I really want to figure out the timeline for all the important events in this game, and all the events leading up to it. What's your opinion/knowledge of the order of the following events....

Corvo Attano moves to Gristol.
Jessamine Kaldwin is crowned Empress.
Esmond Roseburrow invents trans.
Corvo Attano becomes the empress' bodyguard.
The little boy accedently starts the rat plague.
Esmond Roseburrow starts working with Anton Sokalov
Corvo is arrested and framed for the murder of the empress.
Esmond Roseburrow commits suicide.
Piero creates Corvo's mask.
Dunwall security becomes oppressive and immoral.
Corvo escapes from prison.

The boy does not start the plague. The rats are brought in from the Pandyssian Continent. There were warnings of the plague in the very same video.

That timeline is a little dodgy at places. I suggest you read all of the notes and books because there are some very interesting things about the world that we haven't even seen or heard from the trailers and interviews.

Well, let's create a tentative timeline, with what we know, for some of those events.

Corvo Attano moves to Gristol. No way to know. He probably grew up there, so less than 20 years ago.

Jessamine Kaldwin is crowned Empress. No way to know, as far as I know.

Corvo Attano becomes the empress' bodyguard. Probably at least 9-10 years before the murder. Emily looks about 8-9 years old, and even if Corvo didn;t father her, he's known her all her life.

Corvo is arrested and framed for the murder of the empress. Central event.

Piero creates Corvo's mask. Probably started on it when plans were initiated to spring Corvo, maybe 5 months after the murder.

Dunwall security becomes oppressive and immoral. Probably occured slowly over the 6 month interregnum.

Corvo escapes from prison. 6 months after the murder.

1. The manual says Corvo was a bodyguard sent from Serkanos. He did not grow up there. It was a diplomatic gesture.
2. Since he was sent as a bodyguard, Jessamine was already in power.
3. First part reference number 1. Timing seems right though - since Emily did not know her father.
4. Yep.
5. Piero started the mask BEFORE any event. It is made clear in the youtube videos leading up to the game coming out.
6. Sure? Lol.
7. Yep.

According to Harvey on Twitter, Corvo received his training in Serkonos. So he probably came to Gristol only as a young advlt, maybe when Jessamine's father died and she became empress. An in-game book says that the emperor/empress-elect helps choose the Lord Protector when he/she is twelve years old. So the way I interpret that, Corvo was chosen earlier, remained in Serkonos for training and came to Gristol when Jessamine took the throne.

I think in the videos Piero initially made the mask to protect the wearer from plague. What I think we see him doing in the game is tweaking it for use as an assassin's mask- adding the zoom lenses etc.