Aruba History
Aruba is a small Caribbean island located close to Venezuela and is renowned for its pleasant climate and its many white sand beaches. In the recent years, Aruba has become an extremely popular holiday destination with people from all over the world travelling here to enjoy its beaches. There are plenty of hotels and resorts on the island offering Aruba all inclusive holidays which cover all the essential costs of the holiday including accommodation, food and recreation.
Not many people, even those who travel to Aruba for a vacation are aware of the history of this island. The first people to inhabit this island were the Arawak Indian tribe known as Caquetios Indians. These inhabitants had migrated here from Venezuela to escape the attacks of the other tribes. These Indians are known to have inhabited this island from 1000 A.D.
Due to its geographical location and the currents of the sea, the island remained mostly away from the other Caribbean islands and their inhabitants; it was associated with South America for quite a lot of centuries. It was in 1499 that the first European set foot on this Island, a Spanish man by the name of Alonso de Ojeda. A small colony was established here then, although it wasn’t really large, since most of the Indians from the island were sent to Spain as slaves for their mines.
The island was then under the control of the Dutch for as many as two centuries from 1636, after which it was acquired by the British but was then returned to the Dutch again after a few years. During the gold rush of the 19th century, the island became quite famous and gained prosperity. Its first crude oil facility was established here in 1924 which employed a lot of the locals here and then was followed by two different oil refineries.
In the 20th century the tourism industry picked up here, and ever since then tourism has become the most important industry on the island since most oil refineries that were established on the island have been shut down over the years. The main focus on the island today is tourism, which is the main source of employment for most people on the island. The unemployment rate on the island is extremely low due to its increase in popularity in the recent years.
In 1986, Aruba became a separate entity under the Kingdom of Netherlands and separated from the Netherlands Antilles. Today, the local population of the island is an interesting mix of people from the Caribbean, Europe, the Far East and South America. Due to its excellent reputation as a famous tourist resort, it earned itself the name ‘Las Vegas of the Caribbean’.
This is the history of Aruba in brief from 1000 AD till present. Knowing the history of a destination before making plans to travel to it can be very helpful since it allows one to understand its culture better. Before you book an Aruba all inclusive packages, a brief idea on the history of this island can help you gain insight into the life and the culture of its inhabitants.