1503 – Navigator Christopher Columbus sights the islands.

1670 – Spain cedes the islands, along with Jamaica, to the English under the terms of the Treaty of Madrid.

Early 1700s – First permanent settlers arrive.

1794 – Legendary “Wreck of the Ten Sails”: A ship hits a reef off Grand Cayman, closely followed by its convoy of nine vessels.

1832 – Legislative assembly set up.

1863 – Caymans become a Jamaican dependency, administered by an appointed commissioner.

1877 – Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman come under common administration.

1932 – Hurricane kills scores of people on Cayman Brac.

1959 – Caymans join short-lived Federation of the West Indies.

Jamaica ties cut

1962 – Federation of the West Indies dissolves. Jamaica declares independence. Caymans stay under British rule; a separate administrator is appointed.

1971 – Title of administrator is changed to governor.

1972 – New constitution provides for a greater autonomy.

1994 – Constitution modified.

2001 – Constitutional review launched but later put on hold.

2001 November – United Democratic Party (UDP) is formed. Leader of government business, Kurt Tibbetts, ousted after vote of no-confidence. UDP’s McKeeva Bush assumes the role.

2002 May – British Overseas Territories Act grants British citizenship to all Caymanians.

2004 September – Hurricane Ivan, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, causes widespread destruction on Grand Cayman.

2005 May – Opposition People’s Progressive Movement, led by Kurt Tibbetts, wins general election.

2007 March – New constitutional review launched.

2009 May – US President Barack Obama singles out Cayman Islands in an attack on tax havens.

2009 May – United Democratic Party wins elections.

2009 August – Territory joins OECD’s global “white list” of countries using internationally recognised tax standards.

2009 September – Britain refuses to allow territory to take out loans to plug a budget deficit, suggesting it raise funds in other ways.

2010 April – British police brought in to help tackle gang-related crime and preserve territory’s reputation for safety.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20219999