-1000 B.C. : the Ciboneys are the first occupants.
2nd c. A.D. : the Arawaks arrive.
10th c. A.D : invasion of the Caribs. The island is called "Ouanalao".
1496 : Christopher Colombus discovers the island and names it after his brother Bartholomew.
1648 : first arrivals of European colonists.
1651 : the island is sold to Knights of Malta.
1660 : after four years of exile, the colonists return to the island.
1665 : St-Barth is sold to the West Indian Company.
1674 : St-Barth becomes part of the royal colony of Guadeloupe.
1690-1764 : War between France and England for control of the region.
1749 : the island is declared a "free port" by royal decree.
1785 : start of the island's era of prosperity.
1785 : the island is handed over to Sweden in exchange for the right to maintain commercial warehouses.
1801-1802 : occupation by the British.
1828 : start of the island's economic decline.
1847 : abolition of slavery on St-Barts.
1878 : the island reverts to France on March 16.
1914 : World War I mobilizes St-Barts also.
1934 : inauguration of the hospital.
1940-1945 : the war years, when supply restrictions leave St-Barts dependent on the neighboring islands.
1945 : Rémy de Haenen makes the first landing at St-Jean.
1980 : to the present: the tourist boom years.