Grenada Timeline

A chronology of key historical events from 1498 to the present day.

1498 - Christopher Columbus sights the islands, which he names Grenada after the Spanish city.

1650 - French settlers from Martinique establish a colony and found Saint George's, the present capital.

1783 - France cedes Grenada to Britain in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles; African slaves brought in to work on the cotton, sugar and tobacco plantations.

1795 - Abortive rebellion against British rule led by Julien Fedon, an African planter who was inspired by the French Revolution.

1834 - Slavery abolished.

1885-1958 - Grenada acts as administrative headquarters of the British Windward Islands.

1950 - Grenada United Labour Party founded by Eric Gairy.

1958-62 - Grenada is part of the British-sponsored Federation of the West Indies.

1967 - Grenada becomes autonomous, with foreign and defence affairs remaining under British control.

Independence, revolution and invasion

1974 - Grenada becomes independent with Gairy as prime minister.

1979 - Gairy ousted in coup organised by the leftist New Jewel Movement and led by Maurice Bishop, who proceeds to strengthen ties with Cuba and the US.

1983 - Bishop ousted and executed by former left-wing allies led by General Hudson Austin, who objected to his attempts to improve ties with the US; coup provides pretext for an invasion by the US; Austin arrested; Interim Advisory Council reinstates 1974 constitution.

1984 - Herbert A Blaize becomes prime minister after his centre-left New National Party (NNP) wins the general election.

1989 - Blaize remains prime minister after being replaced as head of the NNP; he later dies and is replaced by Ben Jones.

1991 - Coalition government headed by Nicholas Braithwaite, of the centrist National Democratic Congress (NDC) takes office after an inconclusive general election.

1995 February - Agriculture Minister George Brizan becomes prime minister after resignation of Braithwaite.

Mitchell election victory

1995 June - Keith Mitchell becomes prime minister after his NNP wins general elections with comfortable majority.

1999 - Prime Minister Keith Mitchell's NNP wins landslide in general elections, taking all 15 seats in parliament.

2000 April - Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up with South African help to examine political upheavals of the "Revolutionary Years" between 1976 and 1983.

2000 September - Three Chinese diplomats on a private visit are deported for statements construed as interference in the internal affairs of Grenada. They were invited by the newly-formed Grenada-China friendship association of opposition leader Michael Baptiste.

2001 - Grenada blacklisted by Paris-based Financial Action Task Force for not doing enough to tackle money-laundering. Government begins review of offshore banking.

2001 - Opposition criticises government for establishing diplomatic ties with Libya and for Prime Minister Mitchell's trip to Tripoli. He went as part of an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) delegation seeking economic help after a drop-off in aid from the US, UK.

2001 December - Canada imposes visa regime on holders of Grenada passports, which can be bought, over security fears following 11 September attacks. Grenada had earlier suspended sales to avoid awarding citizenship to terrorists.

2001 December - Underwater volcano Kick'em Jenny off the Grenada coast erupts, but does not break the water's surface.

Money-laundering tackled

2002 February - Paris-based Financial Action Task Force removes Grenada from blacklist of countries said to be insufficiently cooperative in fight against money-laundering.

2002 - Major organic banana project launched in an effort to boost the industry; 150 acres are set aside for organic cultivation.

2003 June - US Treasury Department's financial crimes agency withdraws its 2002 advisory on Grenada as efforts continue to clean-up offshore banking.

2003 November - Prime Minister Keith Mitchell narrowly wins a third term in office.

Hurricane devastation

2004 September - Grenada takes a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan - the country's worst hurricane in living memory. Prime Minister Mitchell declares a national disaster; he says the island is 90% devastated.

2005 January - Grenada re-establishes diplomatic ties with China, favouring Beijing over its former diplomatic partner Taiwan.

2005 July - Still recovering from 2004's Hurricane Ivan, Grenada is hit by Hurricane Emily. The storm kills one person, destroys crops and damages homes.

2007 February - UK-based Privy Court rules that 14 prisoners who were sentenced to death over the 1983 coup should be re-sentenced. It says the sentences, handed down in 1986, are illegitimate.

2008 February - Former prime minister Sir Eric Gairy is named as the country's first National Hero on 34th anniversary of independence.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1209649.stm