| Cura�ao has a long history. Until Christopher Columbus� discovery of the New World, many Indian tribes inhabited Cura�ao. The last dwellers of the island before the arrival of the Europeans were the peaceful Caiquetios, Arawak Indians. They lived on fish and shellfish. They traded salt for dietary supplements with the mainland inhabitants. Traces of Arawak villages remain today at Westpunt. The Caiquetios lived a peaceful, primitive life trading their piraguas, canoes and fishing. They enjoyed chewing chicle leaves (from which we create chewing gum.) Upon the arrival of the Europeans, the life style of the Caiquetios was dramatically changed. Columbus�s lieutenants, Alonzo de Ojedo and Americo Vespucci, explored the coast of South America in 1498. In Cura�ao, the Indians were so humungous that Vespucci called the island the �Land of the Giants.� The island served them no purpose since the Spanish were on their search for El Dorado. Red slave traders, who far outnumbered the natives, called Indieros, dealt in Indians in South America. They decided to make Cura�ao a slave-trading base. The Caiquetios were shipped off to Hispaniola to work in gold mines. The remaining Indians chased away all Europeans showing interest in the island. Later in 1527, the Spaniards made a settlement of cattle ranches on the island. These were big enterprises. One hundred oxen were butchered in a day. In 1634, the Dutch West Indies Company invaded Cura�ao. In 1638 the Governor of the island was Peter Stuyvesant who later became Governor of New Amsterdam, now New York City. In efforts to keep other Europeans out of Cura�ao, the Spaniard decided to sack the island in 1642. However, when they arrived, they discovered the Dutch had fled. They burned the settlement for a week and left. Soon afterwards, the Dutch leisurely returned. Located conveniently off the northern coast of South America, Cura�ao was an important port. The Dutch continued the slave trade in Cura�ao but they found it more profitable to trade in African slaves. Cura�ao became a major port in the trading of people and rum. Other nearby islands kept Cura�ao supplied with food so that it could keep its trading status. The end of the slave trade brought economic downturn to Cura�ao. Many of its inhabitants left to find work elsewhere including helping dig the Panama Canal. Later in the twentieth century, Royal Dutch Shell, the giant oil company, opened refineries on Cura�ao. These refineries provided a big lift to the economy and were a huge source of jobs. When Royal Dutch Shell came to Cura�ao in 1915, the island became rich and prosperous. In the early eighties when Royal Dutch Shell started automating and cut its work force, hard times came to Cura�ao. The worldwide oil crisis caused a world economic recession that also hurt Royal Dutch Shell and Cura�ao. Tourism has brought another source of revenue to Cura�ao. In the sixteenth century, the Dutch built houses exactly like their homes in Holland. But what works in northern Europe is not necessarily what is best for the Caribbean. After some time, the Dutch in Cura�ao figured out that light colors which could reflect the sun made more sense than the dark colors used in Holland where soaking up the warmth of the sun was a priority. They also learned that they could use space differently. They did not need to squeeze a lot of building space into a little bit of land space by building up. Instead, they could build out and use courtyards. Willemsted has developed non-stop since 1634. Today the city of Willemstad is a colorful destination for tourists because of the numerous interesting historic districts, which blend European planning with Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese colonial town styles, together with Caribbean architecture. These towns introduced Willemstad to trade. One reason that Cura�ao has become a prime tourist destination is because of the weather -- warm 365 days per year. Cura�ao�s western beaches with warm, shallow water are another draw and many resorts have been built on them. Much of the rest of the island has hard sand atop coral rock so hotels have built better beaches. Tourists also like to go snorkeling and see the many shipwrecks off the coast of Cura�ao including the famous S.S. Oranje Nassau. The underwater park is 12 miles of set aside reefs and coastline. There is great snorkeling in the coral along many bays of the south coast. Tourists also like fishing, and visit the Ostrich an Game Farm on Cura�ao. (�an� is not misspelled; it means �and� in Dutch.) The currency of Cura�ao is the Netherlands Antilles guilder (NAFl). This sentence illustrates the relationship between the dollar and the guilder: One guilder is equivalent to forty-two cents. However, the American dollar is widely accepted and so is the use of credit cards since tourism from the United States is now the biggest industry in Cura�ao. Cura�ao is a part of The Netherlands. Queen Beatrice is the ruling monarch but the Netherlands is a democracy and has a prime minister. Queen Beatrice and I share two things. We were both born in The Netherlands and we have the same birthday, January 31. Cura�ao�s major language is Papiamento. Dutch and English are also spoken. Papiamento is a mixture of words from Portuguese, Dutch, local Indian languages, English, African, and French. Papiamento is spoken in the Dutch Leewards and especially in the ABC Islands. While in Cura�ao, beware of trees with small poisonous apples. The Machineel can be found on many beaches. Its sap can cause burns on the skin. The present racial and religious mix in Cura�ao is the result of the many years Cura�ao was a major port. People are black, Indian, white, and every conceivable mix. They are descendants of the original Indians, East Indians, white Europeans, black Africans, and recent American transplants, all of whom intermarried. Their religion is as mixed as the rest of their heritage. Interestingly, nowhere could I find an exact break out of race or religion. Maybe the government finds it difficult to classify people precisely or, maybe, it does not want to classify people the way the old racist regime in South Africa did. However, one book said Anglican, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, and other churches coexisted peacefully. The food of Cura�ao is called �Kumienda Krioyo.� Some main dishes are fried fish, stewed goat, meat and chicken. Goat stew is very popular among the islanders while tourists crave rijstaffel, a dish the Dutch imported from Indonesia. Rijstaffel means rice table which describes how one eats this. Rice is placed in the middle of your plate and then small portions of many different foods are spread in a circle around the rice. It was a favorite of mine when I lived in Amsterdam. Curacao sounds like an interesting place to visit. Its history is fascinating. Diverse people live on the island. The main city is scenic and historic. The weather is good and snorkeling off the island�s beaches sounds fun. In fact, on a snowy winter�s day in Westchester, Curacao seems to resemble paradise. |
| Cura�ao Report |
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