The History of Curacao

In many ways, Curacao is the historical nexus of the Netherlands Antilles. The island, with its large and protected natural port, was charted before the 16th century and eventually became a major center for mercantile commerce. It is the birthplace of Papiamentu (as it is spelled on Curacao), the polyglot lingua franca of the ABC Islands which is spoken to an extent as far north as the Netherlands Antilles islands of Sint Eustatius, Saba, and Sint Maarten. And the island is, on another level, the birthplace of the famous liqueur, Curacao, perhaps more well known in some circles than the island itself.

The history of Curacao begins with Amerindian Arawaks. The Arawaks and their subgroups migrated from regions of South America some 6,000 years ago, settling on various islands the discovered as they embarked on a centuries-long northward trek. The group that ended up in Curacao were the Caiquetios, who gave the island it's name.

After the late-15th-century voyages of Christopher Columbus put the Caribbean, literally, on the maps, the area was wide open for European exploration. The Spanish soldier and explorer Alonso de Ojeda, joined by the Italian Amerigo Vespucci, set out on a voyage (1499 - 1500) to chart much of the South American coast and, in turn, several offshore islands in the area. One was Curacao. As an aside, disputed claims are par for the course when it comes to Vespucci. One of many stories has it that during his voyage with de Ojeda, a number of sailors on his ship came down with scurvy, whereupon he dropped off the hapless souls on Curacao on his way to South America.

On his return, he found the sailors alive and happy-presumably cured by the abundance of Vitamin C-laden fruit on the island. He then is said to have named the island Curacao, after an archaic Portuguese word for "cure". Of course, Vespucci was Italian, not Portuguese, and de Ojeda was Spanish, but these stories seem to take on a life of their own, and are often much more fun than the real story. A more convincing theory is that the Spaniards called the island Curazon, for "heart", and the mapmakers of the day converted the spelling to the Portuguese Curacao.

At any rate, soon after de Ojeda's voyage, the Spanish came in larger numbers. By the early 16th century they had pretty well determined that the island had little gold and not enough of a fresh water supply to establish large farms, and they abandoned it. Finally, the Dutch West India Company, a quasi-private, government-backed company, laid claim in 1634. The company installed the Dutch explorer Peter Stuyvesant as governor in 1642, and he soon established plantations on the island, each with its famous landhuizen-structures that can still be seen today. The plantations foundered in various forms of agriculture, but some were successful in growing peanuts, maize, and fruits. They soon found their niche in the production of salt, dried from the island's saline ponds. Within a few years after establishing the farming industry and some form of rule on Curacao, Stuyvesant moved on to bigger shores.

With its deep port and protected shores, and with the establishment of several large forts, Curacao soon became a safe place for the Dutch West India Company to conduct commerce. Chief among its endeavors was the trade of slaves from Africa, who then went on to the other islands of the Dutch West Indies and to the Spanish Main. It was during the slave trade days that the language Papiamentu began to form. The language, a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and African dialects, became the main form of communication between slaves and their captors.

Also during this time, Jewish families from Amsterdam established settlements on Curacao and attracted others from Europe and South America, fleeing from the remnants of the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. By the early 18th century, the Jewish population in Curacao had reached 2,000. In 1732, the community established the Mikve Israel Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad, a structure that stands today. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the Western Hemisphere still in use.

During the early 18th century, the island's deep port and strategic position attracted the British and French, who as always were busy in the Caribbean, fighting over various islands in desperate struggles to control the profitable trade routes and sugar plantations of the larger islands. Brittain tossed out the Dutch twice, from 1800 to 1803, and again from 1807 to 1815. The 1815 Treaty of Paris settled a lot of disputes in the Caribbean, and it gave Curacao back to the Dutch West India Company. Soon after the Dutch retook the island, it languished for a century. Slavery disappeared, and social and economic conditions were harsh.

In 1920, oil was discovered off the Venezuelan coast. This signaled a new era for Curacao, and for its sister island in the ABCs, Aruba. The two islands became centers for distilling crude oil imported from Venezuela, and Curacao's Royal Dutch Shell Refinery became the island's biggest business and employer. Immigrants headed for Curacao, many from other Caribbean nations, South America, and as far away as Asia. During WW II, the Allies judged Curacao and its refinery to be important enough, and strategic enough, to establish an American military base at Waterfort Arches, near Willemstad.

After WW II, Curacao joined the rest of the Caribbean in a loud clamor for independence. What it got instead was a measure of autonomy as an entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curacao, along with, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten, became the Netherlands Antilles, with the administrative center in Willemstad. Aruba separated from the other five islands on January 1, 1986. Sint Maarten and Curacao became independed on October 10, 2010 and the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius became special municipalities within the country of the Netherlands.

 

Drawings on rocks made by the Indians
Drawings made by Indians Church Sint Willibrordus
Church Sint Willibrordust Slave Monument
Slave Monument Fort Amsterdam
Fort Amsterdam Historical Canon at Fort Amsterdam
Canon at Fort Amsterdam The church at Fort Amsterdam
The church at Fort Amsterdam Fort Beekenburg
Fort Beekenburg Punda - Trade Harbour
Punda - Trade Harbour Lighthouse at Klein Curacao
Lighthouse at Klein Curacao
 
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The island of Curaçao was first settled by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people native to the area. They are believed to have inhabited the island for many hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans.   European presence began around the year 1500, when groups were sent out to extensively map the borders of South America and the surrounding islands. Spanish interest quickly waned, however, as they discovered that there was no gold on the island and farming was difficult because of a lack of fresh water.   By 1634, the government-backed Dutch West India Company had claimed Curaçao for its own and had begun to settle the island in earnest. Plantations were erected, and farmers began growing corn and peanuts in addition to native fruits. The saltwater ponds that prevented irrigation would soon prove themselves invaluable, as the economy of the island shifted to salt mining and international export. But saline ponds were not the only advantageous geographical features to be found here. The deep water and natural barriers surrounding the island’s ports made them popular with Caribbean traders. The capital city of Willemstad became particularly well-known, as it played host to merchant ships under every flag imaginable.   The Sephardic Jews who arrived from the Netherlands and then-Dutch Brazil since the 17th century have had a significant influence on the culture and economy of the island. Curaçao is home to the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas, dating to 1651. The Jewish Community of Curaçao also played a key role in supporting early Jewish congregations in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. The years before and after World War II also saw an influx of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, many of whom were Romanian Jews.   For much of the 17th and 18th centuries, the primary business of the island was the slave trade. Slaves arrived often from Africa and were bought and sold on the docks in Willemstad before continuing on to their ultimate destination. The slaves that remained on the island were responsible for working the plantations established earlier. This influx of inexpensive manpower made the labor-intensive agricultural sector far more profitable and between the Netherlands and China the trading done on the docks and the work being done in the fields, the economic profile of Curaçao began to climb, this time built on the backs of the slaves. When the institution was abolished in 1863, the island’s economy was severely crippled.  

 

In June 8, 1929, the Venezuelan revolutionaries Gustavo Machado y Rafael Simón Urbina captured the Waterfort and several other strategic buildings in Willemstad along with the governor and the military commander of the island. Machado and Urbina negotiated a ship and a small arsenal with which they invaded Venezuela to fight the dictator Juan Vicente Gómez The defeat of the Dutch in the Napoleanic Wars caused Curaçao to be conquered by the British Empire from 1800 to 1803, and again from 1807 to 1816,[1] after which it was handed back to the Dutch due to the Treaty of Paris.   When oil was discovered in 1920, a new chapter began in the history of Curaçao. Suddenly wealthy, the country experienced a large number of people immigrating from South America and other countries in the Caribbean. This added new life to the cultural composition of the island, an aspect which has only enhanced the local tourism industry.   In 1929, a troop of Venezuelan rebels seized the Waterfort in Willemstad.[2][3]   [edit] Notes   1.^ http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/curacao.htm  2.^ http://www.gowealthy.com/gowealthy/wcms/en/home/articles/travel/sightseeing/Forts-in-Curacao-XnhcaRlwxh.html  3.^ http://www.zum.de/whkmla/military/lowcountries/milxnederland.html   [edit] External references  Hartog, J (1967). Curaçao: A Short History. De Wit.  The Ashkenazi Jews of Curacao  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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J. Hartog Bonaire, van indianen tot toeristen. Aruba 1957 Het leven van Pedro Luis Brion. Aruba 1968

Pater R.H.Nooyen o.p. Cornelis Marten i cien anja di Bonaire. 1959 Isla di Papa Cornes. Bonaire 1985 Het volk van de grote Manaure, Curaçao 1979 Su estudio di Papa Cornes ta konsiderá komo dokumento outéntiko pa motibo ku tur e dokumento original di Iglesia Katóliko a kima riba 30 di mei 1969.

Bòi Antoin Pueblo di Kunuku Bieu; Fundashon Históriko Kultural Boneriano 1998 Tur dia Bòi Antoin ta publiká den korant Extra algu di historia di Bonaire, interpretashon di J. Hartog, pater Nooyen i hopi estudio mas. Tur siman ta entrevistá un persona den programa di televishon yamá Herensia. Aparte di ta skirbi Boi Antoin ta manehá un Fundashon pa estudio di Historia di Bonaire.

Frans Booi De eenheid van het kristal, (bijdrage). 1986 Boynaj Tey, mythologia Boneriano. Bonaire 1997 E promé habitantenan di Bonaire ta wordu deskribí den un dimenshon mitológiko.

Jay B.Haviser The first Bonaireans. 1991 Un enkuesta akiden ta mustra e sentimentu di hopi hende na Bonaire di ta prosedente di desendensia indjan.

Luc Alofs Slaven zonder plantage. 1996, Aruba

Eduardo Jacobino Historia di Rincon Manuskripto

Layo de Palm E lantamentu di 1795. Datos oral. Curacao 1995

Anne Stamm Geschiedenis van Prekoloniaal Afrika. FACTA-Reeks. 1997 Situashon na e partinan di Afrika (Senegal, Benin, Angola, Congo) kaminda a kumpra e katibunan na aña 1700.

Hans Bicker Historia di famia Domacasse di Boneiru. Curaçao 2003 Stamboom di famia Domacasse.

Norbert Hendrikse Hollands glorie in de kolonien. Curaçao, 2006 in press

Henk en Els Langefeld En den Plantagie Welgelegen (1732-heden). Curaçao Architectuurhistorisch onderzoek

Gerard van Buurt en Sidney Joubert Stemmen uit het verleden. Curaçao Palabranan den idioma Papiamentu di orígen Indjan.

Leo Bittremieux Mayombsche namen. Belgie 1934 Nifikashon di un kantidat grandi di nòmbernan Afrikano na Congo.

Franco Monti African masks E maska den maskarada, tradishon di Bonaire, ta parse esún di Jamaica mas ku esún deskribí den e buki aki

Efraim Frank Martinus The kiss of a slave. Proefschrift 1996 promé ku e barkunan sali for di Afrika, tur e katibunan ta wordu batisa

Miep Diekmann Marijn bij de Lorredraaiers. zesde druk 1981 Ora e barkunan ta distansiá for di kosta di Afrika, laman ta bira korá di sanger di esnan ku a keda tras (forti Elmina).

Joseph M.Murphy African spirits in America. Boston 1993 Studies of Yoruba religion and Santeria

Antoine J. Maduro Palenkero i papiamentu, 1987 Den su glosario tin palabranan palenkero, spañó i papiamentu. Un tipo di papiamentu, e abla palenkero di San Basilio, ku ta keda na un distansha di 70 km for di Cartagena, Colombia. Tin komo base idioma spañó i léksiko di vernákulonan bantu, lenga afrikano.

H. van Capelle Mythen en sagen uit West-Indie. Zutphen 1926 Kuentanan di Kompa Nansi, mitología di Indjan i di orígen afrikano.

Mineke Schipper Afrikaanse Letterkunde. 1990

W.J.H.Baart Cuentanan di Nanzi. Proefschrift 1983 Na mi opinion, tur kuenta di Nansi a yega nos isla prosedente di otro país, Surnam, Jamaika i no via nos katibunan. Den buki di Anna Stamm, te na 1700 e reinado di Ashanti ta kuminsá.

Octavio Sint Jago (Tavio) Rekuerdonan de Antaño. Bonaire 1992-1999

Jos Gansemans Volksmuziekinstrumenten, getuigen en resultaat van een interetnische samenleving. Belgie 1989. Aki den tin e pensamentu (eróneo?) ku tur nos mùsika i instrumentunan musikal ta di orígen afrikano.

Rene V.Rosalia. Tamboe, 1997 De legale en kerkelijke repressie van Afro-Curacaose volksuitingen Tambu di siglo 20, kuater epoka. Kuater genero. 1994

Edgar Palm Muziek en musici van de Nederlandse Antillen. Curacao 1978

Robert Rojer Vanuit de blauwzwarte diepte. Curaçao 1997 Marcus Dahlhaus en Martinus Niewindt: een cultuur-historisch essay.

T.van der Lee Curaçaosche Vrijbrieven 1722-1863 Ta menshoná tur katibu ku a haña òf kumpra nan libertat.

John de Pool Zo was Curacao. 1935, 1e. editie te Santiago de Chile Tópikonan manera “Lenzoe di cabez”, “zumbi”, oogstfeest “zeu”, “nanzi ku Zeze” en de “tamboe”

J.H.Parry and Philip Sherlock A short History of the West Indies. Ta atendé sklavitut na diferente país den Karibe

Francisco Herrera Luque Manuel Piar, caudillo de dos colores. Venezuela, 1987 E persona di Manuel Piar no ta famía di Piar. E ta yu djafó di un ofisial Spañó, pero a wòrdu kriá pa famía Piar na Kòrsou.

Henry J.M.Stephen Lexicon van de Surinaamse Winti-kultuur.