The Island of Aruba :: Free Descriptive Essay About A Place

The Island of Aruba From Aruba’s discovery at the end of the thirteenth century to present-day, its history is filled with change. Its changing possession and the three economic booms that it experienced form the outline of thousands of years. The changes the island has gone through are truly remarkable, and it is unbelievable that the island that now seems to be saturated with tourism was once a desolate landscape with little agricultural promise and economic hope. Unfortunately Aruba’s history is lacking documentation, but it is undisputable that even before the island was claimed, there were inhabitants on the island that would soon be considered the first chapter of Aruba’s history. There is no written historical documentation that states who discovered Aruba, but it is believed that a Spaniard named Alonso de Ojeda was the first European explorer to land on the island in 1499. He initially thought that he had found an â€Å"island of giants† because the remains that he discovered seemed to be larger than that of an average European. It can be speculated that the name Aruba is derived from a Spanish phrase â€Å"oro huba† or in English â€Å"there was Gold†. The Spanish, however, thought that the land was â€Å"valueless† because they did not discover any underground geological worth. It seems strange, though, if the name came from this Spanish phrase that they would have counted it among the â€Å"valueless islands.† There are two other suppositions that seem more plausible. The Carib language of the Antilles, which was passed on by the missionaries, the French Dominicans Breton, Labat, Du Tertre, supports the derivations ora (shell) and oubao (island), which would together mean â€Å"shell-island†. Some people have also suggested the name comes from words meaning companion or guide. There is no way to be sure, and any attempt to uncover its true derivations would be guesswork. It is not known when the first human beings set foot ashore, but considering that natural resources were poor, it is likely that the island acted as nothing more than a halting-place for a succession of tribes and clans. Long before the Spanish claimed the land, maybe even as long as 4,000 years ago, it is believed that the Caquetio Indians of the Arawak tribe came to the Aruba to seek out a safer place to inhabit. They had previously lived on the Paraguana peninsula in Venezuela but were forced to leave because of continuous threats by the Carib Indians.