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 took control over the whole island in 1636. The Carquetios were treated fine in the hands of the Europeans, but many were sent to Hispaniola to become slaves. 

The Dutch wanted Aruba very badly to protect their salt supply from the South American mainland and to also ensure a naval base in the Caribbean during their wars with Spain. The Dutch had the Caquetio people build farms and raise cattle for food that would be sold to other countries and islands in the Caribbean ("The Dutch" 4). Aruba was in the hands of the British for a few years, but the Dutch took back control of the island in 1816. ("A Brief History of Aruba 3). 

An old gold mill that was forced to shut down.

Aruba is an island of gold and treasures! Gold was discovered on the island in 1824 under the Dutch rule. For a while, gold was the top export and were mined to the point where the metal became scarce. Although that may have seemed to be a problem, it was not. Black gold was discovered in abundance on the island and helped stabilize the economy and work force. But in 1985,  oil refineries were forced to shut down because of a global oversupply of oil. ("A Brief History of Aruba" 4). This led the people to think of another way to make money. And the idea that they came up with helped the island become what it is today. The idea that is tourism!!

In 1845, Aruba became apart of the Netherlands Antilles. The Netherland Antilles consisted of many small Caribbean islands that were under the control of the Dutch. These islands included Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St, Maarten, and St. Eustatius. But in today's world, the Netherland Antilles does not really exist as most of the countries became autonomous. This means that Aruba is basically it's own nation but certain things, such as foreign affairs and national defense,  are still handled by the Netherlands. Aruba handles its own internal affairs. 

Works Cited:

 “A Brief History of Aruba.” In, www.in-aruba.com/aruba/historyofaruba. Accessed 20 Oct. 2020.

“A Brief History of the Caribbean.” Zegrahm Expeditions, www.zegrahm.com/blog/brief-history-caribbean. Accessed 20 Oct. 2020.

“Aruba History - What's the History of Aruba?” Aruba History - What's the History of Aruba? | Aruba.com, www.aruba.com/us/our-island/history-and-culture/history. Accessed 20 Oct. 2020.

“Netherlands Antilles.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Accessed 20 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Antilles.