Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. Three main industries have since dominated the island's economy: gold mining, oil refining, and tourism. A 19th-century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening of an oil refinery in 1924.
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, semi-autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
Conventional long form: Country of Aruba.
Cconventional short form: Aruba.
Local long form: Land Aruba (Dutch); Pais Aruba (Papiamento).
Local short form: Aruba.
Etymology: the origin of the island's name is unclear; according to tradition, the name comes from the Spanish phrase oro hubo («there was gold»), but no gold was ever found on the island; other possible sources are either the local word oruba («well-situated») or a combination of two Carib Indian words, ora and oubao («shell» and «island,» respectively).
Blue, with two narrow, horizontal yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner; the star represents Aruba's red soil and white beaches, and its four points stand for the major languages (Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish, English) and the points of a compass, to indicate that its inhabitants come from all over the world; the blue symbolizes Caribbean waters and skies; the stripes represent the island's two main industries, tourism and mining.
Some or all of the text was taken from The World Factbook (source), a work by the federal government of the the United States - all work by the US government lacks copyright.
Due to this being written by the US government, please be aware that it is not only US-centric, but also have a pro-USA agenda.
This page was last edited on 2026-09-25 02:04:49.
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