# Afro-Arubans

Afro-Arubans are Arubans of predominantly African ancestry. Afro-Arubans are a minority ethnic group in Aruba, representing 15% of Aruba's population. Like other Arubans, Afro-Arubans speak Papiamento, a Portuguese-based creole language commonly spoken on the ABC islands, as well as Dutch, Spanish, English and other languages. Papiamento dates back at least 300 years and is pre-dominantly based on Afro-Portuguese linguistic structures combined with vocabulary and influences from Spanish, West African languages, Dutch and Amerindian languages.
While Aruba had enslaved Africans, the island had very few slave-based plantations due to its poor soil and arid climate, resulting in Aruba having a much smaller population of people of predominantly African descent than most other Caribbean islands. Most Afro-Arubans today descend from nearby Caribbean islands and nations such as Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Haiti, Jamaica, Grenada, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, the Lesser Antilles and South America. Many Afro-Arubans live in Aruba's second largest city, San Nicolaas, located on the southern tip of the island.

## History

Afro-Arubans arrived in Aruba in three waves.
During the colonial era, enslaved Africans were transported to Aruba by Dutch settlers, although not in large numbers as the Dutch (and before them, the Spanish) considered Aruba too dry for large-scale plantations.
Throughout the 20th century, many immigrants from the British West-Indies (namely from Trinidad and Grenada) settled in San Nicolaas, namely to work in the Aruban oil industry. Many brought their local English Creoles and dialects to the town, later developing into what is today known as San Nicolaas English (known locally as Bush English).
In the 21st century, most recent African-descended immigrants to Aruba come from a new inflow of Haitian, Surinamese, Curaçaoan and Dominican labor migrants.

## Notable people

* 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

* ↑ Nooyen, R. H. (1965). Millefiori di Aruba. [Oranjestad, Aruba] : Publica cu cooperacion di Stichting Aruba Nostra.
* ↑ "Language and education on the ABC islands".
* ↑ "Aruba - History and Heritage". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
* ↑ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
* ↑ Nooyen, R. H. (1965). Millefiori di Aruba. [Oranjestad, Aruba] : Publica cu cooperacion di Stichting Aruba Nostra.
* ↑ "The foreign born population of Aruba" (PDF). arubademographics.com. January 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
* ↑ "Exploring the Mainstreet of San Nicolas". 12 June 2019.
* ↑ Redactie (2023-08-03). "'African influence clearly visible on Aruba' | Caribbean Network". caribbeannetwork.ntr.nl. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
* ↑ "History of slavery on Aruba and St. Eustasius online". 29 June 2023.
* ↑ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
* ↑ Devonish, Hubert; Richardson, Gregory. "The English Creole of Aruba: A Community-Based Description of the San Nicolas Variety".
* ↑ Redactie (2023-08-03). "'African influence clearly visible on Aruba' | Caribbean Network". caribbeannetwork.ntr.nl. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
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