(Information in italics and brackets concerns more general developments in the area, but which are important for the life of Cardigan at the time)

The name 'Cardigan' is rooted in a Norman English adaptation of the Welsh Ceredigion, the name given to the lands ruled by Ceredig, son of a Roman official who wrested this part of Wales from Irish settlers in the fifth century. Ceredigion is retained as the county name of this part of Wales, though the town's name in Welsh is Aberteifi, or 'mouth of the Teifi'
Before the Norman invasion there is no evidence of a settlement here. For a few years after 1066 the area remained peaceful following a pact between the local ruler, Rhys ap Tewdwr, and William the Conqueror.
1093: the Norman Roger de Montgomery sweeps across Wales and established a small colony, building a motte and bailey structure a mile west of the present site and just opposite the present village of St Dogmael's. The Normans' hold on the area is precarious though, and only following the intrigues of Cadwgan ap Bleddyn's family is their power imposed when Henry I gives control over the whole of the area to Gilbert de Clare.
1110: Gilbert builds a castle on its present site opposite the Heritage Centre, a church and a wooden bridge a little upstream from the present one.
1130’s and '40’s: Open rebellion by the Welsh makes life hard for the Anglo-Normans, but despite a Welsh victory at Crug Mawr a mile east of the town in 1136 the Norman castle holds out.
1138: A Danish force enlisted by the Welsh, who now control most of the area, but not Cardigan itself, ransack St Dogmael's Abbey but are not able to take Cardigan castle.
1165: Welsh lord Rhys takes the castle and rebuilds it, holding what is seen as the first ever Eisteddfod in 1176. Cardigan is a small but economically important centre and in effect the capital of Welsh Wales.
1190’s: After the death of Rhys one of his two sons, Maelgwn, betrays his brother to King John and sells the castle to the Crown.
Early 1200’s: Many battles take place between the Welsh and the Anglo-Normans and the castle is take by the Welsh under Llewelyn the Great in 12.15, then later severely damaged in 1231. But the Anglo-Normans finally take Cardigan for good in 1240, once again rebuilding the castle and strengthening the town's defences.
1249: By now Cardigan is not only of strategic importance but has a flourishing commercial class, mostly colonists, and their activities are supported by confirmation of the town's royal charter. There is much ill feeling towards the English merchants from the largely excluded Welsh population.
1279: Edward I of England makes Cardigan the administrative centre of 'Cardiganshire', and over the next century or so the burgesses are given various rights of local self-government. The town becomes a market centre and a trading port, and trade routes are cleared through the inland forests to other parts of Wales. Small scale local industries develop such as the wool trade.
(1401-10: Own Glyndwr's rebellion is finally crushed and the native Welsh are heavily penalised, with laws preventing trading and participation in many areas of commercial life. However, in Cardigan, as in many regional centres, much of this was already in the hands of the English and their descendants.)
1485: Henry Tudor passes through en route for the Battle of Bosworth and the English crown and gains support in Cardigan. As Henry V11 he later repealed many of the anti Welsh laws and Cardigan developed as an agricultural centre and port.
(1536 & 1542: Acts of Union establish the political union of England and Wales).
1638: The first stone bridge is built across the Teifi in place of the wooden Norman structure.
1644: During the Civil War the Parliamentary forces hold the town. Royalists take the castle for a while but are eventually repelled after a fierce battle. The castle is ruined and is never rebuilt as a fortress.
Later 17th and into the 18th century: Cardigan develops as a major port exporting slates from upriver, particularly Cilgerran, as well as agricultural produce and fish. Dublin is a major export market, and goods are imported both from Ireland and, in smaller amounts, from the continent, including France and Scandinavia. But most sea trade is along Welsh the Welsh coast and to western English ports as land transport is very slow. The castle is used for a variety of purposes: a gaol, court house, council chambers and private house.
By 1815 the port is one of Britain's biggest, importing coal, culm for burning, salt, lime for agriculture and as protection for buildings, pig iron, timber and, as the town developed, household and general goods. Exports include fish, cereals, butter and leather, but are predominantly cheap slates. The following year 323 ships are registered in Cardigan, though many are small, and many others are built up and down the Ceredigion coast. Bristol and Liverpool develop as major markets.
1837 to the early 1840's: Riots in Cardigan follow rent rises for tenant farmers, bad summers, increases in tithes and agitation against Poor Laws. There is discontent right across Wales, culminating in the 'Rebecca riots' against high tolls levied by profiteers on the new Turnpike roads, when tollgates were smashed and workhouses attacked all over south-west Wales. These help produce the Cawdor Act, which regulates tolls and puts a lid on the agitation. The agricultural situation and widespread rural poverty makes Cardigan one of the biggest sources of emigrants to America, some of whom sail directly from the town, though later most voyage from Liverpool.
Decline of the port: Cardigan's remote location together with the gradual domination of fast, powerful and reliable steamers serving the bigger and more central ports and competition from the railways within the UK puts its position in jeopardy. Also the life of the port is threatened by the gradual silting up of the Teifi and the notorious shifting sandbar at Poppit where the river reaches the sea, in addition to many years of the dumping of huge amounts if slate waste from the quarries around Cilgerran, which eventually make the upper river almost unnavigable to the new, bigger steamers. By the early years of the 20th century the port is as good as dead.
1886: The railway belatedly reaches Cardigan despite protests from local vested interests in shipping and related businesses. Though this weakens the port it strengthens Cardigan's links to the outside world and brings tourists into the area.
1962/3: British Rail's axe falls on Cardigan, which loses its railway and now becomes dependent on the road network.
1992: Cardigan's bypass is completed, relieving congestion.
Today: Cardigan has a population of around 5,000 and continues to be an important market and shopping centre for this part of West Wales. The main activities today are associate with agricultural and tourism and there is a growing arts scene.  For more information on today's Cardigan visit the town's own web site at: www.cardigan.gov.uk