Islas Inutiles: The Spanish Colonial Era on Aruba

Arrival of Alonso de Ojeda in Aruba (1499)

T’was the year of our lord 1499, the 9th of August to be exact… when Alonso de Ojeda, a Conquistador from Torrenjoncillo del Rey, Cuencas, Castille de la Mancha (that’s a mouthful), set foot on these shores.

The Mission of Expansion, Faith, and Exploration

A noble, minor in stature and status, skilled with the blade and of great military prowess, accompanied by pilot and cartographer Juan de la Cosa and the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci were tasked through the minor or Andalucian journeys to expand the recently established Spanish Catholic monarchy throughout the “New World.”

The reason for their voyage to this hemisphere was as mentioned: empire expansion, propagation of the Catholic faith, as well as charting a map of the new world and securing wealth & resources for the newly formed Spanish monarchy and its allies.

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The “Islas Inútiles”: Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao

The latter was a complete and utter failure, for no gold or other lucrative exploitable resource was found. Frustrated with this, the Spanish coined the term Islas Inútiles for Aruba and its sister islands Bonaire and Curaçao. Islas Inútiles translates to “Useless Islands.”

Catholicism and Spanish Influence on Aruba

However, the Spanish were successful in propagating the Catholic faith, as Aruba is today 80% Catholic. They kicked off the influx of livestock, and furthermore introduced Spanish — one of the four languages we cry in as we are slapped on the bum at birth.

By now, you might be wondering: but Beach, was the island uninhabited when the Spanish arrived?

The Caquetio: Indigenous People of Aruba

Well young Padawan, the answer is a resounding NO. The Island was inhabited by the Caquetio — the main indigenous population living on Aruba from 1000 AD till around… well, the early 1500’s. The interaction between the Spanish and the Caquetio initially went as well as you could predict. The conquistadors were accompanied by missionaries who would spread the faith.

To ease the process of conversion and facilitate communication, the mission would incorporate a baptized indigenous guide, either a member of, friend, or ally to the Caquetio.

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Deportation of the Caquetio (1515)

In 1515 the conquistador Diego Salazar rounded up all the Caquetio from Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (numbering about 2000 in total) and sent them to Hispaniola, presumably to work in the copper mines and brazilwood plantations as slaves. The islands were deserted for 11 years.

Repopulation by Juan de Ampues (1526)

Until 1526, when Juan de Ampues, the governor and founder of what today is the province of Coro, Venezuela, repopulated the islands with Indigenous people and livestock from Hispaniola and the mainland, primarily from the Coro region.

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Spanish Colonial Legacy in Aruba

Because the Spanish categorized the islands as useless islands, there wasn’t much development during the 137 years of Spanish Colonial rule, apart from the propagation of the Catholic faith and the influence on the names of districts and neighborhoods such as Mira lamar, San Nicolas, San Fuego, Santa Cruz — and the list goes on and on.

The End of Spanish Rule (1636)

The Spanish had control over these islands until 1636, when they lost these territories to the Dutch Republic towards the end of the 30- and 80-years war.