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.

NATION/WORLD National News: Field-to-plate: VT college students try farming  Mohawks v. Canada: Bridge shutdown hurts business  As retailers cut back cities confront 'ghostboxes'  Ballad hero has lived a country song  Mass. mom accused of withholding cancer meds  International News: Report: NKorean launches maybe included new Scud  China state media says 140 killed in riots in west  Honduras slides toward greater instability  Opposition urges Thai foreign minister to resign  Suicide attack outside NATO base in Kandahar  • More Nation/World News • Nation/World Photo Galleries

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