"Bon bini-Welkom-Bienvenidos-Welome!" a Aruba Travel Page by BROOKS

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Aruba, island of many cultures and colors

Aruba, island in the West Indies, in the Caribbean Sea, near the Paraguanį Peninsula of Venezuela. An integral part of the Netherlands, Aruba was a member of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986. Aruba is 30 km (19 mi) long and 8 km (5 mi) wide, and has an area of 190 sq km (73 sq mi). The population of Aruba in 2001 was 70,007, giving the island an overall population density of 363 persons per sq km (939 per sq mi). Oranjestad (1990 population, 20,000) is the capital and main town. Sint Nicolaas, the site of an oil refinery, has a population of 17,000.
In 1986 Aruba became an autonomous and self-governing entity. The official head of government is the Dutch monarch, represented by an appointed governor. The governor is responsible for all external affairs. The prime minister nominates a council of ministers and together they are responsible for the island's internal executive functions. The 21 seats of the legislature, called the Staten, are filled by popularly elected officials. Aruba's judiciary is comprised by the Court of First Instance and a court of appeal. Defense is the responsibility of the Netherlands. The University of Aruba (1970) is located in Oranjestad.

Until the mid-1980s the refining of Venezuelan oil was the main source of employment in Aruba.

Aruba was inhabited by the Arawak peoples before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century. Claimed by Spain in 1499, the islands were colonized by the Dutch in 1636. Under the Dutch, the island became a base for the Dutch West India Company. In 1954 Aruba became part of the Netherlands Antilles and beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Aruba began to push for independence. In 1983 it was decided that beginning in 1986, Aruba would receive a separate status from the Netherlands Antilles and that it would be fully independent in 1996. In 1994 Aruba and the Netherlands agreed that Aruba would retain its autonomous status as a part of the Netherlands rather than seek full independence. The advantages of this arrangement outweighed the benefits of full independence and secured for Aruba a separate status from that of the Netherlands Antilles.