Aruba: History

1499

Alonso de Ojeda, a Spanish Explorer, discovers the island and claims it for Spain.

1636

The Dutch colonize Aruba, making it a part of the Dutch West India Company.

1816

The island is returned to the Dutch after being controlled by Britain during the Napoleonic Wars.

1824

The discovery of gold on the island leads to a gold rush and prosperity for Aruba.

1954 Aruba becomes part of the federation of the Netherlands Antilles.

1986

Aruba secedes from the Netherlands Antilles and becomes a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

1994

The Aruban government, in conjunction with the governments of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, decide to postpone indefinitely the transition to full independence. 

2003

Aruba agrees to a deal with the United States to exchange tax data to fight money-laundering after previously being named as one of 35 "non-cooperative tax havens" in a report by the OECD.

2009

OECD removes Aruba from an international list of uncooperative tax havens after it improves standards of transparency.