liceu Opera House.
1909 Setmana Tràgica (Tragic Week); anarchists go on anticlerical rampage in Barcelona.
1924 Dictatorship established by General Primo de Rivera; Catalan language banned.
1929 Second International Exhibition held, on Montjuïc.
1931 Francesc Marcià negotiates autonomy for Catalonia during the Second Republic and declares himself president.
1936-39 Spanish Civil War; ends with anarchist-occupied Barcelona taken by Franco's army.
1960s Package tourism boom takes off on Catalonia's Costa Brava.
1975 Franco dies; Juan Carlos becomes king.
1978 King Juan Carlos grants Catalonia autonomous rule; Catalan language restored.
1981 Coup attempt by right-wing officers fails; democracy prevails.
1982 Socialists gain power after 43 years of right-wing rule.
1986 Spain joins the European Community (now the European Union)
1992 Barcelona hosts the 25th Summer Olympic Games.
1998 Generalitat introduces "linguistic normalization" laws to strengthen Catalan as the region's primary language.
2004 Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero officially requests that Catalan, along with Basque and Galician, be recognized as working languages of the E.U.
2006 A new Estatut (Statute) granting Catalonia additional autonomous powers is passed by the Spanish Socialist government.
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