How Long Has Aruba Been Settled?

How long has the island of Aruba been settled? I'm sure the tourist trade has increased in recent years but how long has Aruba actually been in existence as a Dutch province?

There is evidene of Indian settlement as early as 1,000 AD, but if you're referring to European settlement, it was found by the Spanish in 1499 and acquired by the Dutch in 1636, when settlement really took off again.

I didn't realize it was that long ago! I love learning about new places and I'm getting really excited about my first visit to Aruba. I've been doing a lot of research but what better way to learn than from people who live there or have visited.

Aruba was discovered in 1499 by a Spanish explorer named Alonso de Ojeda who claimed it for the country of Spain. It wasn't until 1954, however,that Aruba became part of the autonomous federation of the Netherlands Antilles.

That's really cool. I didn't know that Aruba had been settled for that long or that it originally was a part of Spain. How did the Dutch come to acquire it?