1700  —  Bourbons replace Hapsburgs as royal family in Spain.
1763  —  French and Indian (Seven Years’) War ends; westward migration in 13 colonies banned.
1764  —  English Parliament passes Sugar Act.
1765  —  English Parliament passes Stamp Act.
1766  —  Stamp Act repealed.
1767  —  English Parliament passes Townshend Acts.
1768 —  British troops sent to Boston.
March 5, 1770  —  Boston Massacre.
December 16, 1773  —  Boston Tea Party.
1774  —  First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia.
April 18, 1775  —  Paul Revere’s ride.
April 19, 1775  —  Battles of Lexington and Concord.
May 10, 1775  —  Second Continental Congress convenes.
June 17, 1775  —  Battle of Bunker Hill.
January 1776  —  Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense.
July 4, 1776  —  Continental Congress approves Declaration of Independence.
August 27, 1776  —  British occupy New York City.
December 25–26, 1776  —  Washington crosses the Delaware River; Battle of Trenton.
January 3, 1777  —  Battle of Princeton.
September 11, 1777  —  Battle of Brandywine.
October 1777  —  Washington takes army to Valley Forge for the winter.
October 17, 1777  —  British defeated at Saratoga.
November 15, 1777  —  Congress approves Articles of Confederation.
1778  —  France and the United States form an alliance.
1778  —  Decree of “Free Trade” allows opening of more ports in Spanish America and Spain to trade.
May 12, 1780  —  British capture Charleston, South Carolina.
1780–1781  —  Rebellion of Tupac Amaru in Peru.
January 17, 1781  —  Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina.
March 1, 1781  —  Articles of Confederation ratified.
October 19, 1781  —  Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown.
1783  —  British and Americans sign peace treaty in Paris.
1787  —  Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia drafts a constitution for the new nation.
1788  —  All states ratify the Constitution except Rhode Island and North Carolina.
March 4, 1789  —  First U.S. Congress convenes in New York City.
April 30, 1789  —  George Washington sworn in as first president of the United States.
July 14, 1789  —  French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille.
1789  —  Minas conspiracy in Brazil.
1791  —  Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments to the Constitution) adopted.
1791  —  Slave rebellion erupts in Saint Domingue.
1799  —  Napoleon emerges as a power in France.
January 1, 1804  —  Haiti becomes an independent nation.
1806  —  Miranda makes failed attempt to liberate Venezuela; British invasion of Buenos Aires.
1807  —  Napoleon invades Portugal, and Braganzas flee to Brazil.
1808  —  Napoleon imprisons Spanish king and crown prince, taking control of Spain; Brazilian ports opened to world trade; Central Junta formed in Seville to oppose French.
January 1810  —  Regency replaces Central Junta in Spain.
April 1810  —  Venezuelan junta deposes royal authority.
May 1810  —  Junta takes over from viceroy in Argentina.
July 1810  —  Juntas take power in Paraguay and Colombia.
September 1810  —  Hidalgo leads revolt in Mexico; junta organizes government in Chile.
1811  —  Venezuelan congress declares independence; United Provinces of New Granada founded; Hidalgo captured and executed in Mexico.
1812  —  Spanish constitution takes effect; Spanish forces defeat rebels in Venezuela.
1813  —  British and Spanish forces drive French from Spain.
1814  —  Fernando VII restored to Spanish throne.
1815  —  Morelos captured and executed in Mexico; Bolívar writes Jamaica Letter.
1816  —  Congress of Tucumán declares Argentine independence.
1818  —  San Martín and O’Higgins defeat Spanish forces in Chile.
1819  —  Bolívar wins battle of Boyacá.
1820  —  Liberal revolts in Spain and Portugal create constitutional monarchies.
April 1821  —  João VI returns to Portugal from Brazil.
July 1821  —  San Martín seizes Lima.
August 1821  —  Mexico achieves independence under Iturbide.
July 1822  —  Bolívar establishes Gran Colombia.
September 1822  —  Pedro declares Brazilian independence.
1823  —  Portuguese expelled from Brazil; Central America separates from Mexico.
1824  —  Battle of Ayacucho liberates Peru.
1825  —  Sucre liberates Bolivia.
1828  —  Uruguay becomes an independent nation.
1830  —  Death of Bolívar; Gran Colombia fragments into Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
1831  —  Pedro I of Brazil abdicates.
1838  —  United Provinces of Central America fragments into Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

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