The history of Curacao and the origin of its name

Geographically, Curacao is a relatively small island located just off the coast of Venezuela, and besides Aruba and Bonaire, it is one of the ABC islands; in fact, it is the largest and the most populated of the three. Being one of the five islands of the Netherland Antilles, it is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island area includes not only Curacao, but also Klein Curacao, a tiny desert island which is one and a half hours away of the main island by boat. Curacao is a small island, but nevertheless, one with an interesting and long history and a rich cultural heritage.

History

The history of Curacao is believed to have started many hundreds of years before European presence even began to change the island. The native inhabitants who lived in Curacao when the Europeans discovered the island were Awarak Amerindians. The very first Europeans to set foot on Curacao belonged to a Spanish inquisition, in the year of 1499. At this time, most of the native population was brought to other colonies, where workers were needed. In 1634, the island was occupied by the Dutch and the capital of Willemstad was founded because its natural harbor proved ideal for trade. In 1662, the island was made a slave trade center by the Dutch West India Company. While this was doubtlessly cruel and inhuman, it did contribute to the affluence of the island and led to the construction of impressive colonial buildings that still stand. The architecture of the island as it is today is a blend of Dutch and Spanish colonial styles. Many buildings in and around Willemstad are so culturally significant that they now stand on the UNESCO world heritage list. Since Curacao is geographically so close to the coast of Venezuela, a cultural influence from Latin America has, as one would imagine, long been present. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island was dominated in turn by the British, the French, and the Dutch, but it was safely returned to the hands of the latter in 1815, after the Napoleonic wars. In 1863, slavery was abolished, causing economic hardship to the population of the island and encouraging emigration to other islands like Cuba. In 1914, oil was discovered and luckily, the situation was turned over. Sources of employment were created and immigration was, in turn, encouraged. In the mid – and later nineties, social unrest grew between the different social classes of Curacao. This culminated in protests on May 30th, 1969. The tourist industry developed and low corporate taxes were introduced to encourage the set-up of company holdings. In recent years, a wish to break free from the Antillean federation has become increasingly strong, and emigration to the Netherlands has increased while immigration to Curacao from other Caribbean islands has done so as well.

The origin of the name

There are several theories regarding the origin of the name of the island of Curacao, a name which it apparently carried since the seventeenth century, when it began to be known under that name on all maps, and it is unclear which one of these is correct. One possible theory would be that the name derives from the Portuguese for “heart”, the word “coração” , hinting at the island’s importance and central position in trade. This is in fact the most popular theory, and it is also hazarded that the Spanish first called the island “Corazon”, which simply means heart in Spanish, and the designation for the place later became Curacao, based on the Portuguese word for heart. Another explanation could be that the name actually comes from the Portuguese word for “healing”, which is very similar to the word “heart”:  “curação”, in reference to the many healing plants and herbs that grow on the island, which has a very rich flora.  Finally, another theory that one could consider is that the name simply comes from the name the indigenous people who first lived on the island gave themselves. In fact, early Spanish accounts do refer to these people as “Indios Curacaos”, which can be translated to “the natives of Curacao”. Any of these explanations could be true, but regardless of why Curacao has its name, one fact that is most certainly true is that it’s a fascinating little island.