Talk:Aruba

Link suggestions

Someone deal with the "Lugo" references at the end of the History article.

An automated Wikipedia link suggester has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Aruba article:

• Can link Council of Ministers: ...rnment]] is the prime minister who forms, together with the Council of Ministers, the [[executive branch]] of the government. ... (link to section)
• Can link tropical climate: ..., riverless island renowned for its white sand beaches. Its tropical climate is moderated by constant trade winds from the [[Atlantic Oc... (link to section)
• Can link above sea level: ... The highest point in Aruba is [[Mount Jamanota]], at 188 m above sea level. ... (link to section)
• Can link Deficit spending: ...e agriculture and manufacturing industries remain minimal. Deficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history and modestly high infl... (link to section)
• Can link monetary policy: ...been present as well, although recent efforts at tightening monetary policy may correct this. Aruba receives some development aid from ... (link to section)
• Can link exchange rate: ... Dutch government each year. The Aruban guilder has a fixed exchange rate with the [[United States dollar]] of 1.78:1.... (link to section)
• Can link slave trade: ...ty. This saved the island from plantation economics and the slave trade. The Dutch left the Arawaks to graze livestock,using the is... (link to section)
• Can link Caribbean islands: ...bean. The Arawak heritage is stronger on Aruba than on most Caribbean islands. No full-blooded Indians remain, but the features of the is... (link to section)
• Can link American culture: ...United States has recently also increased the visibility of American culture on the island. [[Queen Beatrix International Airport]], loc... (link to section)
• Can link Latin American: ...s an important one in Aruba, as it is in many Caribbean and Latin American countries. Carnival is usually held from the beginning of ... (link to section)

Notes: The article text has not been changed in any way; Some of these suggestions may be wrong, some may be right.
Feedback: I like it, I hate it, Please don't link to — LinkBot 11:32, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Caribbean Wikipedians' notice board

I would like to announce the establishment of the Wikipedia:Caribbean Wikipedians' notice board. Anyone with an interest in the Caribbean is welcome to join in. Guettarda 1 July 2005 13:37 (UTC)

Papiemento

My error, sorry.

Alonso de Ojeda's bride

I removed text referring to Alonso de Ojeda marrying a "Native American". I tried to find out what tribe she may have belonged to so that I could be specific, but could find no reference to the marriage at all. If someone can find a reference for this, it should be reinstated with a specific tribal identity.

Tone

"The Dutch coloniser recognized red slavery"

What kind of a sentence is that?!? Also, a lot of the article is 'wordy' or conversational, like it was cribbed from a book. Does not sound encyclopedic.

104.247.234.124 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 15:00, 1 September 2025 (UTC)

Cover photo

I think a photo at the Olympic Games carrying the Aruba flag during the ceremony would fit well under the sports section. Avaborz (talk) 01:25, 1 October 2025 (UTC)

Nicolaas Pyclas

Reading this article I got the impression that Nicolaas Pyclas was a genuine person who existed and after researching and trying to find a date for the donation of his skull I’m not sure he is or that he’s regarded that way by the sources that mention him and I’m not sure what to edit to possibly fix it.

The thesis in 1997 that I cited states “According to an oral tradition of which there’s no evidence, the last full-blooded Indian on Aruba, Nicolaas Pyclas, died at Savaneta in ca. 1862 (Hartog, 1953:224). According to Koeze and Wagenaar Humelinck he died about 1840 (Koeze, 1904:18; Wagenaar Humelinck, 1959:81) Tacoma investigated the skull of this Indian, and estimated the age at death at approximately fifty years.”

What I found before that was in Dutch from Humelinck (who is used as a citation in the article) citing Koeze with the oral tradition (I used google translate for this bit) being “The last of them—a certain Nicolas Pyclas or Pyklaas, who died about fifty years ago—was regarded as an old Indian of the genuine tribe; he understood the language of Aruba’s original inhabitants and still adhered to their way of life and customs, subsisting on snails and herbs while living in solitude in a hut. He wanted nothing to do with religious services, and was eventually found dead not far from his hut. An elderly woman recounted that, as a young girl of fourteen, she had attended the burial of his remains; the body had been found hanging from a tree branch, so the branch was sawn off and the deceased buried on that very spot. Mr. de Vries, the Catholic priest in Oranjestad—who was conducting research into Pyklaas—later discovered the skull; it was merely covered with earth and stones rather than properly buried, as the ground was too rocky and hard. Through the good offices of Mr. van Koolwijk, the skull was presented as a gift to the National Museum of Antiquities.”

His section in this article (Aruba) is practically all of this story repeated but doesn’t mention that it’s oral tradition supposedly recollected and passed down from an old woman.

I suppose my main question is: Should it be mentioned more emphatically that Pylcas’ story is oral tradition with no real evidence as opposed to the current “Nicolaas Pyclas was regarded as the last native Aruban” followed by the above story?

I hope that all made sense, thanks Nighthawk189 (talk) 00:40, 5 August 2026 (UTC)