Page 725 - Visitor Guides

History
e island was discovered in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda, a
lieutenant of Christopher Columbus. e local inhabitants
were Indians of enormous physique which is why the
Spaniards referred to the island as ‘Isla de los Gigantes’
(island of the Giants). e name “Curaçao” made its
appearance on a Portuguese map not more than twenty
years later. e island remained Spanish until the Dutch
conquered it in 1634. At the end of the 17th century until
the beginning of the 19th century, the island changed
hands from the English settlers, to the Dutch. e French
attempted to conquer the island as well, and came close,
but after a sizeable payoff the French left Curaçao. In 1815,
the Netherlands regained control of Curaçao, which at that
moment was in the hands of the English (since 1807).

e “colonial” status of Curaçao and the other islands of
the Netherlands Antilles changed in 1954 when the
Netherlands Antilles became fully self-governing within
the Dutch Kingdom.

On October 10, 2010, Curaçao gained autonomy,
becoming its own country within the Kingdom of the
Netherlands. Since then, the Dutch continue to oversee
elements of Curaçao’s foreign policies, while the
constellation previously known as the Netherlands Antilles
ceased to exist.

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