The island heading to its first World Cup carries centuries of history, of resilience, mixture and pride.
First peoples
Long before Europeans arrived, Curaçao was home to the Caquetío, an Arawak-speaking people who had migrated from the South American mainland and lived by farming, fishing and trade.
Spanish arrival, 1499
The Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda became the first European to reach Curaçao on 26 July 1499. Finding little gold or fresh water, Spain considered the island of little value and deported many of its people.
The Dutch and Willemstad, 1634
In 1634 the Dutch West India Company, under Admiral Johan van Walbeeck, took the island. The Dutch built Willemstad into a major port, and a central hub of the Atlantic slave trade, a painful chapter that shaped the island’s people and culture.
Tula and the revolt of 1795
In 1795 the enslaved man Tula led a major uprising for freedom. Though it was suppressed, Tula is today honoured as a national hero of Curaçao.
Pais Kòrsou, 2010
On 10 October 2010 Curaçao became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the modern nation now flying its flag at the World Cup.
Sources: Wikipedia, History of Curaçao.
