1660
Restoration of Charles II.
1660
France and England agree not to colonise Dominica and St Vincent, islands occupied by Kalinago.
1660
French colonists agree a treaty with the Indigenous peoples of St Lucia, allowing the French to establish a colony on the island.
1660
A second Navigation Act is passed to promote English commerce and protect it from European competition in colonial trade.
1660
The Royal African Company is founded and is given a monopoly over the British slave trade.
1661
Humphrey Walrond, the governor of Barbados, creates the 'Slave Code', establishing a basis for slavery. A simultaneous piece of legislation provided rights and privileges for white servants.
1662
A proclamation is issued which grants the free population of Jamaica the rights of English citizens.
1662
Militia formed in Jamaica.
1663
Rum distillation begins in Barbados.
1664
Thomas Modyford introduces the 'Slave Code' to Jamaica.
1664
A House of Assembly is established at Jamaica.
1664 - 1667
English forces occupy St Lucia. The island is ceded back to France in the Treaty of Breda in 1667.
1665 - 1667
Second Anglo-Dutch War. France enters the war in 1666, on the Dutch side.
1665
Dutch colonists on Tortola are attacked by British privateer, John Wentworth.
1666
French forces occupy St Kitts and Antigua.
1666 - 1696
French control of St Croix. The island is abandoned in 1696.
1666
A Danish colony is established on St Thomas.
1667
The Battle of Nevis sees a clash between an English squadron and an allied Franco-Dutch fleet. An English victory prevented the invasion of the island.
1667
French forces occupy Montserrat. The island is returned to English control in the Treaty of Breda.
1667
Dutch forces capture the English colony in Suriname.
1667
A British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir John Harman attacks and destroys a French mercantile fleet at anchor in Martinique, virtually wiping out the French trade in the Caribbean.
1688 - 1689
An invasion of Anguilla leads the colonists to evacuate to Antigua.
1670
Jamaica becomes the world's largest exporter of sugar.
1670
As part of the Treaty of Madrid, Spain recognises English possessions in the Caribbean and permits the establishment of logwood cutting stations along the Yucatan coast.
1670
Louis XIV endorses the transport of enslaved people from Africa to Saint-Domingue to work on sugar plantations.
1670
The Bahamas become a proprietary colony.
1671
Welsh privateer Henry Morgan captures and loots Panama.
1672
The Royal African Company is reformed with a broader charter.
1672 - 1674
Third Anglo-Dutch War. England and France join forces against the Netherlands.
1672
England takes control of the territories which now form the British Virgin Islands.
1673
The first enslaved peoples resistance movement takes place in Jamaica when around 300 enslaved people escape the parish of St Ann and head for the mountains.
1674
Sir Christopher Codrington establishes 'Betty's Hope', Antigua and Barbuda's first full-scale sugar plantation.
1675
An uprising among enslaved peoples in Barbados is brutally suppressed.
1675
Henry Morgan, the privateer who led a raid on Panama, is knighted and appointed deputy governor of Jamaica.
1678
Grand Turk is colonised by English salt collectors from Bermuda.
1678
Criollo cacao trees are introduced to Trinidad from Venezuela.
1683
A conspiracy involving around 180 enslaved people is betrayed in Vere, Jamaica.
1684
Spanish forces sack New Providence.
1684
The Somers Isles Company, which administered the colony in Bermuda, is dissolved. Management of the colony passed over to the Crown.
1685
The Code Noir decree is introduced to all French Caribbean colonies to define the conditions of slavery.
1685
Prisoners from the failed Monmouth Rebellion in England are transported to the Caribbean and enslaved.
1685
Uprisings break out on plantations in Guanaboa, Jamaica.
1688 - 1697
The Nine Years War sees England, Spain and other European powers pitted against France.
1689
French forces occupy St. Kitts.
1690
English forces occupy St. Kitts.
1690
Around 400 enslaved Koromanti in the parish of Clarendon in Jamaica burn Sutton's Plantation and escape to the hills.
1690
British forces briefly occupy Saint-Barthélemy, deporting the French colonists and leaving the island unoccupied.
1691
Unsuccessful English attempt to seize Guadeloupe.
1692
An alleged plot to take over Barbados is uncovered and the leaders identified as Hammon, Ben, and Sambo. The discovery leads to over 200 arrests and almost 100 executions.
1692
An earthquake devastates the town of Port Royal, destroying much of the harbour.
1692
A planned rebellion among enslaved peoples in Barbados is discovered.
1694
A French force, led by Admiral Du Casse, attacks Jamaica. Though the invasion is ultimately defeated, they succeed in damaging or destroying many sugar estates and plantations.
1696
Pirate Henry Avery lands in Nassau following a successful raid on shipping in the Indian Ocean.
1697
The Treaty of Ryswick cedes the western third of Hispaniola to France. The enlarged colony of Saint-Domingue becomes rich on the sale of sugar cane.
1698
The Royal African Company loses its monopoly on the slave trade. It is now opened to private traders and the number of enslaved people transported by English merchants increases significantly.
1698 - 1700
Scottish colonists attempt to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Darien. A combination of disease and attacks from Spanish forces cause the colony to fail.
1700
Spanish crown grants an asiento to the French Company of Guinea granting permission to trade in enslaved people and commodities.
1702
English forces annex the French part of St Kitts.
1702 - 1713
War of the Spanish Succession between France, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal and others.
1702 - 1713
Queen Anne's War, the American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession.
1703
Spanish-French forces sack Nassau.
1703
English forces launch an unsuccessful siege of Guadeloupe.
1705 - 1706
French forces attack St. Kitts and Nevis, bombarding and pillaging the islands.
1706 - 1718
Pirates Benjamin Hornigold, Henry Jennings and Thomas Barrow declare themselves as governors of New Providence. The so-called 'Republic of Pirates' lasts until 1718, when governor Woodes Rogers reaches the island.
1710 - 1712
A series of French attacks on Montserrat are repulsed.
1712
A French expedition led by Jacques Cassard raids British, Dutch and Portuguese territories across the Caribbean.
1713
Treaty of Utrecht concludes the War of Spanish Succession. Britain is ceded control over St Kitts.
1713
South Sea Company is granted the asiento, a license to conduct the slave trade in Spanish colonies.
1715
A Spanish treasure fleet is wrecked by a hurricane. Pirates, including Henry Jennings, launch a raid on salvagers attempting to recover gold from the wreck.
1717
Edward Teach (Blackbeard) captures La Concorde, a French merchant vessel off, the coast of St Vincent. He made the ship his flagship, renaming it Queen Anne's Revenge.
1717
Barbadian planter Stede Bonnet turns to piracy, purchasing a ship which he names Revenge.
1718
Danish colonists establish a colony on St John.
1718
Pirates operating out of Nassau, including Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Stede Bonnet, blockade the port of Charles Town in South Carolina.
1718
The Bahamas are made a British crown colony. The first governor, Woodes Rogers, begins to disperse the pirates who had made New Providence their home, offering a pardon to those who surrendered to British rule.
1718
Death of notorious pirate, Edward Teach (Blackbeard).
1718
Pirate Charles Vane makes a daring escape from the blockaded port at Nassau.
1720
Capture, trial and execution of pirate Jack Rackham.
1721
Trial and execution of pirate Charles Vane, who had been captured in 1719.
1722
British colonists attempt to establish a colony at Petit Carenage in St Lucia, but are driven off by the French.
1727
France establishes a colony on Dominica.
1727
Criollo cacao trees are introduced to Trinidad from Venezuela.
1730
Sarah Bassett, an elderly enslaved person in Bermuda, is burned at the stake for allegedly poisoning her owners. This was one of several ‘poisoning plots’ that took place.
1730
Coffee is planted in Jamaica.
1731 - 1739
First Maroon War in Jamaica. Colonial forces attempt to suppress Maroon raids on plantations in Jamaica. Using guerilla tactics and superior knowledge of the terrain, the Maroons succeed in holding off the colonial attacks.
1732
A British colony is established on the Black River on the Mosquito Coast, territory claimed by Spain.
1733
Denmark purchases St Croix from France.
1733
The Molasses Act places a tax on all sugar from non-British colonies, widely encouraging sugar smuggling.
1733 - 1734
Enslaved people in the Danish colony of St John occupy the fort and take control the island. The uprising lasts until 1734, when it is put down by French and British forces.
1734
Colonial forces capture Nanny Town, the main settlement of the Windward Maroons. Many Maroons, led by Queen Nanny and Quao, successfully escape to settle elsewhere.
1735 - 1736
A planned uprising among enslaved peoples in Antigua is uncovered.
1739
Colonial authorities in Jamaica sue for peace with the Leeward Maroons, led by Cudjoe. The Maroons won grants of land, but were required to fight on behalf of the colonial authorities against the rebels, independent Maroon communities and invading forces.
1739 - 1742
The War of Jenkin's Ear sees conflict between Britain and Spain due to disagreements over trading activities in the Spanish Caribbean.
1740 - 1748
The War of the Austrian Succession is fought in Europe, India and North America. France, Spain, Prussia and Bavaria are pitted against Britain, the Dutch Republic, Hanover and the Holy Roman Empire.
1740
Peace is agreed with the Windward Maroons. Quao won similar terms to Cudjoe the year before, but was further required to return runaway enslaved people who had joined him in the three years prior.
1741
The Netherlands establishes a colony in Demerara.
1742
A group of Leeward Maroons rebel and join an enslaved peoples uprising in Jamaica. The leader of the Leeward Maroons, Cudjoe, succeeds in suppressing both uprisings.
1745
An uprising among enslaved people in Jamaica is suppressed by the Windward Maroons.
1745
French forces attempt to take Anguilla but are repulsed with heavy losses.
1748
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of Austrian Succession. As part of the terms of the treaty, Britain's control of the asiento is renewed.
1750
Thomas Thistlewood starts a detailed diary of life on a sugar plantation in Jamaica and his interactions with enslaved people.