Guest Author - Magalie Noel
Population: 94,000
Capital: Oranjestad
Political status: autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Area: 70 square miles (180 sq km)
History
In 1499, a Spanish explorer, Alonso de Ojeda claimed this small island for Queen Isabella. According to one tradition he named the territory “Oro Hubo”, hoping to find gold (Oro) there, thus the name Aruba. But it seems that the name, instead, is derived from the Arawak Indian word “Oibubai” which means “Guide” or maybe from the Indian word "oruba", which means well placed", or again maybe from the Carib Indian words "ora" - meaning "shell" - and "oubao" - meaning "island.
The Spanish thought the island was useless, the climate was too arid for agriculture, and there was no gold found. They abandoned the island which soon became a clandestine hideaway for pirates and bucaneer.
In 1636 Dutch settlers, expelled from St Marteen by the Spanish, captured the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire. Since then, except from 1805 to 1815 when the British took the island during the Napoleonic Wars, Aruba remained under Dutch control.
Gold was discovered in the northwestern part of the island in 1824, and there was a gold rush until 1916, when the mines were shut down. A few years later Aruba started refining oil and the island became one of the world’s largest refinery.
Up to now the two major resources of Aruba remain the oil and tourism industries. In 1985 the refineries were closed and the emphasis was set on developing the tourism. The oil refining was resumed in 1991, but the island continued to invest in the tourist industry.
Good to know
You can get married in the international waters around Aruba by the captain of the yacht Wyvern II, which was designed and built by the father of media magnate Rupert Murdoch. You can also get married in the City Hall in Oranjestad.
License plates on Aruban cars bear the slogan “One Happy Island”.
In the Dutch-style capital of Oranjestad there is a coin museum with 30,000 exhibits from 400 countries and territories.
