Aruba
(part of the
Kingdom of
the Netherlands)
Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the
Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main
industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought
on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the
20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the
Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence
was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. Its languages are: Papiamento (a
Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish
12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%,
and
unspecified or unknown 5.3%