A n o v e l b y T h e o d o r e Ta y l o r
The Caribbean
•S E A
•I S L A N D S
•C O A S T S
A VAST C H AIN OF ISLANDS
•7 0 0 0
Islands
•2 5 0 0
miles
long
•1 6 0
miles
wide
Curacao
•I n
the
Southern
Caribbean
•O f f
the
coast of
Venezuela
•I t s
capital is
Willemstad
THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
The Arawak
Amerindians.
Arawak words that became English
Some Arawak words
still commonly used
today are:
•barbacoa (barbecue)
•hamaca (hammock)
•canoa (canoe)
•tabaco (tobacco)
•yuca (yucca)
•huracan (hurricane)
The Europeans are coming!
The first
Europeans
to see the
island
were a
Spanish
expedition
in 1499.
Indentured Servitude
The Spaniards
exported most of
the indigenous
population to
other colonies
where workers
were needed.
E x t i n c t i o n o f a Pe o p l e
The Arawak
Amerindians
were wiped
out by
Spanish
diseases
such as
smallpox
and
measles.
Willemstad, Curacao
The
island
was
occupied
by the
Dutch in
1634.
Schottegat; St. Anna Bay
TheDutch
West India
Company
founded the
capital of
Willemstad
on the banks
of an inlet
called the
'Schottegat'.
Fort Amsterdam
Many
Caribbean
islands
were
colonies of
European
nations.
A Pe r f e c t H a r b o r f o r Tr a d e
Willemstad
proved
quickly to
be an ideal
spot for
trade.
Commerce
and
shipping -but also
piracy-
T h e S l a v e Tr a d e
The Dutch
West India
Company
made
Curaçao a
center for
slave
trade in
1662.
Lake Maracaibo
Oil was
discovered
here in
1914.
Oil
Royal Dutch Shell
& the Dutch
Government built
an extensive oil
refinery
installation,
ironically on the
former site of
the slave-trade
market at
Asiento.
AT TA C K O N T H E L A G O R E F I N E R Y
Strategic Importance
Produced
aviation
gasoline
for the
Americans
and British
during
WWII.
But…
Three
tankers
were
torpedoed.
Pontjesbrug, Willemstad
Queen Emma Pontoon
Bridge