These islands have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded them back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815.

Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the European Union; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.

[2] According to the disputed letters of Amerigo Vespucci, the first European to explore the ABC islands was one of Christopher Columbus' captains, Alonso de Ojeda, who landed on Curaçao in 1499.

The first known European exploration was by Amerigo Vespucci, whose cartographer Juan de la Cosa first described the islands.

The Dutch West India Company established a major port on Curaçao and began importing West-African slaves to the island and to nearby Bonaire.

On Aruba however, slavery was not as widespread due to island being considered too dry by the Dutch and Spanish for large plantations.

Oil refining on the islands aided heavily in the allied war effort during WWII.

[4] Upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, Curaçao gained a similar status to Aruba.

Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands proper, although it maintains its status of an overseas territory of the European Union.

ABC does not indicate the geographical order to each other; from west to east the islands are Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire.

Aruba is a flat island, much coastal land being exposed to tidal storm surges.

Only in their short rainy season from October to December or January are they exposed to showers or storms formed from the northeast trade winds.

[7] Papiamentu is heavily influenced by Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, German, French, and Italian.

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao are constitutional parts of the European Union, meaning that all three islands are special member state territories.