# Canon of Curaçao

The Canon of Curaçao is a list of fifty themes (called "windows") that chronologically summarizes the history of Curaçao. In the windows 50 subjects are described in approximately 400 words each. Complementing the Canon of the Netherlands and its regional canons, the Canon of Curaçao was compiled on the initiative of the General Faculty of the University of Curaçao (UoC), for the purpose of history education.
In 2020, the canon was released by a committee appointed by the University of Curaçao, the Curaçao National Archives [nl] (Dutch: Nationaal Archief Curaçao, NAC), and the Foundation for School Materials (Papiamento: Fundashon Material pa Skol, FMS). The committee members are:
* Dr. R. M. Allen, anthropologist, part-time lecturer at UoC
* Drs. E. Baetens, former geography teacher and FMS employee
* Drs. W. Kamps, former staff member of the General Faculty of UoC
* Drs. M. Scriwanek, director of the NAC
* Drs. R. Sille, former history teacher and rector of the Kolegio Alejandro Paula (KAP)
* Drs. H. Vlinkervleugel, chairman of the Curaçao association of history teachers
* Drs. I. Witteveen, former director of the National Archaeological Anthropological Museum (NAAM) and former FMS employee

## The 50 windows

| | Theme | Period | Description |
| 1 | The original inhabitants | 5000 BCE–500 | The pre-ceramic or archaic period |
| 2 | The Spanish period | 1499–1634 | The first European settlers and administrators |
| 3 | The conquest of Curaçao by the WIC and the arrival of the Dutch | 1634–1665 | The conquest of Curaçao |
| 4 | New inhabitants in the seventeenth century | 1634–1700 | Introduction of the plantation economy |
| 5 | The slave trade and slavery | 1672–1713 | Curaçao as slave market |
| 6 | Resistance to slavery | 18th century | Rebellion of enslaved Africans |
| 7 | Tula | 1795 | From slave leader to national hero |
| 8 | Papiamentu | from 1700 | From colloquial language to creole language |
| 9 | Curaçao around 1800 | 1795–1803 | Seizures of power |
| 10 | The development of Willemstad | from 1634 | Urban development |
| 11 | The development of habitation outside Willemstad | from 1634 | The population of Bandabou |
| 12 | Brión, Piar and Bolívar | 18th century | Historical heroes |
| 13 | The plantation system of Curaçao | from 1634 | Running an agricultural business |
| 14 | The abolition of slavery | 1 July 1863 | Emancipation |
| 15 | The structure of society in the first half of the nineteenth century | 19th century | Social status based on skin color |
| 16 | Buildings | from 1634 | Architecture of Curaçao |
| 17 | The defense of Curaçao | from 1634 | Defensive works |
| 18 | Employment and emigration between 1863 and 1920 | 1863–1920 | Regional labor migration |
| 19 | Mining industry | from 1634 | Salt, guano, phosphate, and limestone |
| 20 | The arrival of Catholic religious from the Netherlands | from 1715 | The mission among the Afro-Curaçaoan population |
| 21 | The arrival of the oil industry | from 1912 | Establishment of the Shell refinery |
| 22 | The new immigrants on Curaçao from the beginning of the twentieth century | 20th century | Migrant flows |
| 23 | The harbor | from 1634 | Harbor and economy |
| 24 | The labor movement | 20th century | Origin and development |
| 25 | The Second World War | 1940–1945 | War and neutrality |
| 26 | Dr. M. F. da Costa Gomez | 1907–1966 | Curaçaoan statesman |
| 27 | Universal suffrage | 1948 | Political emancipation |
| 28 | The charter | 15 December 1954 | Reformed relations within the Kingdom |
| 29 | The sixties – an atmosphere of change | 1960–1969 | Emergence of the trade union system |
| 30 | Thirty May 1969 | 30 May 1969 | Rebellion against oppression |
| 31 | Women's emancipation | 20th century | Elimination of social inequality |
| 32 | The cultural dynamics of the seventies | from c. 1970 | Attention to domestic art and culture |
| 33 | Departure of Shell, arrival and departure of PDVSA | 1976–2019 | Management of the oil refinery |
| 34 | The political developments from the charter to 10 October 2010 | 1954–2010 | Autonomization and decentralization of governance |
| 35 | From ‘Oil as King’ to ‘Tourism as King’ | 20th century | Pillars of the economy |
| 36 | Sports: small island – great sportspeople – Andruw Jones | 20th century | International sports achievements |
| 37 | Visual arts in the 20th century | 20th century | Curaçaoan artists |
| 38 | Carnival | from 1872 | Origin and development of the folk festival |
| 39 | Water | 20th century | Water sources, supply, and use |
| 40 | Elis Juliana [pap] and Paul Brenneker [pap] | 20th century | Pioneers of Curaçaoan cultural heritage |
| 41 | Education on Curaçao | 19th and 20th century | Emergence, access and structure |
| 42 | The plural society | from 1915 | Economy, labor and diversity |
| 43 | Getting along with nature | from 1499 | Interaction between humans and nature |
| 44 | Religion and religious celebrations | 1965 | Entry and multiplicity of religions |
| 45 | The relation with Venezuela | from 1634 | Administrative, economic and trade relations |
| 46 | The lives of Curaçaoans in the diaspora | from 1880 | Emigration and remigration |
| 47 | The other islands of the former Netherlands Antilles | from 1635 | Connection with Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba |
| 48 | The development of telecommunications | from 1887 | History of the means of communication |
| 49 | Transport | from 1880 | The development of road, sea, and air transport |
| 50 | Media | from 1812 | The development of the media |