- ca. 6000 B.C. Indian groups settle Jamaica.
- ca. A.D. 600 Arawak Indians come to the island.
- 1494 Columbus visits Jamaica.
- 1503-1504 Columbus is stranded on the North Coast.
- 1509 Spain establishes a colony at St. Ann's Bay and another on the site of present-day Spanish Town.
- 1513 First enslaved Africans arrive.
- 1520 Sugar cane cultivation introduced.
- 1655 British troops overrun Jamaica.
- 1658 British repel Spanish invaders.
- 1661 Major British colonization begins.
- 1670 Hundreds of privateers given royal protection in Jamaica.
- 1692 Earthquake destroys Port Royal.
- 1739 Rebellious Maroons sign treaty with British.
- 1800 Census reveals huge majority of blacks in Jamaica.
- 1808 Slave trade abolished by Great Britain.
- 1838 Slavery ended.
- 1866 Jamaica becomes a British Crown Colony.
- 1930 Jamaicans push for autonomy.
- 1943 Bauxite mining begins.
- 1944 Universal adult suffrage instituted.
- 1960s Tourist industry grows.
- 1962 Jamaica achieves independence on August 6.
- 1970s Bob Marley and reggae gain world fame.
- 1972 Michael Manley, a socialist, becomes prime minister.
- 1980 Edward Seaga, a moderate, succeeds Manley.
- 1980s High unemployment spreads, though tourism thrives.
- 1988 Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica.
- 1989 Manley, now moderate, returns to power.
- 1992 P. J. Patterson becomes prime minister.
- 1997 Patriarch Michael Manley dies; elections retain Patterson and People's National Party.
- 2001 Violence erupts in Kingston; 40 are killed.
- 2002 Queen Elizabeth's visit rekindles emotions about the British role in modern Jamaica.
- 2006 "Disaster Ship," the Star Princess, arrives at Montego Bay.
- 2007 Orette Bruce Golding, Labour Party leader, becomes prime minister.
- 2010 Global falloff in the economy batters Jamaica.