![]() ![]() A document dated December 9, 1595, specifies that Don Francisco Montesinos, Curate and Vicar of "las Yslas de Curasao, Aruba y Bonaire" conferred a power of attorney to Pedro Gutiérrez de Lugo, resident in Caracas, to collect from the Royal Treasury of His Catholic Majesty Don Felipe II, the salary that corresponded to him for his office as priest and vicar of the islands. Likewise, one of the oldest references to the name of the island is found in the archive of the Main Public Registry of the city of Caracas (Venezuela). Spain colonized Bonaire since 1499 for a period of approximately one century. The Spanish decided that the three ABC Islands were useless because they did not have known metal deposits, and in 1515 the Caquetío were deported to work in the copper mines of Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola the total number may have been between 500 and 2,000. De La Cosa's Mappa Mundi of 1500 shows Bonaire and calls it Isla do Palo Brasil or "Island of Brazilwood". Ojeda was accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci and Juan de la Cosa. In 1499, Alonso de Ojeda arrived in Curaçao and a neighbouring island that was almost certainly Bonaire. The Caquetios were apparently a very tall people, for the Spanish name for the ABC islands was ' las Islas de los Gigantes ' or 'the islands of the giants'. Caquetio rock paintings and petroglyphs have been preserved in caves at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi and Ceru Crita-Cabai. Archeological remains of the Caquetio culture have been found at certain sites northeast of Kralendijk and near Lac Bay. The Caquetío(arawak) Indians, a clan of the Arawak language family, arrived at the islands from South America around 500 AD. These individuals are currently called by the term Archaic Indians. On different islands the most accurate are 2000 BC in Aruba and 1300 BC in Bonaire. The most accurate human remains on the islands, dating from 4500 BC, were found in Curaçao. History Traditional old houses with cactus fences, preserved in the outdoor museum of Rincon, Bonaire Original inhabitants According to another theory, the name might be derived from the Spanish phrase "buen aire", which does mean 'good air', as the Spanish were the first Europeans to colonise the island. French influence, while present at various times, was never strong enough to make the assumption that the name means 'good air'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire. ![]() The name 'Bonaire' is thought to be derived from the Caquetio word ' Bonay ', meaning 'low country'. 80% of Bonaire's population are Dutch nationals, and nearly 60% of its residents were born in the former Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. It is one of three special municipalities in the Caribbean the others are Sint Eustatius and Saba. īonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010, when the island became a special municipality (officially, a " Caribbean public body") within the country of the Netherlands. The reefs, beaches and on-island reserves located on both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire are under the protection of the Bonaire National Marine Park, and managed by Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA). Klein Bonaire has low-growing vegetation including cactus ( Papiamentu: kadushi), with sparse palm trees near the water and is bordered by white sandy beaches and a fringing reef. A short 800 metres (0.50 mi) west of Bonaire across the sea is the uninhabited islet Klein Bonaire with a total land area of 6 km 2 (2.3 sq mi). The island's total land area is 288 square kilometres (111 sq mi) it is 38.6 kilometres (24.0 mi) long from north to south, and ranges from 5–8 km (3–5 mi) wide from east to west. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.Īs of 1 January 2022, the island's population totaled 22,573 permanent residents, an increase of nearly 6,000 since 2012. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather all year round. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Venezuela. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west ( leeward) coast of the island. Bonaire ( / b ɒ ˈ n ɛər/ bon- AIR, Dutch: ⓘ Papiamentu: ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. ![]()
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