Top 10 Largest Cities or Towns of Aruba

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1) Oranjestad
2) Balashi
3) Angochi
4) Arasji
5) Casibari
6) Cas di Paloma
7) San Nicolas
8) Noord
9) Santa Cruz
10) Savaneta

Aruba (/əˈruːbə/ ə-roo-bə; Dutch pronunciation: [aˈruba]) is an island 33 kilometres long (20 mi); it is located about 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) west of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea and 27 kilometres (17 mi) north of the coast of Venezuela. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Netherlands Antilles or the Dutch Caribbean.

Aruba is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The citizens of these countries all share a single nationality: Dutch. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but, for census purposes, is divided into eight regions. Its capital is Oranjestad.

Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 179 km2 (69.1 sq mi) and is densely populated, with a total of 102,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. It lies outside the hurricane belt.

Aruba's first inhabitants are thought to have been Caquetíos Amerinds from the Arawak tribe, who migrated there from Venezuela to escape attacks by the Caribs. Fragments of the earliest known Indian settlements date back to 1000 AD. As sea currents made canoe travel to other Caribbean islands difficult, Caquetio culture remained more closely associated with that of mainland South America.

The capital Oranjestad
Europeans first learned of Aruba following the explorations for Spain by Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Ojeda in the summer of 1499. Though Vespucci boasted of discovering the island, Ojeda was likely first, learning of it from natives of nearby islands.[citation needed] Both described Aruba as an "island of giants", remarking on the comparatively large stature of the native Caquetíos compared to Europeans. Gold was not discovered on Aruba, for another 300 years. Vespucci returned to Spain with stocks of cotton and brazilwood from the island and described houses built into the ocean. Vespucci and Ojeda's tales spurred interest in Aruba, and Spaniards soon colonized the island.[5][6]

Because it had low rainfall, Aruba was not considered profitable for the plantation system and the economics of the slave trade.[citation needed]

Aruba was colonized by Spain for over a century. Simas, the Cacique or chief in Aruba, welcomed the first Catholic priests in Aruba, who gave him a wooden cross as a gift. In 1508, the Spanish Crown appointed Alonso de Ojeda as its first Governor of Aruba, as part of Nueva Andalucía.

Arawaks spoke the "broken Spanish" which their ancestors had learned on Hispaniola.[citation needed]

Another governor appointed by Spain was Juan Martínez de Ampiés. A cédula real decreed in November 1525 gave Ampíes, factor of Española, the right to repopulate Aruba. In 1528, Ampíes was replaced by a representative of the House of Welser.

The Netherlands have covered the island with their regulations since 1629. Since 1636, Aruba has been under Dutch administration, initially governed by Peter Stuyvesant, later appointed to New Amsterdam (New York City). Stuyvesant was on a special mission in Aruba in November and December 1642. The island was included under the Dutch Dutch West India Company (W.I.C.) administration, as "New Netherland and Curaçao," from 1648 to 1664. In 1667 the Dutch administration appointed an Irishman as "Commandeur" in Aruba.

The Dutch took control 135 years after the Spanish, leaving the Arawaks to farm and graze livestock, and used the island as a source of meat for other Dutch possessions in the Caribbean.[citation needed]

In August 1806, General Francisco de Miranda and a group of 200 freedom fighters, traveling to liberate Venezuela from Spain, stayed in Aruba for several weeks.[citation needed]

In 1933, Aruba sent its first petition to the Queen seeking independent status and autonomy.[citation needed]

During World War II, Aruba was one of the main suppliers of refined petroleum products to the Allies. During the war, after the German occupation of the Netherlands, Aruba was made a British protectorate from 1940 to 1942, and a US protectorate from 1942 to 1945.

On 16 February 1942, a German submarine (U-156) under the command of Werner Hartenstein attacked the island's oil processing refinery, but the mission failed.

In March 1944, Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States, briefly visited American troops stationed in Aruba. In attendance were Curaçao Governor P. Kasteel, and U.S. Rear Admiral T. E. Chandler.

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