Savaneta is a town and region in southeastern

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

. Until 1797, it was the island's capital city. It is home to the island's oldest surviving home, a 150-year-old '' cas di torto'', or mud hut. The Savaneta region has an estimated area of 27.76 square kilometers and 11,518 inhabitants according to the 2010 census.

History

Savaneta is the oldest village of Aruba. In the 16th century, it became the capital of the Spanish administration. After Aruba was conquered by the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, the governor lived in Commander's Bay, a natural harbour near Savaneta. In 1797, the government moved to

Paardenbaai Paardenbaai (English: ''Bay of Horses'') or Port of Oranjestad is the main seaport for passengers in Aruba. It is located in Oranjestad and has existed since 1796. History In 1796, Fort Zoutman was constructed near Paardenbaai. It was a natural ...

which would later become Oranjestad. By 1816, only one house had remained inhabited. In 1852, the Canashito plantation was established, and workers were exempt for taxation for eight years. Still only 13 men and 5 boys moved to Savaneta that year. Other plantations were more successful, and by 1867, Savaneta was recognised as a village. It was home to about 150 people. In 1877, a school was founded and in 1900 a church was built. Commander's Bay is nowadays used as the , a base for the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

, the

Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishme ...

, the

Netherlands Coastguard The Netherlands Coastguard () is a civil organisation that carries out tasks on the Netherlands North Sea for six Ministries under administration of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Its operational command falls under the Ministry of Defence (Netherl ...

, and the Aruban Military. It is also near the Sunrise Solar Park.

Notable people

* Guillfred Besaril (1974), Minister Plenipotentiary * Ibian Hodgson (1993), tennis player. * Roger Peterson (1980), musician.

Sources

References

{{commons category, position=left Populated places in Aruba Military in the Caribbean Military installations of the Netherlands Government of Aruba Regions of Aruba