The following important events in the history of Alabama affected political jurisdictions, family movements, and record keeping.

1702	The first permanent settlement, Fort Louis de la Mobile, was founded by the French north of the present site of Mobile.
1710–1763	The Alabama area was governed by France. English, French, and Spanish settlers and settlers from South Carolina and Georgia established trading posts.
1711	Mobile was the capital of the Louisiana Territory until 1720 when Biloxi became the capital. In 1722 New Orleans became the capital.
1763	Under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France ceded present-day Alabama to Great Britain.
1783	Britain ceded the southern region, around Mobile, to Spain. The area further north of the Alabama region was claimed by Georgia. The boundary between the two areas was in dispute until 1795, when it was set at the 31st parallel, a few miles north of Mobile.
1802	Georgia abandoned claims to the area. The area north of the 31st parallel became part of the Mississippi Territory when it was created in 1798. Spain controlled the Mobile area until the War of 1812.
1812–1814	During the War of 1812, on 15 April 1813 American forces captured Mobile from the Spanish. General Andrew Jackson defeated the Creek Indians in several battles, including the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, 27 March 1814. Removal of the Creeks and other Indian tribes commenced and European settlers began flooding into the region, bringing African-American slaves with them.
1817	The Mississippi Territory was divided into the state of Mississippi, and the Alabama Territory at that time. The Alabama Territory was composed of the following seven counties: Baldwin, Clarke, Madison, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, and Washington.
1818	Twenty-two counties were established.
1819	Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state.
1835	The treaty of New Echota was signed, which led to the removal of most of the Indian tribes, including the Cherokees from Alabama. A few Creeks and Cherokees remained in Alabama.
1861–1868	Alabama seceded from the Union, but was readmitted in 1868. Nearly 100,000 men from Alabama served in the Civil War.
1880	Almost half of the population of Alabama was of African-American descent.
1917–1918	Armed forces serving in World War I included 95,000 Alabamians. More than 6,200 were killed.
1941–1945	Approximately 288,000 men and women from Alabama served in the armed forces during World War II.
1960	More people in Alabama live in cities with a population of at least 2,500.
1990	About one quarter of the population was African-American descent.