The Basque have their own ethnicity, culture, and history different from the rest of the Spaniards.
Even the Basque language, Euskera, has no links with any other European language. Nearly 700,000 people in the region still speak Euskera.

2004 February 29th - Spain: two suspected ETA members were arrested about 90 miles outside the city as they headed to Madrid in a truck laden with 500kg of explosives.

2003 December: Spanish authorities said they foiled a Basque separatist plot to blow up a train at a Madrid rail station. One 25-kilo (50 lb) bomb was placed on a train traveling from San Sebastian to Madrid.

2003 December - France, Mont-de-Marsan: Police recaptured suspected the ETA logistics chief.

2003 November: Spanish police arrested 12 suspected ETA leaders in a series of raids.

2003 July: Bomb attack at a Santander airport car park.

2003 July: Simultaneous bomb attacks in the resort towns of Alicante and Benidorm; 13 people were injured.

2003 May: The United States declared Batasuna a terrorist group. The European Union follows suit a month later.

2003 March: Spain's Supreme Court banned Batasuna permanently in response to a government request. It is the first time since Franco died in 1975 that a political party has been banned in Spain.

2003 February: The Spanish Government shuts down Basque newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria on the grounds that it is linked to ETA - a new Basque newspaper, Egunero, hits the stands the next day, under the headline "Shut but not silenced".

2002 December: Suspected ETA logistics chief Ibon Fernandez Iradi escapes from police custody in southern France only three days after being captured near the Spanish border.

2002 September: French police arrest a man and woman suspected of being top leaders of ETA following a joint operation with Spanish police. The man, Juan Antonio Olarra Guribi, is believed to be the group's military head.

2002 August: Judge Garzon suspended Batasuna for three years on the grounds that it is part of ETA, which he declared "guilty of crimes against humanity". Parliament, meanwhile, voted to seek an indefinite ban on Batasuna.

2002 July: Judge Baltasar Garzon ordered the seizure of 18m euros in assets belonging to Batasuna.

2001 December: for the first time all 15 member governments of the European Union declared ETA a terrorist organization; a significant diplomatic victory for the Spanish Government.

2001 November - Spain, Bilbao: Judge Jose Maria Lidon was shot dead. In 1987 the judge had sentenced six ETA sympathizers to long jail terms.

2001 November - Spain, Madrid: a car bomb injured nearly 100 people.

2001 May - Spain, Zaragoza: Senior Popular Party member Manuel Jimenez Abad is shot dead a week before elections to the Basque parliament.

2001 March - Spain, near San Sebastian: Socialist party politician Froilan Elexpe is shot dead in an apparent Eta attack

2000 November: King Juan Carlos strongly condemned ETA in a speech on the 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne. The king's unusually political address came two days after a former government minister is killed in Barcelona.

2000 August - Spain, Bilbao: Thousands of people demonstrated in support of ETA after four members of the group died in a blast caused by explosives in a car they were driving.

2000 July 12th - Spain, Madrid, Preciados Street: After giving a warning via telephone to the Federal Government and the Fire Department at 6.07 am a 20 kilo car bomb exploded half an hour later in the city center in front of the El Corte Inglés building in at 6:31 am; the explosion caused considerable damage to dozens of businesses and homes in the area that is usually filled with shoppers and tourists; up to 10 people were injured.

2000 May: King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia lead thousands of Spaniards in a nationwide silent vigil to protest against the killing of journalist Jose Luis de la Calle. It is the first time the king has made such a gesture.

2000 Spring: The Spanish film Yoyes, a fictional film based on the story of real-life ETA operative Dolores Gonzalez Catarian, broke the long-standing taboo in Spanish cinema against dealing with the separatist movement.

2000 January-February: Car bombings in Madrid and the Basque capital Vitoria

2000 January 3rd - Apain, Bilbao: a car bomb supposed to set off against a police patrol was deactivated.

2000 January 21st - Spain, Madrid, Pizarra Street, at the corner of Virgen dl Puerto Street: car bomb explosion; Colonel Pedro Antonio Blanco García died.

1999 December 20th - Spain, Madrid: the Guardia Civil intercepted two vans loaded with explosives

1999 November: ETA announced an end to its 14-month ceasefire, blaming lack of progress in talks with the Spanish Government.

1999 August: Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar accused ETA of being "scared of peace" and called on the group to prove its commitment. ETA subsequently confirmed that contact with Madrid has been severed.

1999 May - Switzerland, Zurich: The first and only meeting to date between ETA and the Spanish Government.

1998 September: ETA announced its first indefinite ceasefire since its campaign of violence began, effective from 18 September.

1998 June: Car bomb; Popular Party councilor Manuel Zamarreno died

1998 April: Northern Ireland peace agreement signed. ETA is understood to have been heavily influenced by the Northern Ireland peace process. ETA had relations with the Irish republicans and the political wing Herri Batasuna has been schooled by Sinn Fein on strategy for negotiation.

1998 March: Without the involvement of the government Spain's main political parties engaged in talks to end violence in the Basque region.

1998 February: Herri Batasuna elects new provisional leadership.

1997 December: 23 leaders of Herri Batasuna jailed for seven years for collaborating with ETA. The case centers on a video featuring armed and masked ETA guerrillas, which the party tried to show during general election campaign. This was the first time any members of the party have been jailed for co-operating with ETA.

1997 July: ETA kidnapped and murdered Basque councilor Miguel Angel Blanco; the incident sparked national outrage and brought an estimated six million Spaniards onto the streets.

1997: Start of ETA's campaign against local Popular Party politicians.

1996 March 20th - Spain, Madrid: ETA placed a car bomb near a police station and a large shopping mall, but the device failed to explode.

1996 March: Right-wing Popular Party won general election. ETA speculated that the change would lead to a crackdown against its organization and viewed the Popular Party as heir to General Franco's dictatorship.

1996 February 14th - Spain, Madrid, area of Fuencarral: a getaway car in which ETA terrorists had fled after the assignation of Francisco Tomás y Valiente exploded; No-one was injured in the blast.

1995 December 11th - Spain, Madrid, Puente de Vallecas: a car bomb exploded as an official vehicle drove past; 6 people (civilian Navy employees) died and 17 others were injured.

1995 June 19th - Spain, Madrid, Callao Square: car bomb explosion; one police officer died.

1995 April 19th - Spain, Madrid: Attempt to assassinate the leader of the opposition Popular Party (later Prime Minister), Jose Maria Aznar, with a car bomb; 1 female attacker died and 19 people were injured.

1994 July 29th - Spain, Madrid, Plaza de Ramales: 3 people, including General Francisco Veguillas died and 15 others were injured.

1994 January 25th - Spain, Madrid, Paseo de la Ermita: a car bomb was deactivated.

1993 October 19th - Spain, Madrid: after murdering General Dionisio Herrero Albiñana, the terrorists exploded their getaway car in an attempt to destroy the evidence; No-one was hurt in the blast.

1993 June 21st. - Spain, Madrid: a car bomb exploded as a Military van dove by; 7 military personnel died and 30 people were injured.

1992 February 6th - Spain, Madrid, near the Vicente Calderón Stadium: ETA car bomb; 5 people died and 4 were injured. Nearly all victims were military or police officials.

1992 June 9th - Spain, Madrid: car bomb explosion; 10 military officers and 3 civilians were injured.

1992 November 31st - Spain, Madrid: car bomb explosion; 1 member of the Guardia Civil died.

1991 June 23rd - Spain, Madrid, next to the San Blas Police Station: car bomb explosion; 9 people were injured.

1991 March 20th - Spain, Madrid, near military housing in Virgen del Puerto Street; car bomb was deactivated by police bomb disposal officers.

1991 March 7th - Spain, Madrid, near the central headquarters of Conycon: car bomb, no fatalities.

1989 May 8th - Spain, Madrid, Alcalá de Henares: when a police bus carrying 40 prison guards drove by a car bomb exploded close to the entrance to the Alcalá Meco Prison; 2 National Police officer died.

1988 November 22nd - Spain, Madrid, Guardia Civil Headquarters: car bomb explosion; 2 civilians (a child and a journalist) died and 40 people were injured.
ETA claimed responsibility for the attack in a press release sent to the French agency France Press, made public 6 days later.

1987: the deadliest bombing attack took place when 21 people were killed in a supermarket blast in Barcelona.

1987 May 17th - Spain, Madrid, near the Guardia Civil Headquarters: car bomb explosion; a 79-year old civilian died.
ETA claimed responsibility for the attack via a press release sent to several Basque media groups and published on 2 days later.

1986 April 25th - Spain, Madrid, corner of Príncipe de Vergara and Juan Bravo Streets: a car bomb activated by remote control exploded as a Civil Guard Land Rover drove by; the 5 officers inside the vehicle died and 4 other people were injured.

1986 July 14th - Spain, Madrid, Plaza República Dominicana: a bomb placed in a van exploded; 12 Guardia Civil Officers died.

1985 September 9th. - Spain, Madrid, República Argentina Square: car bomb; 1 person died and 16 others were injured.

1985 June 12th - Spain, Madrid, Felipe II Avenue: bomb disposal officer, Esteban del Amo García, died while trying to deactivate a car bomb located in the car-park.

1980 - Spain, Basque region: first Basque parliament was elected.

1978: ETA's political wing Herri Batasuna was founded.

1975 - Spain: after the death of Dictator France Spain returned to democracy; in the following years the Basque region was granted limited autonomy.

1973 December - Spain, Madrid: Assassination of Prime Minister Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco in retaliation for the government's execution of Basque militants.

1968 - Spain, San Sebastian: ETA killed its first victim, Meliton Manzanas, a secret police chief.

1961: ETA's violent campaign began with an attempt to derail a train transporting politicians.

1959: The Euzkadi Ta Askatasunais (Eta) or Basque fatherland and freedom was founded aiming at the creation of an independent state in Spain's Basque region.

1937: General Franco occupied Basque country, which had enjoyed a degree of autonomy. The dictatorial regime repressed any aspirations for independence.

1937: During the civil war in 1936 the Basque were among the fiercest opponents to General Franco's fascist troops. Before Franco occupied the region, it had enjoyed a degree of autonomy. The dictatorial regime repressed any aspirations for independence and stayed clear of financial investments and economic developments for the region. Two Basque regions were declared "traitor provinces" and the speaking of Euskera was banned in public.