Aruba (ər
`bə), island, autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 71,600), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Oranjestad Oranjestad (ôrän`jəstät'), town and port (1991 pop.
..... Click the link for more information. is the capital and main port. The population is largely a mixture of European and indigenous Caribbean peoples. Roman Catholics make up more than three quarters of the island's population, and there is a significant Protestant minority. Dutch is the official language, but many Arubans also speak Papiamento (a Spanish-based creole with Portuguese, Dutch, and English elements) and English. Tourism, oil refining, and offshore banking are the economic mainstays of the island, although the island's refinery was closed from 1985 to 1993. The Spanish claimed Aruba in 1499. It fell to the Dutch in 1636 and since then, with the exception of a few years during the Napoleonic Wars, it has belonged to the Netherlands. Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles Netherlands Antilles, island group, an autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 220,000), 371 sq mi (961 sq km), West Indies. Formerly known as the Dutch West Indies and Netherlands West Indies, they are divided into two groups.
..... Click the link for more information. until 1986 and is still linked with them economically.
Island (pop., 2005 est.: 97,400), Lesser Antilles, off northwestern Venezuela. Aruba is an internally self-governing part of The Netherlands. It has an area of 75 sq mi (193 sq km). Its capital is Oranjestad. The majority of the present-day population is a combination of mostly American Indian, Spanish, and Dutch ancestry. Dutch is the official language; Papiamento, a Creole language, is used for daily affairs. The principal religion is Roman Catholicism. The currency is the Aruban florin. Aruba's lack of water severely limits agriculture. The large petroleum-refining complex there, once the island's main employer, reopened after closing in the mid-1980s, but tourism has become the island's economic mainstay. The earliest inhabitants were Arawak Indians, whose cave drawings can still be seen. Though the Dutch took possession of Aruba in 1636, they did not begin to develop it aggressively until 1816. The Netherlands controls Aruba's defense and foreign affairs, but internal affairs are handled by an island government directing its own judiciary and currency. In 1986 Aruba seceded from the Federation of the Netherlands Antilles in an initial step toward independence.
Aruba
`bə), island, autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 71,600), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Oranjestad Oranjestad (ôrän`jəstät'), town and port (1991 pop...... Click the link for more information. is the capital and main port. The population is largely a mixture of European and indigenous Caribbean peoples. Roman Catholics make up more than three quarters of the island's population, and there is a significant Protestant minority. Dutch is the official language, but many Arubans also speak Papiamento (a Spanish-based creole with Portuguese, Dutch, and English elements) and English. Tourism, oil refining, and offshore banking are the economic mainstays of the island, although the island's refinery was closed from 1985 to 1993. The Spanish claimed Aruba in 1499. It fell to the Dutch in 1636 and since then, with the exception of a few years during the Napoleonic Wars, it has belonged to the Netherlands. Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles Netherlands Antilles, island group, an autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 220,000), 371 sq mi (961 sq km), West Indies. Formerly known as the Dutch West Indies and Netherlands West Indies, they are divided into two groups.
..... Click the link for more information. until 1986 and is still linked with them economically.
Aruba
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Aruba
an island in the Caribbean, off the NW coast of Venezuela, a dependency of the Netherlands with special status; part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986. Chief town: Oranjestad. Pop.: 100 000 (2003 est.). Area: about 181 sq. km (70 sq. miles)
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