Tijdschrift voor Historische Geografie - Volume 5, Issue 3, 2020

An age-long struggle against drought and downfall. Values and meanings of the Curaçao plantation landscape Even if it is not obvious at first, a closer look reveals that Curaçao is actually one large plantation landscape, with the exception of Willemstad’s inner city. This landscape can be read as a history book with the old plantation houses as its most recognizable elements. But there are many more elements like cactus hedg Read More

Slavery past casts a shadow. A World Heritage Status for the plantation system of western Curaçao? The possible nomination of the western plantations for the World Heritage List of UNESCO offers a possibility to safeguard this rather unique - but eroding - relict landscape. However, an important precondition for a successful nomination is consensus on a clear strategy and goals of a nomination. The strategy could involv Read More

Interview with Claudia Kraan. Cultural-historical landscapes on Bonaire: flexible and sustainable protection of heritage As the least populated of the ‘Benedenwindse Eilanden’, Bonaire still has many special landscapes. There, archaeologist Claudia Kraan is involved in drawing up policy documents in the context of the implementation of the Malta Convention for the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage. Part of this is Read More

Testimonials of Aruban history and heritage: the kunuku houses and cas floria On the island of Aruba, traditional houses are often decorated with unique symbols. Houses with these decorations are called ‘cas floria’, meaning decorated house. The origin for this style of building and the meaning of the symbols presumably stem from the culture of the native inhabitants of Aruba (Indians). Over the course of time, the Dut Read More

Saba, the unspoiled Queen of the Antilles The isolated Caribbean island of Saba is affectionately called ‘the unspoiled Queen’, due to the unaffected character of its natural environment. European colonists from Zeeland (The Netherlands) and the British Isles occupied the island four centuries ago and partially changed it into a cultural landscape with an outstanding character and a vernacular architecture that is worth to be we Read More

The invisible past of St. Eustatius Saint Eustatius, a small Dutch Caribbean island, was one of the busiest transit harbors in the 18th-century Atlantic World. While its importance as an entrepot in colonial trade networks has been well researched, much less is known about the less visible past on the island, which includes its plantation landscape and the lives of people belonging to the lowest social classes. Recent archaeological a Read More

A plan for large-scale salt extraction on Sint Maarten A map of 1859 shows a huge project to produce salt in the Great Salt Pond (St. Martin, Dutch West Indies). It was a failure. Nevertheless, far into the 20th century salt-making continued to be an important industry, just as it was in former days. Nowadays, the Pond has been partly filled up to accommodate the extension of the town of Philipsburg. It is also used as a refuse-dump.

Traces of indigo cultivation on Curaçao During the 17th and 18th century indigo has been cultivated on the island of Curaçao. This article gives a description of the production of indigo using purpose- built basins and contains pictures of some of the indigobasins still to be found on the island.