Presented by Caribbean Hideaways
Welcome to Bonaire
presented by Caribbean Hideaways
Bonaire is a tiny island with about 10.000
inhabitants and no traffic lights. The first
inhabitants of the island were Indians from
the tribe of the Caquetios, originating from
Venezuela, 60 miles away. There are
archeological signs that already in the year
900 AD Indians lived here. In 1499 the
Spaniards “discovered” Bonaire. They called
the island “Isla inutil”, useless island
because they did not find gold or other
minerals. After a couple of years they
evacuated all the Indians to Hispaniola,
nowadays called Santo Domingo.
During the war between The Netherlands and
Spain –which lasted 80 years!(1568-1648)-
the Dutch occupied the Island in 1636. The
Dutch were interested in the salt ponds and
the wood of the island.
Because of the war the Dutch had no access to the salt ponds in Spain
and Portugal. They were in great need for salt for their fishing-
industry. The island became government property. During the occupation
of Holland by the French under Napoleon 1795-1815, the island was
occupied by England, being an alley to preserve it for Holland. This
occupation was from 1810 to 1816.Unfortunately the English leased the
island to Joseph Foulke from New York. This gentleman deforested the
whole island, especially from the Brazil wood. Since then the soil is
very dry - -