Island (pop., 2005 est.: 97,400), Lesser
Antilles, off northwestern Venezuela. Aruba is an internally self-governing part of The Netherlands. It has an area of 75 sq mi (193 sq km). Its capital is
Oranjestad. The majority of the present-day population is a combination of mostly American Indian, Spanish, and Dutch ancestry. Dutch is the official language; Papiamento, a Creole language, is used for daily affairs.
The principal religion is Roman Catholicism. The currency is the Aruban florin. Aruba's lack of water severely limits agriculture. The large petroleum-refining complex there, once the island's main employer, reopened after closing in the mid-1980s, but tourism has become the island's economic mainstay. The 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.
This is the complete article, containing 185 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Aruba
