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Curacao Island, West Indies

The ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) were discovered in 1499 by a lieutenant of Columbus, Alonso de Ojeda, who found the islands inhabited by Caiquetos, a tribe of peaceful Arawak Indians, who had fled Venezuela from a more blood thirsty tribe, the Caribs. De Ojeda claimed the islands for the Spanish, but because there was no gold there they were declared "useless islands." The Awarak community on was largely transported to work on Hispaniola, and today no full blooded Indians are found on Curaçao. The island remained Spanish throughout the 16th century, but fell to the Dutch in 1634. Curaçao became an important trading post and a base for excursions against the Spanish. Some of the plantation houses "landhuizen," stem from this period. They were used for agricultural purposes, some as cattle farms and some were country estates for the rich merchant families that lived in Willemstad. Most of these "landhuizen" still exist today. [monuments] Some of them have decayed into ruins, but others have been restored and serve now as restaurants or museums. Conflicts in Europe and the Americas in the 18th century led to Curaçao becoming a commercial meeting place for pirates, American rebels, Dutch merchants, Spaniards and Creoles from the mainland. In 1800 the English took Curaçao, but withdrew in 1803, only to occupy it again in 1807. In 1816, Dutch rule was restored and the island was declared a free port. ICU Internet Caribbean Unlimited