History of Aruba
The history of the Caribbean dates back all the way to the first few voyages. After Christopher Columbus stepped foot on an island in the Caribbean in the year 1492, he created a chain of exploration and cross-Atlantic expansion. Specifically, European nations rushed to claim their share of islands (Contributer 2). The history of Aruba dates back to 1,000 AD with the first few inhabitants, the Arawak tribe of the Caquetios Indians. These people fled to Aruba from Venezuela to escape brutality that they faced there by other Indian tribes. Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda arrived in Aruba in 1499, and he founded a colony on the island ("A Brief History of Aruba" 1). At this point, Aruba is in the hands of Spain. Aruba stayed under Spanish control for 137 years ("The Spanish" 3). Portrait of Alonso de Ojeda For more than 80 years, the Dutch and the Spanish conquistadors fought each other to gain control over the small island. The Dutch succeeded in winning the war and