Key Dates:
7000 BC		First permanent inhabitants in the region of present-day Norway.
c.50 BC		Germanic tribes from mainland Europe move into Scandinavia.
c.700 AD		Many small Viking kingdoms have developed.
800-1000 AD		Viking voyages result in many Norse settlements in the North Sea and North Atlantic area.
872 AD		Harold Fairhair becomes first king of much of southern Norway.
1030		King Olaf II (Olav Haraldsson) dies after uniting the whole of Norway and introducing Christianity.
1130		Civil war breaks out between various claimants to the throne.
1319		King Haakon V dies without male heirs. Norwegian crown united with Sweden.
1349		Black Death (bubonic plague) reaches Norway, killing almost half the population.
1397		Kalmar Union unites Denmark, Norway and Sweden under the Danish crown.
1523		Sweden withdraws from Kalmar Union, but Norway remains a Danish province.
1809		British naval blockade of pro-French Denmark during Napoleonic Wars results in virtual independence for Norway.
14 January 1814		Norway assigned from Danish to Swedish control by Treaty of Kiel.
10 April 1814		Norwegian Parliament (Storting) established.
17 May 1814		New Norwegian constitution declares full independence.
July 1814		Norwegian-Swedish War forces Norway to accept Swedish rule, but allowed to retain it's parliament.
5 June 1905		Storting proclaims independence from Sweden after dispute over Norwegian consular offices.
13 August 1905		Norwegian people endorse independence decision in a plebiscite.
1914		Norway remains neutral in World War I.
1920		Norway joins League of Nations.
1920		Sovereignty over Svalbard archipelago (including Spitzbergen) recognised. Formally annexed in 1925.
1929		World economic depression badly affects trade and shipping orientated Norwegian economy - producing severe unemployment.
1939		Norway declares neutrality in World War II.
9 April 1940		Germany invades Norway.
10 June 1940		Norway surrenders - puppet government under Vidkun Quisling installed.
June 1940		Government in exile established in Britain.
1941		Quisling proclaims martial law due to widespread resistance and sabotage by the Norwegian people.
8 May 1945		German forces in Norway surrender - legitimate government returns.
1945		Norway becomes founder member of United Nations.
4 April 1949		Norway becomes founder member of NATO.
1959		Norway becomes a founder member of European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
1966		Discovery of large oil and gas reserves in Norwegian sector of North Sea.
early 1970s		Exploitation of oil and gas fields begins.
1972		Referendum rejects EEC membership.
1993		Norway brokers peace deal between Israel and PLO - Oslo accords.
28 November 1994		Referendum again rejects EU membership.
2003		Norway allows search for oil and gas in Barents Sea.