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Brief History
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Bonaire had been a Dutch colony since 1635, but the British were able to obtain control of the island thanks to the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The Dutch were unable to resist Napoleon's influence and so the Royal Navy was at liberty to pick up virtually all Dutch colonies throughout the world. The British occupied the island from 1807 and held onto it for the duration of the war finally handing it back in 1816.
Proximity meant that its fate was very similar to the Dutch island colonies of Aruba and Curacao
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