Aruba was discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island’s economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, semi-autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba’s request in 1990.
Economy
small, tourism-dependent, territorial-island economy; very high public debt; COVID-19 crippled economic activity; partial recovery underway via tourism, benefitting from its high amount of timeshare residences; considering reopening oil refinery.
Population
The population is 123,702 (2023 est.) which consists of 123,702 Dutch 78.7%, Colombian 6.6%, Venezuelan 5.5%, Dominican 2.8%, Haitian 1.3%, other 5.1% (2020 est.).
Sitting just north of the coast of Venezuela is Aruba, the second-largest island within the ‘ABC islands’ (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) trio. The Aruba of today is truly a melting pot of cultures, with more than 95 nationalities being recorded across the nation. But, one can’t talk about Aruba without mention of San Nicolas, aka ‘chocolate city.
Some locals may frown at the name, while others want it gone all together. But, San Nicolas is where the largest concentration of the island’s Afro and Black residents live. And they are working hard to preserve the culture.
According to island historians, there are no Black natives of Aruba. Like many Dutch Caribbean nations, enslaved men and women were brought over to the island from West Africa and other Caribbean nations to work in various industries.
In the late 1920s, more Afro-Caribbean people made their way to the island from places like Jamaica, Grenada, and even Bonaire to seek work at the country’s bustling Standard Oil refinery, located in San Nicolas. The refinery was the main source of income for residents, as tourism hadn’t become mainstream at that time.
The new residents set up shop and began building their new life on the island, while truly making it home.
Sadly, the refinery closed not once, but three times over the course of 25 years due to challenging economics and being bought out by larger corp, Exxon.
While this left many of the immigrants out of work, they decided to stay and build something new. Most started families with other immigrants or natives, which can account for the dozens of cultures currently present in Aruba. One could also argue it is one of the birthplaces of Papiamento, a distinct language mixed with Creole, English, Spanish, and Dutch.
San Nicolas today
Today, the city of San Nicolas is said to be Aruba’s chocolate city. Separated from Oranjestad and the more touristy areas by a bridge, the community is truly the arts and culture neighborhood of the island. It is also the birthplace of the country’s Carnival celebrations, held yearly.