E-Paper
Timeline
1057 - King Anawrahta founds the first unified Burmese state at Pagan and adopts Theravada Buddhism1287 - Mongols under Kublai Khan conquer Pagan1531 - Toungoo dynasty, with Portuguese help, reunites Burma1755 - Alaungpaya founds the Konbaung dynasty with Rangoon as its capital 1852 - Britain annexes lower Burma, including Rangoon, following the second Anglo-Burmese war1885-86 - Britain captures Mandalay after a brief battle; Burma becomes a province of British India
1057 - King Anawrahta founds the first unified Burmese state at Pagan and adopts Theravada Buddhism
1287 - Mongols under Kublai Khan conquer Pagan
1531 - Toungoo dynasty, with Portuguese help, reunites Burma
1755 - Alaungpaya founds the Konbaung dynasty with Rangoon as its capital
1852 - Britain annexes lower Burma, including Rangoon, following the second Anglo-Burmese war
1885-86 - Britain captures Mandalay after a brief battle; Burma becomes a province of British India
1937 - Britain separates Burma from India and makes it a crown colony.
1942 - Japan invades and occupies Burma with some help from the Japanese-trained Burma Independence Army
1945 - Britain liberates Burma from Japanese occupation with help from the AFPFL, led by Aung San
1947 - Aung San and six members of his interim government assassinated by political opponents led by U Saw, a nationalist rival of Aung San's. U Nu, foreign minister in Ba Maw's government, which ruled Burma during the Japanese occupation, asked to head the AFPFL and the government
1948 - Burma becomes independent with U Nu as prime minister
Mid-1950s - U Nu, together with Indian Prime Minister Nehru, Indonesian President Sukarno, Yugoslav President Tito and Egyptian President Nasser co-found the Movement of Non-Aligned States
1958-60 - Caretaker government, led by army Chief of Staff General Ne Win, formed following a split in the ruling AFPFL party
1960 - U Nu's party faction wins decisive victory in elections
1962 - U Nu's faction ousted in military coup led by Gen Ne Win, who abolishes the federal system and bans independent newspapers
1974 - New constitution comes into effect, transferring power from the armed forces to a People's Assembly headed by Ne Win and other former military leaders; body of former United Nations secretary-general U Thant returned to Burma for burial
1981 - Ne Win relinquishes the presidency to San Yu, a retired general
1988 - Thousands of people are killed in anti-government riots. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) is formed
1989 - Slorc declares martial law, arrests thousands of people, including advocates of democracy and human rights, renames Burma Myanmar, with the capital, Rangoon, becoming Yangon. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, is put under house arrest
1990 - Opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) wins landslide victory in general election, but the result is ignored by the military
1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi awarded Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to peaceful change
1992 - Than Shwe replaces Saw Maung as Slorc chairman, prime minister and defence minister. Several political prisoners freed in bid to improve Myanmar's international image
1995 - Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest after six years
1996 - Aung San Suu Kyi attends first NLD congress since her release; Slorc arrests more than 200 delegates on their way to party congress
1997 - Myanmar admitted to ASEAN; Slorc renamed State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
1999 - Aung San Suu Kyi rejects ruling council conditions to visit her British husband, Michael Aris, who dies of cancer in UK
September 2000 - Ruling council lifts restrictions on movements of Aung San Suu Kyi and senior NLD members
May 2002 - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi released after nearly 20 months of house arrest
May 2003 - Aung San Suu Kyi taken into "protective custody" after clashes between her supporters and those of government
August 2003 - Khin Nyunt becomes prime minister. He proposes to hold convention in 2004 on drafting new constitution as part of "road map" to democracy
May 2004 - Constitutional convention begins, despite boycott by National League for Democracy (NLD) whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. The convention adjourns in July
October 2004 - Khin Nyunt is replaced as prime minister amid reports of a power struggle. He is placed under house arrest
December 2004 - Tsunami hits coastal regions. The prime minister says 59 people were killed and more than 3,000 left homeless
February 2005 - Constitutional convention resumes, but without the participation of the main opposition and ethnic groups
May 2005 - Three explosions in shopping districts in the capital; the government puts the death toll at 23
July 2005 - ASEAN announces that Myanmar has turned down the 2006 chairmanship of the regional grouping
November 2005 - Myanmar says its seat of government is moving to a new site near the central town of Pyinmana
