Under the terms of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814, the Netherlands regained control over its West Indies colonies, with the exception of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice.

This new basic law followed on a revision of the Dutch constitution in 1922, in which all references to "colony" were deleted.

In the new parliament established in the colony, the Estates of Curaçao, ten out of fifteen members were elected by popular vote, with the remaining five being appointed by the governor.

Queen Wilhelmina had promised in a 1942 speech to offer autonomy to the overseas territories of the Netherlands, and British and American occupation—with consent by the Dutch government—of the islands during the war led to increasing demands for autonomy within the population as well.

Shortly thereafter, on 3 March 1951, the Island Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Eilandenregeling Nederlandse Antillen or ERNA; Papiamento: Regulashon Insular delas Antias Hulandes or RIAH) was issued by royal decree, giving fairly substantial autonomy to the various island territories in the Netherlands Antilles.