Page 364 - The Dutch Caribbean Isles

Aruba: Key Historical Dates and Events

1499 - Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda discovers the island and claims it for Spain.
1636 - Aruba is colonized by the Dutch and forms part of the Dutch West India Company.
1816 - Island is returned to the Netherlands after coming under British rule during the Napoleonic Wars.
1929 - Oil refinery is established at San Nicolaas.
1954 - Aruba becomes part of the autonomous federation of the Netherlands Antilles.
1971 - People’s Electoral Movement party (MEP) is founded and begins its campaign for independence and separa-
tion from the Netherlands Antilles federation.
1977 - March - Referendum: 82% of voters support independence and withdrawal from the Antillean federation.
1983 - Dutch and Netherlands Antilles governments agree that Aruba should receive separate status from 1986,
aiming for independence by 1996.
1986 - 1 January - Aruba obtains autonomous status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
1991 - Oil refining resumes.