Early Spanish explorers visited the area in 1572 but did not reduce the settlements into towns until 1588. In that year, Franciscans travelling up the Pacific coast from missions in present day Quezon established the towns of Baler and Casiguran. The settlements remained small and isolated and were ravaged by occasional Moro raids. Baler and Casiguran were burned to the ground by raiders in 1798, and part of the population carried off into slavery.

The Baler and Casiguran were administered as part of Tayabas until the province of Nueva Ecija was established in the early 19^th century. In 1856, the eastern coast of Nueva Ecija was created into a district called "El Principe".

During the Revolutionary period, the Baler Catholic Church became the site of the longest siege of Spanish forces by Filipino revolutionaries. Four officers and fifty men stood ground against Filipino besiegers from June 27, 1898 until June 2, 1899. This was the last pocket of resistance of the Spanish forces in the Philippines.

In 1902, the American government abolished the district of Principe and annexed it to the province of Tayabas. Aurora was organized a sub-province of Quezon on June 14, 1951 through the passage of Republic Act No. 648. In May 1979, the people of Aurora voted in favor of full provincehood. It officially became a province on August 13, 1979 through Batas Pambansa Bilang (National Law Number) 7.