Island (pop., 2002 est.: 91,600), Lesser
Aruba is an internally self-governing part of The Netherlands. It has an area of 70 sq mi (180 sq km). Its capital is {{link=Oranjestad">Oranjestad . Most of the present-day population is a combination of Amerindian, Spanish, and Dutch, with traces of African stocks. Dutch is its official language; Papiamento, a creole language, is used for daily affairs. The principal religion is Roman Catholicism. Its currency is the Aruban florin. Aruba's lack of water severely limits agriculture. Its petroleum-refining complex, among the world's largest, was the main source of employment until it closed in 1985. Since then, tourism has become the island's economic mainstay. The island's 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.