Saint Helena is discovered by Portugal in 1501 and in 1633 the Netherlands occupy the island. In 1659 Saint Helena is acquired by the British East India Company and in 1835 Saint Helena becomes a British crown colony. In 1922 Ascension becomes a dependency of Saint Helena as does Tristan da Cunha in 1938. In the 1970s and early 1980s elections were contested on a party basis, but since the constitution of 1989 the elections are conducted on a non-partisan basis. The executive is lead by the governor.