A Brief History of Aruba

The earliest known evidence of inhabitation in Aruba was from the year 1,000 A.D. It proved the existence of Aruba's first dwellers, the Caquetios (from the Arawak tribe) who years before had fled north from South America to the island to escape the attacks of the Caribs tribe.

When Amerigo Vespucci – the man whose name is the basis for America – and a fellow explorer named Alonso de Ojeda stumbled across the island in 1499, Europe was subsequently made aware of its existence. The Spanish would lay claim to the country for the next 150 years, but leave it nearly abandoned once the gold they believed to be there was never found.

During this neglected period, pirates are known to have used Aruba as a hideout from which to attack transport ships en route to the New World. The remains of one of their castles can still be seen there today.

In 1636, the Dutch were able to capture the country from Spanish control and turned Aruba into a chief satellite location of the Dutch West India Company. The oldest building in Aruba – the historic For Zoutman and William III Tower - was built during this period. With the sole exception of a short period of ten years from 1805 – 1815 when the British gained control during the time of Napoleon, the country has been under Dutch control where it remains to this day.

In the early eighteen hundreds, the gold sought by the Spanish so long before was finally discovered. The gold mines would flourish until they were shut down in 1916. Two years later the country struck gold again, only this time it was black gold - oil. This led to the construction of one of the largest oil refineries in the world at the time.

It was during this period that Aruba and Curaçao became the main suppliers of oil goods to the Allies during World War II. Though it fell under the attach of a German submarine in 1942, the attack failed and the refinery continued to flourish until oil production was shut down in the mid 1980s due to a worldwide surplus and the emphasis was placed on the tourism industry.

Two years later, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt paid her first visit to Aruba when she came to see American troops stationed there.

In 1986 Aruba became autonomous from the domination of Curaçao and planned to move forward until 1994 when the governments of Aruba and The Netherlands announced that they had decided to postpone the push for full independence indefinitely.

To this day, oil and tourism are the country's two largest industries. Even after oil refineries started up again in 1991, the focus on tourism was not forgotten, and the tourism industry thrives here today. Other industries in the country include gold and phosphate mining and the export of aloe.

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