History of Bonaire

The first inhabitants of Bonaire were the Caiquetios, a branch of the Arawak Indians, who came here from Venezuela in 1000 AD. Several  archaeological sites like Lac Bay and Kralendik are evidence of ancient Caiquetio culture. The rock paintings and petroglyphs at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi and Ceru Crita-Cabai also speaks about the history of Bonaire.

The name Bonaire is derived from Caiquetio word ‘Bonay’ meaning ‘low country’. The Spanish and Dutch altered the spelling to Bojnaj and Bonaire.

Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci were the first Europeans to come to Bonaire in 1499 and laid claim for Spain. Spanish did not develop it into a colony because there was neither gold nor sufficient rainfall to support large scale agricultural production. They forced the Caiquetos into slavery on the big plantations of the Hispaniola Island which resulted in depopulation of the island by 1515.

The Governor of ABC Island (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao), Juan de Ampues began cattle breeding in Bonaire in 1526. He brought a number of Caiquetios and Indians from Venezuela as laborers to raise animals such as cow, sheep, goat, pig, donkey and horse. Within a few years, the population of the animals outnumbered the population of the human beings in the island.

Bonaire’s immigrants were mostly convicts from other Spanish colonies in the South America. Dutch admiral Boudewijn Hendricksz left a group of Spanish and Portuguese prisoners to this island who later founded the town of Antriol. For almost next 300 years, Bonaire remained a ill-famed penal colony even after being ceded to the Dutch.

The Dutch captured the ABC Island in 1633 as an act of retaliation for having lost the island of St. Maarten to the Spanish. While Curacao was the center for the slave trade, Bonaire was developed as the plantation of the Dutch West India Company. A few African slaves along with few Indians and convicts cultivated the dyewood and maize and harvested solar salt around Blue Pan. The slave quarters, made entirely of stone and as high as a man’s waist, built for the slaves can be seen even today around Rincon and Blue Pan.

From the 17th to the 19th century, only military personnel supervising the plantations and prison houses were permitted into Bonaire. The Dutch West India Company was dissolved in 1791. All the property of the company was confiscated by the Dutch Government, which continued operations in the island.

The slaves were now owned by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and came to be known as the ‘government slaves’ or ‘Katibu di Rei’ meaning ‘Slaves of the King’ in Papiamento. The living conditions in Bonaire worsened even though the slaves were allowed to grow and sell their own produce and at times to buy their own freedom. The rumors of an uprising became ripe by 1835 revolving around an escaped slave, Bentura. The Dutch shifted the slaves from Ricon to their stronghold in Tera Cora (meaning red soil) near the slat pans due to fears of a rebellion. Bentura was later captured but somehow managed to escape to safety. Slavery was finally abolished in 1862.

Dutch had to struggle to maintain the possession of Bonaire throughout this period. From 1800-1803 and again from 1807-1815, the British were able to capture Curacao, the capital of the Dutch West India Company and thereby gaining control of Bonaire as well. They subleased the island to a North American ship owner, Joseph Foulke, who exploited the lumber from the island. Bonaire was handed over to the Dutch by the Treaty of Paris of 1816. Fort Oranje was erected soon after to protect the island from such attacks in future. The commander of the island lived in the fort till 1837 when it was made the government depot and later a prison. In 1868, a small lighthouse was constructed near the fort.

Bonaire ceased to be a government plantation with the end of slavery and the land was put to public auction. In 1867, 5 plots rich in lumber and cattle were sold to J.F. Neuman and Co. and E.B.F. Hellmund. This resulted in disfranchisement of the population and increase in poverty. Many people left for Venezuela to work in the copper mines. The discovery of oil in Venezuela benefited Bonaire and public works project begun in large scale. During World War II, the island was made the camp for captured Germans and Dutch Nazis.

In 1936, the male citizens of Bonaire were given the right to vote and over the decade, several local parties also emerged. After the war, the islanders demanded greater autonomy. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted self-rule in 1954, although Antilles remained a Dutch