His tor ica l Background to the book “The Cay”
A n o v e l b y T h e o d o r e Ta y l o r
The Car ibbean
•S E A
•I S L A N D S
•C O A S T S
A V A S T C H A I N O F I S L A N D S
•7000 I s l ands•2500 mi l es l ong•160 mi l es w ide
Curacao•I n t h e S o u t h e r n C a r i b b e a n
•O ff t h e c o a s t o f Ve n e z u e l a
•I ts capital is W i l l e m s t ad
T H E O R I G I N A L I N H A B I T A N T S
The
Arawak
Amerindia
ns.
Arawak words that became Engl ish
Some Arawak words still commonly used today are:
•barbacoa (barbecue) •hamaca (hammock) •canoa (canoe) •tabaco (tobacco) •yuca (yucca) •huracan (hurricane)
T h e fi r s t
E u r o p e a n s
t o s e e t h e
i s l a n d
w e r e a
S p a n i s h
e x p e d i t i o
n i n 1 4 9 9.
The Europeans are coming!
I n d e n t u r e d S e r v i t u d e
T h e S p a n i a rd s
ex p o r t e d m o s t
o f t h e
i n d i g e n o u s
p o p u l a t i o n t o
o t h e r c o l o n i e s
w h e re w o r ke r s
w e re n e e d e d .
E x t i n c t i o n o f a Pe o p l e
T h e A r a w a k
A m e r i n d i a n
s w e r e
w i p e d o u t
b y S p a n i s h
d i s e a s e s
s u c h a s
s m a l l p o x
a n d
m e a s l e s .
W i l l e m s t a d , C u r a c a o
T h e
i s l a n d
w a s
o c c u p i e d
b y t h e
D u t c h i n
1 6 3 4.
S c h o t t e g a t ; S t . A n n a B a y
T h e D u t c h
W e s t I n d i a
C o m p a n y
f o u n d e d t h e
c a p i t a l o f
W i l l e m s t a d
o n t h e b a n k s
o f a n i n l e t
c a l l e d t h e
' S c h o t t e g a t '
.
F o r t A m s t e r d a m
M a n y
C a r i b b e a
n i s l a n d s
w e r e
c o l o n i e s
o f
E u r o p e a n
n a t i o n s .
A P e r f e c t H a r b o r f o r Tr a d e
W i l l e m s t ad p r o v e d q u i c k l y t o b e a n i d e a l s p o t f o r t r a d e . C o m m e r c e a n d s h i p p i n g - - b u t a l s o p i r a c y-
T h e D u t c h We s t I n d i a C o m p a ny m a d e C u r a ç a o a c e n t e r f o r s l a v e t r a d e i n 1 6 6 2.
The S lave Trade
Lake Maraca ibo
Oil was
discovered
here in
1914.
OilRo y a l D u t c h
S h e l l & t h e
D u t c h
G o v e r n m e n t b u i l t
a n e x t e n s i v e o i l
r e fi n e r y
i n s t a l l a t i o n ,
i r o n i c a l l y o n t h e
f o r m e r s i t e o f
t h e s l a v e - t r a d e
m a r k e t a t
A s i e n t o .
ATTACK ON THE LAGO REFINERY
Strategic Importance
P r o d u c e d
a v i a t i o n
g a s o l i n e
f o r t h e
A m e r i c a n s
a n d
B r i t i s h
d u r i n g
W W I I .
But…
T h r e e
t a n k e r s
w e r e
t o r p e d o e
d .
Pontjesbrug, Willemstad
Q u e e n E m m a P o n t o o n B r i d g e