  oranjestad (dutch, literally "orange town") is the capital and largest city of aruba. oranjestad is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. in the local language, papiamento, oranjestad is often referred to simply as "playa". in 2010 the population of the capital was estimated at just under 30,000.http://population-of.com/en/aruba/00/oranjestad/ == history == the town was built around fort zoutman shortly after it was built in 1796 . initially the town had no official name, being known only as the town on the bay of horses (paardenbaai in dutch), a place from which native-bred horses were raised and exported to neighboring curaÃ§ao. the town has ever since been the capital city of the island. [[file:
Capitals_in_the_Caribbean Populated_places_established_in_the_1790s