Summary
Afro-Arubans are Arubans who have predominantly African ancestry. Afro-Arubans are a minority ethnic group in Aruba, although many Arubans may have African ancestry.[1] They speak Papiamento, an Afro-Portuguese language spoken in the ABC islands. The language dates back at least 300 years and is based on African linguistic structures combined with vocabulary from Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish.[2] Like other Arubans, Afro-Arubans also speak Dutch, Spanish, English, as well as other languages.
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Aruba | |
| Languages | |
| Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Curaçaoan, African people, Afro-Venezuelans |
While Aruba had enslaved Africans,[3] most Afro-Arubans descend from nearby islands and nations such as Sint Maarten, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Haiti, Jamaica, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, the Lesser Antilles, and/or South America.[4] Many Afro-Arubans live in Aruba's second largest city, San Nicolaas, located on the southern tip of the island.[5]
History edit
Africans were brought to Aruba by Dutch settlers during the colonial era.[6][7][8]
Many brought an English Creole to Aruba in the early 20th century.[9]
Notable people edit
- 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 edit
- ^ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
- ^ "Aruba - History and Heritage". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
- ^ "The foreign born population of Aruba" (PDF). arubademographics.com. January 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Exploring the Mainstreet of San Nicolas". 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Millefiori di Aruba". 1965.
- ^ "Home". 9 March 2023.
- ^ "History of slavery on Aruba and St. Eustasius online". 29 June 2023.
- ^ Devonish, Hubert; Richardson, Gregory. "The English Creole of Aruba: A Community-Based Description of the San Nicolas Variety".