According to Jair: How Curacao was settled.

Jair Jansen is a guest blogger on Island of Healing.  He was born and raised on Curacao and will be giving the blog a first hand account of the general history, culture, and issues of his home island from time to time.

Hi, my name is Jair Jansen.  I am a native of Curacao and have lived here my whole life.  I will give you today a general history of how and by whom my island was settled.

Curacao was the economic and administrative center of the Dutch Antilles at the pinnacle of European colonization in the Caribbean.  The island was founded by the Dutch West India Company in the 17th century and remains to this day an important port of call for trade between Europe and the Caribbean.  However, the Dutch were most definitely not the original inhabitants of Curacao.

The oldest human remains in the Caribbean have been discovered here in Curacao, dating back to 2450 B.C.  This leads scientists to believe that Curacao may have the one of the first if not the first Caribbean island to be inhabited by early Native Americans.  These early inhabitants did not leave much behind to study and archaeologists have to jump to 500 B.C. in the archaeological record to have much to work with in terms of extensive study.   It is at that time that the Caiquetio group of Arawak Indians are found to be the main inhabitants of Curacao.  This same group also inhabited the neighboring islands of Aruba and Bonaire, which would also later become a part of the Dutch Antilles.  Historians and archaeologists mostly believe that this particular group of natives were peace loving hunters, fishers, and gatherers.  Cave drawings on Curacao have also depicted these natives as ocean going traders with advanced dugout canoes.

Europeans arrived in Curacao in 1499 in the form of Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda.  Due to the usual European short stature and the size of the Caiquetio natives, the island was originally called "Islas de los Giagantes," or, the "Island of the Giants."  An early depiction can be seen in this early picture.

The Spanish did not put much value in its discovery as Curacao's dry climate, lack of fresh water, lack of agricultural opportunities, and lack of precious metals caused the Spanish to include Curacao on their list of "islas inulties," or "worthless islands" in the Caribbean.  The Spanish failed to see Curacao strategic advantage in its location in the Caribbean and a century later the French, Brittish, Dutch, and Spanish would fight for control of the island well into the 19th century.

In the 16th century Curacao would become a huge slave depot of both native and African slaves.  It was also during this time that Curacao would become a prosperous ranching island for horses under Spanish control.  Pirates became a problem for the island as well during this time as they harassed Spanish ships by stealing their stores.  Other European powers, envious of the Spanish control of the Caribbean began harassing Spanish fleets taking extracted good from Spanish possessions back to Europe. 

This continued until 1634, when the Dutch West India Company sent Johan Van Walbeek,  a fleet of six ships, and 225 soldiers to claim Curacao for the Dutch.  The Spanish only had a small garrison of soldiers on the island and they surrendered quickly.  The soldiers, the Spanish population, and some natives were given safe passage back to Europe.  The Dutch would quickly fortify the island, building Fort Amsterdam on Santa Anna Bay seeing their advantage with this strategic possession in the Caribbean.  Fort Amsterdam is still the political seat of government in the Dutch Antilles today.  The Dutch invasion also spelled extinction for the Caiquetio natives as the Dutch expelled them from the island and the Caiquetio line on the island was completely extinct by the 1790's.  Curacao remains a Dutch possession to this day.

Thank you for allowing me to give you a brief history of how my beautiful island was settled.  I look forward to telling you more about my island in the future.

Sources:
"History." Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Alive Guide, 3rd ed. 3rd ed. Hunter Publishing, Inc., 2008. 243+. General OneFile. Web. 4 Sep. 2011.

 Sullivan, Lynne M. "A brief history." Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao Adventure Guide. Hunter Publishing, Inc., 2002. 206+. General OneFile. Web. 4 Sep. 2011.