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Discovery of
Aruba
As the European conquerors continued to invade the
Caribbean following the voyages of Italian Christopher
Columbus, sailing under the flag of Spain, so, too, Aruba was
discovered. In 1499, Spanish conquistador Alonso de Ojeda,
arrived on these shores to find a peaceful tribal society of
Aruaca (Arawak) Indians, who had migrated from the South
American mainland to avoid confrontation with the powerful
Caribe Indians.
Indians on Aruba
From relics dating back to 2500 B.C., found at various
sites around Aruba, it has been established that small family
groups lived from fish, shellfish, and sea turtles and used
tools made from shells and stones. They later became farmers
and made large-vessel pottery such as cooking pots, burial
urns and baking griddles along with fine polished and painted
pieces that were highly sophisticated in manufacture and
design. Recent excavations in the Santa Cruz area have
provided remains of wooden house posts and elaborate burial
rituals.
Hispaniola
The arrival of the Spanish ended the period of a
self-sustained culture and society. Because the island
lacked the gold and other precious metals sought by the
conquerors, Aruba was spared the horrors of disease and harsh
treatment being inflicted elsewhere in the Caribbean. However,
in 1515, the entire Indian population was abducted to work on
the cattle and horse farms on Hispaniola, the Island now
shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Colonization
Some were allowed to return to Aruba after 1527 when
Spain began active colonization of Aruba, Curacao and
Bonaire. The exchange of plants and animals from the Old World
like grapes and wheat, pigs, chickens, goats, horses and
cattle with the things from the the New World like staples,
corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, tobacco and chocolate over time
enriched the diets of the Caribbean inhabitants and peoples of
the Americas. This relieved them from their tasks as farmers,
porters and work animals.
Christianity
The Spaniards also introduced Christianity to Aruba with
missionaries to convert the Indians and introduce the Spanish
language. No written documents survived detailing the
religious conversions, so according to oral history a Cacique
Indian from the South American mainland arrived with a small
group of Spaniards and proceeded inland where they erected a
cross. To commemorate this historic event, a large cross
was placed high on a rocky spar in Santa Cruz (Ser’i Noka) in
1968.
Five hundred years later…
Five hundred years after the Spaniards discovered Aruba, the
rest of the world continues to discover this small island of
hospitable people, elegant beaches and the assorted cuisines
of the many settlers who followed the Indians and the
Spaniards and later the Dutch.
Status Aparte
Of very high value and importance in the Aruban History was
the "fight" for it's autonomous state in the Dutch Kingdom,
the "Status Aparte". It was the perseverance, courage
and determination of one
Betico Croes that finally
convinced the Dutch government that the people of Aruba had
the right to "self determination".
Monuments
Walking across downtown Oranjestad, Aruba’s capital, you are
going to find a lot of beautiful monuments. These date from
the time that Aruba was a Dutch colony to even earlier than
that.
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