The East India Company
- 1600 Elizabeth I grants a charter to the East India Company
- 1612 The East India Company establishes a factory at Surat
- 1640 The East India Company establishes a factory at Madras
- 1661 Charles II receives Bombay from Catherine of Braganza as part of her dowry, the East India Company establishes a factory there
- 1690 The East India Company establishes a factory at Calcutta
- 1756-63 The Seven Years War
- 1757 The Battle of Plassey - the British defeat Siraj Ud Daulah
- 1760 The Battle of Wandiwash - the British defeat the French
- 1764 The Battle of Buxar - the British defeat Mir Kasim
- 1765 The Treaty of Allahabad - the British granted Diwani Rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa
- 1767-1769 The First Mysore War - the British are forced to concede a peace treaty with Hyder Ali
- 1772 Warren Hastings appointed as Governor of Bengal
- 1773 The Regulating Act passed by the British Parliament, creates post of Governor-General of India
- 1774-85 Warren Hastings Governor-General of India
- 1774 The India Act
- 1775-1782 The First Anglo-Maratha War
- 1780-1784 The Second Mysore War - the British finally defeat Hyder Ali
- 1784 The Government of India Act establishes a Board of Control
- 1786-93 Lord Cornwallis Governor-General of India
- 1790-1792 The Third Mysore War between the British and Tipu Sultan
- 1793 Cornwallis’ permanent settlement of Bengal revenue
- 1798 Lord Wellesley appointed Governor-General of India
- 1799 The Fourth Mysore War, once again between the British and Tipu Sultan; The Battle of Seringapatam - the death of Tipu Sultan and the Partition of Mysore
- 1802 The Treaty of Bassein
- 1803 The Nawab of Oudh cedes the southern and western parts of his territories to the British
- 1803-1805 The Second Anglo-Maratha war - the British defeat the Marathas at the Battle of Assaye
- 1804 The Mughal Emperor at Delhi is placed under British protection
- 1805 The Treaty of Amritsar
- 1813 The East India Company’s charter is renewed but it's monopoly over Indian trade is abolished
- 1814-1816 The Anglo-Gurkha War
- 1817-1818 The Pindari War
- 1817-1819 The Third Anglo-Maratha War - the Marathas finally crushed by the British who are now the paramount power in India
- 1824-1826 The First Burmese War
- 1828-35 Lord William Bentinck as Governor-General of India
- 1829 The prohibition of Sati
- 1829-1837 The suppression of Thuggee
- 1831 The Raja of Mysore is deposed, and Mysore annexed by the Britsh
- 1833 The Charter Act and the abolition of the East India Company’s trade
- 1835 The Education Resolution
- 1838 The Tripartite Treaty between Shah Shuja, Ranjit Singh and the British
- 1839-1842 The First Afghan War
- 1843 The Gwalior War, the British annex the Sindh, Hyderabad and Khairpur
- 1845-1846 The First Anglo-Sikh War
- 1848 Lord Dalhousie becomes the Governor-General of India
- 1848-1849 The Second Anglo-Sikh War
- 1849 The Annexation of the Punjab
- 1852 The Second Anglo-Burmese War
- 1856 The complete annexation of the Oudh
- 1857 The Indian Mutiny, otherwise known as the Sepoy Uprising or Rebellion, or the First War of Independence
- 1858 The final abolition of the East India Company
The British Raj
- 1858 The last Mughal emperor of India, Bahadur Shah II, was deposed as a result of his support for the Indian Mutiny and exiled to Burma. The British government now imposed direct rule on India, appointing a Governor-General or Viceroy to act as the crown's representative.
- 1861 The India Councils Act divides the government of India between a Secretary of State and a Council based in London, and the Viceroy and a Legislative Council based in Calcutta. Indians are only permitted to attend the Legislative Council in an advisory role
- 1869 The birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
- 1876 Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India
- 1878 The Arms Act forbids Indians to carry arms
- 1878-1880 The Second Afghan War
- 1879 The murder of the British Resident in Kabul
- 1882 The Resolution on Local Self-Government
- 1883 The Ilbert Act
- 1885 The formation of the Indian National Congress
- 1886 The annexation of Burma
- 1892 The Indian Councils Act that allows Indians to be full members of the Legislative Council
- 1893 The establishment of the Durand Line now fixes the frontier between Afghanistan and British India
- 1905 The First Partition of Bengal
- 1906 The foundation of the Muslim League
- 1909 The Morley-Minto Reforms increase Indian representation on both the central and provincial councils
- 1911 The Coronation Durbar; King George V visits India, transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi, the Partition of Bengal modified to create the Presidency of Bengal
- 1915 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, now known as the 'Mahatma' returns to India and begins his campaign of passive resistance to British rule, The Defence of India Act
- 1916 The Lucknow Pact, Congress and the Muslims League unite to demand Home Rule
- 1917 The Montagu declaration establishes that the British government intends to develop self-governing institutions in India
- 1919 The Amritsar Massacre and the Third Afghan War
- The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms offer a limited form of Indian autonomy
- 1920 The launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement
- 1922 The Civil Disobedience Movement suspended after the Chauri-Chaura violence
- 1927 The Simon Commission appointed
- 1928 The Simon Commission visits India
- 1931 New Delhi becomes the capital of India
- 1935 Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the head of the Muslim League demands a new Muslim nation of Pakistan
- 1939 Congress refuses to support Britain during World War II
- 1940 The Muslim League adopts the Pakistan Resolution
- 1941 Congress offers its support in return for Independence. Gandhi disapproves and leaves Congress
- 1942 The Cripps Mission to India fails, Congress launches the Quit India Movement, as a result many Congress leaders, including Gandhi, are imprisoned
- 1946 Formation of the Interim Government, later joined by the Muslim League
- 1947 Lord Mountbatten appointed Viceroy and on the 14th, the Congress accepts the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan.
- 3rd June 1947 Lord Mountbatten announces the British government's decision to grant India independence on the basis of partition
- 3rd June 1947 Congress announces its acceptance of partition
- 15th August 1947 India gains its independence from British rule, but partitioned into the separate states of India and Pakistan
