Afro-Arubans are Arubans who have predominantly African ancestry. Afro-Arubans are a minority ethnic group in Aruba (15% of the population), although many Arubans may have African ancestry.[1] They speak Papiamento, an Afro-Portuguese creole language commonly spoken on the ABC islands.[2] The language dates back at least 300 years and is based on African linguistic structures combined with vocabulary from Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish.[3] Like other Arubans, Afro-Arubans also speak Dutch, Spanish, English, as well as other languages.
| Languages | |
|---|---|
| Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Curaçaoan, African people, Afro-Venezuelans |
While Aruba had enslaved Africans,[4] most Afro-Arubans descend from nearby islands and nations such as Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Haiti, Jamaica, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, the Lesser Antilles, and/or South America.[5] Many Afro-Arubans live in Aruba's second largest city, San Nicolaas, located on the southern tip of the island.[6]
History
editAfricans were brought to Aruba by Dutch settlers during the colonial era.[7][8][9] Although not in large numbers as in nearby Curaçao and Bonaire.
Many immigrants from the British West-Indies (namely from Trinidad and Grenada) settled in San Nicolaas in the early 20th century, namely to work in the Aruban oil industry. Many brought their local English Creoles and dialects to the town,[10] later developing into what is today known as San Nicolaas English (or Bush English).
Notable people
edit- Eric Abdul
- Xander Bogaerts, baseball player
- Gregor Breinburg
- Niesha Butler
- Virginia Dementricia, rebel slave
- Denzel Dumfries, football player
- Boy Ecury, resistance fighter
- Euson, singer
- Lolita Euson, writer and poet
- Bobby Farrell, dancer and singer
- Ronald Gomez
- Javier Jimenez
- Joshua John, football player
- Jim Jones (rapper)
- Gene Kingsale, baseball player
- Matthew Lentink
- Nickenson Paul
- Jonathan Ruiz
- Jurriën Timber
- Quinten Timber
References and footnotes
edit- ^ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
- ^ "Language and education on the ABC islands".
- ^ "Aruba - History and Heritage". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
- ^ "The foreign born population of Aruba" (PDF). arubademographics.com. January 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Exploring the Mainstreet of San Nicolas". 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
- ^ "Home". 9 March 2023.
- ^ "History of slavery on Aruba and St. Eustasius online". 29 June 2023.
- ^ Devonish, Hubert; Richardson, Gregory. "The English Creole of Aruba: A Community-Based Description of the San Nicolas Variety".
 | This Aruba-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article related to the African diaspora is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |