ARUBA

island lying southwest of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, some 50 miles (80 kilometres) northwest of Curaao and 18 miles north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguan. It is 19.6 miles long and 6 miles across at its widest point and has an area of 75 square miles (193 square kilometres). The capital is Oranjestad, which also is the main port. Aruba was formerly a part of the Netherlands Antilles. In 1986 it became a separate self-governing part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. island at the southwestern extreme of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. It was formerly (until 1986) a member of the Netherlands Antilles federation. Aruba is situated some 50 miles (80 km) west of Curaao and 18 miles (29 km) north of the Venezuelan coast. The capital and main port is Oranjestad. Area 75 square miles (193 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 72,100. For information about regional aspects of Aruba, see West Indies: Aruba. Aruba is flat; its highest point is the 620-foot (189-metre) Mount Jamanota. The average yearly temperature is 82 F (27 C), and the climate is extremely dry because the prevailing northeasterly trade winds drop their rain on the windward group of the Lesser Antilles. Rain, about 17 inches (430 mm) per year, is caught in dams and in rooftop basins, but most drinking water is obtained from desalination of seawater; the island's distillation plant is one of the world's largest. Aruba's vegetation consists of drought-resistant cacti, shrubs, and trees. The island's earliest inhabitants were Arawak Indians, who left red drawings inside caves together with clay pottery and stone tools. After Aruba was claimed by Spain in 1499, it became a centre of piracy and smuggling, but the Indians were not exterminated as happened elsewhere in the Caribbean. Though the Dutch took possession in 1636, they did not aggressively develop Aruba until 1816. The island remained under Dutch control except for 10 years during the Napoleonic Wars. Most of Aruba's present-day population is a combination of Amerindian, Spanish, and Dutch strains with traces of African stocks. There are minorities descended from European settlers, immigrants from India and East Asia, and some political refugees from Central and South America. Because a plantation economy never developed, few black slaves were brought in. The official language is Dutch, but the language of daily affairs is Papiamento, a creole language that evolved mainly from Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch. The major religion is Roman Catholicism. Lack of water severely limits agriculture. Aruba exports aloes, which do not require irrigation. From the 1920s until the mid-1980s the economy depended almost entirely on the processing and storage of petroleum imported from Venezuela. The island's refining complex, among the world's largest, was the main source of employment until it closed in 1985. Servicing facilities included a petroleum transshipment terminal and ship repair and bunkering facilities. The refinery was reopened in 199091. Aruba's long stretches of white sand and clear waters attract numerous tourists, and tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. The development of tourism is actively encouraged by the government's fiscal policies and is facilitated by deepwater harbours for cruise ships and by an international airport. The Netherlands controls Aruba's defense and foreign affairs, but all internal affairs are handled by an island government directing its own civil service, judiciary, revenue, and currency. A governor, appointed by the Dutch crown, is the formal chief of state. A Council of Ministers, the executive authority, is responsible to an elected unicameral legislature. On Jan. 1, 1986, Aruba gained autonomy in internal affairs in an initial step toward projected complete independence. In July 1990 Aruba agreed to maintain its status as autonomous in internal affairs in lieu of complete independence. Additional reading Although independent, Aruba is often treated in the literature with the Netherlands Antilles. Geographic information is given in J.H. Westermann and J.I.S. Zonneveld, Photo-Geological Observations and Land Capability & Land Use Survey of the Island of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (1956); Ren Rmer, Curaao (1981; originally published in Dutch, 1977); John Y. Keur and Dorothy L. Keur, Windward Children: A Study in Human Ecology of the Three Dutch Windward Islands in the Caribbean (1960); H. Hoetink, Het patroon van de oude Curaaose samenleving (1958), a sociological study, including a discussion of race; Folkert Steenmeijer, Food and Nutrition of Arubans (1957); Vera M. Green, Migrants in Aruba: Interethnic Integration (1974); Julia G. Crane, Educated to Emigrate: The Social Organization of Saba (1971); and Anke Klomp, Politics on Bonaire (1987; originally published in Dutch, 1983).A comprehensive history of the Netherlands Antilles, including Aruba, is Johannes Hartog, Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Antillen, 5 vol. (195481). One-volume treatments are Cornelis C. Goslinga, The Dutch in the Caribbean and on the Wild Coast, 15801680 (1971), The Dutch in the Caribbean and in the Guianas, 16801791 (1985), and A Short History of the Netherlands Antilles and Surinam (1979), a concise survey. An overview of historical sources is given in M.A.P. Meilink-Roelofsz (ed.), Dutch Authors on West Indian History: A Historiographical Selection, trans. from Dutch (1982). A special history is Isaac S. Emmanuel and Suzanne A. Emmanuel, History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles, 2 vol. (1970). History Originally inhabited by Arawak Indians, Aruba was discovered and claimed by Spain in 1499. In 1636 it was taken by the Dutch and occupied by the Dutch West India Company. As part of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba came briefly under British rule during the Napoleonic Wars but was returned to The Netherlands in 1816. The economy remained weak until an oil refinery was constructed at Sint Nicolaas in the 1920s, which raised the standard of living dramatically. Immigration from the rest of the Caribbean, the United States, Venezuela, and Europe contributed to a substantial increase in population. Despite its new economic strength, Aruba remained politically subordinated to the main island of Curaao. In 1986 Aruba obtained autonomous status, the result of a popular movement led by the Movimento Electoral di Pueblo (People's Electoral Movement) to break away from Curaaoanrather than from Dutchdomination. In 1994 the Aruban government, in conjunction with the governments of The Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, decided to postpone indefinitely the transition to full independence. Harmannus Hoetink The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica