The Living History of Curacao

Curacao is a tiny island in the Dutch Antilles. As was the case on many Caribbean isles, the Arawak Indians were the first inhabitants and were entirely wiped out by the Spanish. Following the Spanish, came the Dutch. Peter Stuyvesant was the first governor under Dutch rule. (Name familiar? Mr. Stuyvesant left the island to become the governor of New Amsterdam, New York City's early name.)

By the early 1700s about 2000 Jewish Settlers had moved to the island from various European nations and opened Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad in 1732. The Synagogue is the oldest operating Synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. The historic building is certainly a "must see" while in Curacao.

The African heritage in Curacao is perhaps the most evident living history on the island. The language of Papiamentu is commonly spoken - a language created to bridge the language barrier gaps between slaves and their owners. The cuisine and music of the island are both influenced by the African heritage. The African attributes are easily seen in one place at the Kura Hulanda Museum, an anthropological museum that showcases a world-class chronicle of the Origin of Man, the African slave trade, West African Empires, Pre-Colombian gold, Mesopotamian relics and Antillean art.