Tibet, an isolated and mountainous land bordered on its north by China, has been at the epicenter of a struggle between its people and China for many years.

Associated Press (ENLARGE)

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama speaks to the media in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, March 18, 2008.

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1904 – Tibet is invaded by the British, who then recognize the Chinese Empire as the sovereign authority over Tibet in a treaty signed in 1906.

1912 – After the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty, Tibet regains some independence from China.

1914 – The British help negotiate a treaty between Tibet and China, which regulates boundaries. China later repudiates the treaty, and by 1918 fighting breaks out between the two countries.

1935 – The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is born.

1950 – China invades Tibet after the Communists come to power. The current Dalai Lama is given full authority by the kingdom.

1951 – The Tibetan government signs a treaty that gives the Chinese control of foreign and military affairs and puts the Dalai Lama in charge of domestic affairs. By the mid-1950s the Dalai Lama is elected a vice-president of the National People's Congress, the Chinese legislative body. India recognizes Tibet as part of China.

1958 – The Tibetan people of eastern Tibet engage in anti-Communist guerrilla activity against the establishment of agricultural people?s communes.

1959 - The Dalai Lama flees to India after Chinese troops crush a large uprising in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, against China's occupation of Tibet.

1963 – Foreign visitors are banned from entering Tibet

1965 – China establishes Tibet as an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and begins a transformation of its cultural practices.

1966 – All religious practice is outlawed, over 4000 monasteries are destroyed, and monks are either imprisoned or "re-educated."

1971 – The ban against foreign visitors is lifted.

1976 – The ban against Tibetan Buddhist religious practice is lifted.

Late 1980s – Tibetan demonstrations against Chinese rule are violently suppressed; Chinese migrants flood Tibet. World governments protest human rights violations by the Chinese against the Tibetan people.

1989 – The Dalai Lama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of non-violent solutions from his government-in-exile based in Dharamsala in northern India.

2007 – The United States awards the Dalai Lama the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Source: Facts on File