Back in the 15th Century, there were a number of expeditions away from Europe by the , hence why Spanish tends to be a massive influence around the South American regions. Around this time there were two great Spanish explorers, Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci. It is unlikely either of them met each other, in fact, neither probably knew who the other was. However, the both had a key role to play in the discovery of Aruba, mainly because historians do not know which one discovered Aruba first. We know that it was discovered by the Spanish in 1499, along with the rest of the surrounding islands, but we don't know who done it. Recent maps and drawings have surfaced which point to Amerigo Vespucci being the first Spanish person to step foot on Aruba, but this cannot be proven. So for now, just assume that at least one of them discovered it!
So, the Spanish have now found the island, and it is time to give it a name. I must admit, they were very original back then. They decided to call the islands 'The Islas de Los Gigantes'. Anybody who has done even basic Spanish should know what that means, but if you don't, it literally translates to 'The Island of the Giants'. So, why did they do this? Well, because the people who originally inhabited the islands (the aforementioned Indians) were actually very tall, especially compared to the Spanish. See, very original right? The whole region tended to be known as the 'Islas Inutiles'. This literally translates to 'useless islands'. So, why did they call it that? Well, because there was no gold, silver or places to farm on the island, well, at least they thought. We will come to that a little bit soon.
At the start, the Spanish and the Indians co-inhabited. It wasn't the best relationship due to the language barriers, but it was functional as the Spanish didn't really have any usage for the island, and thus they didn't hang around here too much. In 1513 they suddenly came up with a use though, and this is something that would surprise many of the Indians that inhabited Aruba.
As you probably know, the Spanish were very industrious. This means that that around the world they had set up a number of mining outfits at the places they had conquered in the past. Santo Domingo was one of them. Here, they run a couple of Copper Mines. During the early years of these copper mines, they were run by the original Indians of Santo Domingo. Sadly though, disease brought over from Europe managed to wipe all of these native Indians out. I am sure the harsh treatment by the Spanish didn't help too much either. Anyway, the Spanish deported all of the Indians from Aruba, leaving it uninhabited for the first time in thousands of years. The islands would remain like this for a while yet with the Spanish only dropping in once in a while to see how everything was going.
**** End of part 3 ****
History of Aruba, Part 1. The Name - Publisching Date: 13th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 2. The Arowak Indians - Publisching Date: 16th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 3. The Spanish - Publisching Date: 19th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 4. The Dutch - Publisching Date: 22th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 5. The English - Publisching Date: 25th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 6. Gold and Phosphate - Publisching Date: 28th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 7. The Aloe - Publisching Date: 1th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 8. The Oil and WWII - Publisching Date: 4th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 9. Separation - Publisching Date: 7th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 10. Independence - Publisching Date: 10th of July 2013
As I mentioned previously, there is very little that is actually know about the first people to reside on the island of Aruba, but there are a number of archaeological digs going on in the area on an almost constant basis to determine a little bit more about the people. What we do know however is that the area for inhabited for many hundreds of years before the Spanish arrived (more on those a little bit later on). In addition to that, we know that that the people who settled here were known as the Arowak Indians, and for the most part they shared a similar culture to the nearby continent of South America. This has been determined by the style of drawings in the many caves here, and of course, the fact that the dead ended up being buried in large urns. This is something that we also saw in the Amazon rainforest, which does sort of indicate that the inhabitants came from around this area, or at least they were joined at a later point where the cultures began to merge.
Other studies have shown that people could been inhabiting the area from around 2500BC. At this time they tended to be a purely hunter and gatherer society, although there also appeared to be a bit of structure in the society. Other findings have shown that men tended to hold a prominent place in society. Over time, the society became a lot more advanced, with signs indicating that they began to produce pottery, this was around 900BC.
Over the years, there have been a number of digs near Venezuela, particularly around Coro. A lot of pottery was dug up around here, which did bear a resemblance to the pottery which had previously been found in Aruba. The methods for making this property was also fairly similar to those that lived on Aruba, not to mention similar tools, and of course cultures.
Digs have been going on in the area of Aruba for at least two hundred years, with some of the most revealing happening between 1880 and 1886. As you can see from what I have mentioned previously, it certainly isn't easy to determine who the original inhabitants were. Although it is likely they were from South America, and it is also likely that they came from a number of different parts of South America and let their cultures merge. Who knows, maybe at some point in the future, there will be that one big find on an archaeological site which shows us exactly who this people were, and perhaps more importantly, why they even ended up coming to the island in the first place.
Now we are going to fast forward a few years, many hundreds in fact, to find out a little bit about one of the most defining points in the history of Aruba, Spanish rule.
**** End of part 2 ****
History of Aruba, Part 1. The Name - Publisching Date: 13th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 2. The Arowak Indians - Publisching Date: 16th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 3. The Spanish - Publisching Date: 19th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 4. The Dutch - Publisching Date: 22th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 5. The English - Publisching Date: 25th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 6. Gold and Phosphate - Publisching Date: 28th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 7. The Aloe - Publisching Date: 1th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 8. The Oil and WWII - Publisching Date: 4th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 9. Separation - Publisching Date: 7th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 10. Independence - Publisching Date: 10th of July 2013
Starting from today, In-Aruba.Com is rolling out a summary about the rich history of Aruba.
The summary contains the following subjects:
History of Aruba, Part 1. The Name - Publisching Date: 13th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 2. The Arowak Indians - Publisching Date: 16th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 3. The Spanish - Publisching Date: 19th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 4. The Dutch - Publisching Date: 22th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 5. The English - Publisching Date: 25th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 6. Gold and Phosphate - Publisching Date: 28th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 7. The Aloe - Publisching Date: 1th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 8. The Oil and WWII - Publisching Date: 4th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 9. Separation - Publisching Date: 7th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 10. Independence - Publisching Date: 10th of July 2013
If you are looking for a fantastic place to visit for a vacation, then you honestly cannot look any further than Aruba. This is the perfect place for singles, couples and families alike to grab a couple of ways, engage in some waters sports, and of course, have a little adventure exploring the vast landscape of this island. Of course though, we all know about the vacation opportunities about Aruba, what many people don't realize however is the rich history surrounding this beautiful place. Let's have a quick look at how this wonderful area has developed into the Aruba that we all know and love today.
Let's start with the original inhabitants of the area, we often refer to these as 'Indians'. Now, I won't lie, not much is really known about those that originally inhabited Aruba, although the influence they had on Aruba is still being felt today. In fact, just by reading the name 'Aruba' you are already looking at some of the influence they had. This word is Indian in origin, and it is believed to be the words Ora and Oubao, which means Shell and Island respectively. There is also another translation which could indicate Uru and Oubao, which means literally Canoe Island. In recent years, many people have actually been veering towards the second option here as they believe that the island was originally inhabited by Indians that used canoes to get across. Sadly though, it is unlikely that we will ever know the origin of the name.
It was until the 17th Century when variations of Aruba started to appear on maps, this included words such as Orua, Urbuba, Arouba and Uruba.
**** End of part 1 ****
History of Aruba, Part 1. The Name - Publisching Date: 13th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 2. The Arowak Indians - Publisching Date: 16th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 3. The Spanish - Publisching Date: 19th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 4. The Dutch - Publisching Date: 22th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 5. The English - Publisching Date: 25th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 6. Gold and Phosphate - Publisching Date: 28th of June 2013
History of Aruba, Part 7. The Aloe - Publisching Date: 1th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 8. The Oil and WWII - Publisching Date: 4th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 9. Separation - Publisching Date: 7th of July 2013
History of Aruba, Part 10. Independence - Publisching Date: 10th of July 2013
All across the island of Aruba, there are constant changes to the shacks all across the land. The majority of small café shacks are beginning to turn into elegant, beautiful restaurant. As well as seeing continental dinners and restaurants opening up all the time, more Aruban cuisine restaurants are beginning to open up, providing tourists with the chance to try out some brilliant cuisine.
Lacking a local cuisine from generations ago, the Arubans are beginning to find a way to blend their culture and the cultures which are beginning to make up the islands food culture. With Dutch heritage long setting up Dutch-style foods, the importance of South American immigrants, and international businesses beginning to move over, there is a new clash beginning to create a unique, distinctive culture on Aruba/ If you are intending to visit, then check out these restaurants – they provide you with a wide variety of options, including the unique blend of Aruban local cuisine;
Flying Fishbone
With a very unique layout of the restaurant, placing even some tales in the water to allow you to have a water experience when enjoying your meal. Set in Savaneta, this Aruban restaurant offers some extremely different dishes, from shrimp casseroles to barracuda. While seafood is the main dish on offer, there are various types of steak and other great meals that are worth trying – overall, a fantastic and cheery restaurant which is very easy to enjoy, and well-priced.
Screaming Eagle
With a very different to your average restaurant, this luscious restaurant provides you with a fantastic red glow as you enjoy your meal. With food as outstanding as it looks and smells, the real style in the food here is the succulent tastes. Anything from duck liver crème and grilled lobster, to shiitake-and-pine sauces with a tenderloin steak, there is a massive amount of selection and quality at Screaming Eagle.
Yemanja-Woodfired
One of the biggest premiere restaurants in the whole of Aruba, opened in 2007, is by far and away one of the most popular restaurants and well-respected in the whole island. Named after a sea goddess, the huge cuts of meat provide you with a fantastic grilled taste, where value and quality trumps presentation. Yemanja is a no-nonsense restaurant, there is a fantastic array of selection on the menu, while making sure the restaurant is extremely fun and comfortable to sit in and enjoy.
Overall, Aruba offers a lot of restaurants, and the beauty is that lots of restaurants offer different styles of food. This means you can really get a lot of different styles of food from everywhere you enter – Aruba is certainly somewhere which has a very underrated food culture, and we highly recommend you check it out.