Chronology of Finnish History I By Joe Brady Maps: Andrew Andersen, Osmo Joronen,
100,000 B.C. - 1,100 A.D.	The prehistory of Finland. Archaeological finds of the 1990s indicate that there was probably human settlement in Finland more than 100,000 years ago.
98 A.D.	The Roman historian Tacitus writes about the Fenni, a people of the north. This is the first reference to the Finns in recorded history. (In reality he is thought to have meant the Lapps).
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1150s	King Erik of Sweden and the English-born Bishop Henry (Swedish: Henrik) lead a crusade to south-western Finland.
1238/49	Birger, Earl of Sweden, leads a crusade, known as the Second Crusade, to the Finnish inland province of Tavastia (Häme, Tavastland).
1290	Building work on Turku (Åbo) Cathedral begins.
1293	Sweden's Third Crusade, led by Tyrgils Knutsson to Karelia, eastern Finland, establishes a dividing line between the Catholic west and the Orthodox east.
Late 13th century	To consolidate Sweden's might fortified castles are built in Turku (Åbo), Häme (Tavastehus) and Viipuri (Viborg).

Early 14th century	The first Finnish students arrive at the Sorbonne, France's leading university.
1323	The peace treaty of Pähkinäsaari (Nöteborg, Schlusselburg) is signed by Sweden and Novgorod. The signatories divide up the territory of Finland. The border established by the peace treaty becomes a dividing line between states, religions and cultures. Finnish was spoken on both sides of the border.
1362	Finns granted the right to send representatives to vote in Sweden's royal election.
1397	The kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway unite in the Kalmar Union.

1475	Swedish nobleman Erik Axelsson Tott founds Olavinlinna (Olofsborg) castle in the region of Savo, eastern Finland.
1493	Finland is mentioned for the first time on a printed map of Europe in the book "Liber Chronicarum" authored by Hartmann Schedel in Germany.
1400-1500	Most of Finland's mediaeval stone churches are built.

1523	The Kalmar Union is disbanded when Gustavus Vasa becomes king of Sweden.
1527	The Diet of Västerås approves the Lutheran Reformation and the confiscation of ecclesiastical property.
1543	Bishop Mikael Agricola produces the first Finnish-language book, a volume of Finnish grammar.
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1617	Under the Peace of Stolbova, Sweden becomes supreme ruler of the Baltic Sea with control of the entire Gulf of Finland.
1630-1643	The Finnish cavalrymen, famous for their wild charges, earn the nickname "Hakkapelites" in the Thirty Years War. Their commander, general Torsten Stålhandske became one of the most famous Finnish soldiers of Sweden's great power era.
1640	Queen Christina of Sweden establishes Finland's first university, the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi in Turku.
1642	The first complete Finnish translation of the Bible appears.

1700-21	The Great Northern War. Russia assumes the position of a great power. In 1703, Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg at the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland. Sweden's position weakens.
1721	Under the Treaty of Uusikaupunki (Nystad) Sweden cedes south-eastern Finland and the Baltic provinces of Livonia, Estonia and Ingria to Russia.
1747	Sweden begins construction of a fortress named Sveaborg, (lit. Castle of Sweden) on a group of islands off Helsinki. Later its name is changed to Suomenlinna (lit. Castle of Finland).
1765	The Finnish-born clergyman and politician Anders Chydenius publishes his book The National Gain in which he proposes free trade, eleven years before the publication of Adam Smith´s Wealth of Nations.
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1807	The Emperors Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon of France agree to blockade Great Britain. Alexander pledges to compel Sweden to join the interdiction.
1808-1809	Sweden is defeated by Russia in the Finnish War and loses Finland, which becomes an autonomous Grand Duchy with the Czar as its ruler. Finland´s position is confirmed in its first separate Diet. Finland retains its own legislation and its old form of society, including the free status of the peasantry, the Lutheran religion and the old Swedish system of law and government.
1812	The territory known to Russia as " old Finland" is joined to the Grand Duchy. In the same year, Helsinki (Helsingfors) is declared capital of Finland.
1828	Helsinki replaces Turku as the site of Finland's sole university.
1835	Publication of the first edition of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, compiled and edited by Elias Lönnrot. An enlarged edition appears in 1849.
1848	The first public performance of the Finnish national anthem, Maamme (Vårt Land), (English: Our Land). The first volume of Johan Ludvig Runeberg's "Fänrik Ståls sägner" (Tales of Ensign Stål), a collection of poems stressing morality and a sense of responsibility is published.
1853-1867	"Fältskärns berättelser" (The tales of Barber-Surgeon), a historical novel by Zachris Topelius is published as a series of books.
1860	Finland acquires its own currency, the markka or Finnish mark.
1860s	Sawmilling begins to flourish and the paper industry starts to develop.
1863	Finland's own legislature convenes. Emperor Alexander II decrees that Finnish is to have equal status with Swedish as a language of administration. The decree is to have the force of law within 20 years.
1870	Publication of the first novel in Finnish, The Seven Brothers, by Aleksis Kivi.
1878-79	The Finnish-born geologist and explorer A.E. Nordenskiöld sails the North-East Passage.
1882	Emma Irene Åström becomes the first Finnish woman to receive a university degree
1899	In the opinion of many Finns the Russian Emperor Nicholas II breaks his promise to uphold the Finnish Constitution when the so-called February Manifesto is issued. Finns oppose the manifesto, which they think will erode their autonomous position. A period of resistance begins and lasts until independence is attained in 1917.
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Originally published at http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25911#1900

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