2 million BC - 50.000 BC
The 'Java Man' a.k.a. the Homo Erectus inhibited the Indonesian archipelago. Geologically, Indonesia was still connected with Asia's mainland. The Indonesian archipelago as we know now, was formed during the thaw of the last ice age.
40.000 BC
The earliest remains that are found from the Homo Sapiens are dated to be from this period.
2500 BC
Austronesian people who are originally from Taiwan, began to enter the archipelago because of their rapid expansion and migration, confining the native Melanesian inhabitans to the more eastern regions.
2000 BC
In 2004, locals from the Gilimanuk area found the remains of a family that lived around 4000 years ago. These oldest human remains can be witnessed in the Situs Purbakala Gilimanuk museum.
500 BC - 500 AC
This period is claimed to be the Bronze Age (Dong Son Culture) in Bali. Spreading of the Dong Son culture brought a lot of techniques to Indonesia and Bali, such as; rice cultivation, fishing, bronze casting and ikat weaving.
300 AC - 1000
Indian traders came to Indonesia and Hindu kingdoms such as the Sriwijaya, Pajajaran, Sailendra, Kediri, Singosari were found, bringing (Indian) hindu influences to Indonesia, especially to Java and Sumatra.
1284
Kertanegara, last king of the powerful Singhasari kingdom in Java, captured Bali
1292
Kertanegara dies, and with his death, Bali regained its independence.
1293
Raden Wijaya founded the Majapahit kingdom. The Majapahit was an archipelagic based on Java with a peak from 1350 to 1389 (Golden Age - ruled by Gajah Mada).
1343
A Majapahit colony was found in Bali, bringing the island back under Javanese control.
1500
The Majapahit era is ending and large parts of Indonesia are converted to Islam. Much of the Javanese aristocracy fled to Bali and continued with their Hindu practices.
1585
A Portuguese ship was sent to Bali with the purpose to make a port, but the ship had foundered off the Bukit Peninsula. The few survivors were left to serve Dewa Agung.
1597
Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman who discovered a new sea route from Europe to Indonesia, arrived in Bali with 87 of his men (out of the 249 that departed from Amsterdam). Cornelis de Houtman was quite enthousiastic and met with king Dewa Agung.
1601
Second Dutch explorer, Jacob van Heemskerk arrived in Bali and Dewa Agung wrote a letter to the Dutch prince Maurits, giving permission to 'trade freely' between Holland and Bali.
1602
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was established. The VOC was granted a monopoly over the Asian trade but they showed little interest in Bali. Occasionally, the VOC visited Bali for trade of opium and female slaves.
1639
The Mataram kingdom ruled over Central Java. Attemps of taking over Bali failed.
1799
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was declared bankrupt.
1811 - 1816
The British Statesman Stamford Raffles (also founder of the city of Singapore) conquered Java and the British ruled the East Indies in these years.
1816
The British returned the East Indies to the Dutch in 1816. The control of the Dutch became more dominant and it expanded quickly. The East Indies finally became the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch showed their powers to the kings in Bali by opium smuggling, plundering of shipwrecks and slavery.
1846 - 1849
The Dutch took over the north balinese kingdoms Buleleng and Jembrana. The king of Buleleng and his people killed themselves in a mass ritual suicide (puputan) because they did not want to face the humilitation of surrendering.
1894
After increasing control over the whole island, the Dutch also defeated the Balinese ruler of Lombok, adding the island of Lombok to their possessions.
1904 - 1906
The Dutch trader Sri Kumala got plundered in Sanur. This conflict eventually leads to the attack of the royal palace in Denpasar. The king and around 2000 Balinese people got killed.
1908
A similar event happened in Klungkung; this last military intervention leaded to another puputan where the king and 200 people lost their lives. The Majapahit Empire ended in 1909 when whole Bali was under control of the Dutch.
1908 -1914
The violant actions of the Dutch were followed by the media. The West critisized these actions and in order to make amends, the Dutch endeavoured to preserve the culture that was threathened because of the modernisation. Bali became a "living museum of classical culture" and in 1914 the doors opened for tourism.
1917
A large earthquake hit the island. Great parts of the island, like ancient and sacred sights are damaged.
1930 - 1940
Influentual people like Walter Spies (artist) and Margaret Mead (anthropologists) created a positive image of Bali for the West. Tourism flourished in these years.
1942
During the second World War, the Japanese invaded Java and eventually occupied Bali.
1945
The Japanese surrendered and the Dutch were trying to regain control. Soekarno and Mohammed Hatta declared independence of Indonesia on the 17th of August. The Dutch are not that cooperative.
1946
Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai formed a Freedom Army and with this army he tried to defeat the remaining troops in the Balinese Marga village. The Freedom Army lost and Ngurah Rai dies in this fight.
1949
Finally, the Netherlands recognised the Independence of Indonesia on 29 December 1949.
1963
Mount Agung, the highest volcano on Bali errupted and many villages were ruined. Almost 2000 people died because of this erruption.
1965
An attempted coupe on Sukarno in Jakarta led by General Suharto results in a massacre in Bali. Around 100.000 people got killed on the island.
1966
Sukarno ousted the country's first president, leading Indonesia to the "New Order" and commencement of Suharto's 32-year presidency.
1998
Suharto resigns as president.
2002
On October 22, bombs goes off in clubs in Kuta. More then 200 people died and many of them were tourists. Bali's economy tumbled as tourism numbers shrank.
2005
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up at Kuta Square and Jimbaran beach. Twenty people died, mainly Balinese and Javanese employees. Tourism numbers were just on the rise, but crumbled down even further after this event.
2008
Bali is on the right track with a record of 2 million visitors.
