Essay on History of Aruba

We were standing in the airport in Aruba, and at that moment I had no idea how we got into that mess. Our clothes were drenched; each one of our faces exhibited emotional distress.

The Dutch may have very well looked for spices in Portuguese land as a form of retribution for embargoing the Dutch. The Dutch may have also looked in Portuguese land because they thought it was not as well as defended or it had easier shipping routes. All three of these reasons were the potential thought process going through minds of the Dutch rulers at the time. Nearly seven years after the Spanish had embargoed trade between the Dutch and the Portuguese, Steven van der Hagen conquered the fortress Victoria at Amboyna. This fortress had previously been a trade center for the Portuguese spice trade, but after it was captured by Steven van der Hagen in 1605, the spice trade once again resumed. Once the Dutch had captured fort Victoria, they began to attempt to set up a local monopsony. To set up a monopsony, all trade competitors had to be removed and there could only be one buyer for all of the spice sellers. It was quite evident when the Dutch East India Company captured the fort that setting up a monopsony would be quite difficult especially when considering other major competitors such as the East India Company. The only way this would be possible was by force which is where the rift and future rivalry began between the two companies. At this same very time the East India Company had just been formed in 1600 after multiple

The author mentions the use of carbon dating, pollen analysis, archaeology, and paleontology to help develop a time frame of when the island was settled, and when it encountered problems. This should have been discussed in more detail with proper referencing in order to strengthen this article. These diciplines are useful and necessary to form a forensic picture of what the island would have been like, and when it would have started to decline. What he successfully proves was that there was a

The arrival of Columbus lead to the decline of the Arawaks because of many factors. Columbus took advantage of the Arawaks’ land, resources, and people. As Zinn mentioned, the Arawaks lived in Bahama Island (which Columbus arrived on) and they were known to be very kind and generous. The Arawaks had great agriculture and weaving skills; they had farms of corn, yams, cassava. But lacked on having working animals and iron. What intrigued Columbus the most was their gold earrings. With no iron and real tools of defense, the Arawaks became defenseless.

The sugar trade succeeded due to the increasing demand for the product, along with the advent of European colonization of the Caribbean, and the use of slavery as an efficient workforce. The rise in demand for sugar was partially a result of the addictive properties it had, which caused people to want more of it. The islands on which the Europeans were colonizing were ideal for the growth of cane sugar, the plant that is processed into the finished sugar product. With the use of slaves, the production of sugar was happening at a much quicker and cheaper rate than before, thus creating more sugar to supply the demand. During the sixteenth century, the Europeans colonized the Caribbean islands, which were perfect for running sugar plantations.

As the English neglected mid-atlantic area the Dutch and Swedes were able to create their own colonies of New Netherland and New Sweden. As the crown made many royal charters to establish Proprietary colonies slowly England began to convert some of its colonies into royal colonies. This took a long time to recognize less profitable colonies such as New England which was very against becoming a royal colony. To try and impress the New English, England conquered New Netherland showing its intimidating power. Although small the New Netherland colony was very remarkable showing Dutch power. Netherlands the home of the Dutch was very big into policies of religious toleration and intellectual freedom. These ideas with the economic ambition of the Dutch turned the Netherlands into an economic giant.

Unlike Spain and Portugal, Dutch used private trading companies. The Holland Government gave these companies power to make war and govern the Native people. They set their goal on Indonesia. They attempted to control the shipping and production of the Asian spices such as: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and soon. Dutch forced people only to trade with them, if they refused, their productions would be destroyed.

The combination of Mercantilist ideals and joint stock companies fueled intense Colonial competition between European nations, and these competitions decided who stayed in power. One specific nation that was constantly in competition with the English were the Dutch. They fought over similar colonies including those in North America and the Caribbean. In 1652, a Dutch letter wrote about all the money that the Dutch had put into securing an island in the Caribbean, but more importantly how there were “Great swelling words abound, so that the scene is altered and nothing thought of but domineering over England”. All the Dutch thought about were ways to beat England and become more profitable than they were. They know that the country with more

Before Britain arrived the island of Antigua was filled with natives. For example,“Later, A.D. 1200-1300, two Amerindian societies with opposing lifestyles coexisted; the peaceful and pottery-making Arawaks, and the fierce and warlike Caribs. Arawaks came here for clay, a resource in short supply elsewhere

When Columbus first arrived he found the island populated by thousands of Taino Indians who made the mistake of showing Columbus gold nuggets in the river. This was all Spain needed to finance its crown. Differences between the Spaniards and the Taints began around two years later when Diego Salcedo was killed by the Indians. The Taino Indians revolt against the Spaniards was met with no success and many left the island or fled into the mountains where they began new lives.

The Arawak Indians of South America were the first people to settle in Jamaica the named the island Xaymaca meaning land of wood and water. Christopher Columbus’ first arrival was in 1494. Christopher Columbus’ son settled in Jamaica in 1509. During Spain’s occupation on the island beginning in 1510 the Arawaks were killed off by disease, war and slavery. Seven short years later the Spaniards brought the first African slaves to Jamaica. The king of Spain deeded the island to Columbus’ family in 1536 until the 1620’s

On a cold wintery 10 degrees day in December Blaize decided he was going to go on a cruise ship with his friends to the Bahamas where the weather has been 75-80 degrees . Blaize and his friends Seth, Matt, Leonard, and Cameron all enjoy many of the same things. The cruise was to visit the Bahama islands and Cuba. On our way to the Bahamas we went through some extremely rough waters. The captain came over the loudspeaker and we were all told to “go to your rooms and stay in them until told otherwise” in a firm frightened voice. We all thought, “why, what is happening but we did as we were told. After sitting in our room for over an hour Seth, Cameron, Leonard, Matt, came up with the idea to explore the ship. When we opened the

In the seventeenth century, sailors discovered and colonized the island of Tortuga, which received its name from its turtle shaped form. The word Tortuga means "Turtle Island" in Spanish. Tortuga is located south of the Leeward Islands. The island has a rich landscape and provides a natural port for Europeans seeking to establish colonies. Spain had originally colonized the island but was removed by the French and English settlers that arrived in 1630. Thereafter, the island was divided into French and English colonies. Peace and tranquility was not established in Tortuga; however, it became a home to buccaneers and a safe harbor for pirates. Piracy did not fully end until the eighteenth century. This study depicts the life and customs of buccaneers

The Bahamas The Bahamas is full of a vast array of inimitable little islands, populated by the laid back people of the Caribbean. Great Exuma is one of these, a place of warm tranquillity and relaxation, a place where peace can be found. A minute number of people inhabit the 90 mile stretch of land where you will find an amazing variety of wildlife.

The Bahamas is known for its warm sunshine, perfect climate, and pristine beaches with crystal clear water lapping at the shores. It is one of the most popular and beautiful tourist destinations in the world and attracts thousands of travelers every year. Though gorgeous strips of sand ring every island of this 700-island archipelago, it is a multifaceted destination and offers a variety of exclusively Bahamian experiences for every type of traveler.