Afro-Arubans are Arubans who have predominantly African ancestry. Afro-Arubans are a minority ethnic group in Aruba, representing 15% of Aruba's population.[1] Like other Arubans, Afro-Arubans speak Papiamento, a Portuguese-based creole language commonly spoken on the ABC islands,[2] as well as Dutch, Spanish, English and other languages. Papiamento dates back at least 300 years and is pre-dominantly based on Afro-Portuguese linguistic structures combined with vocabulary and influences from Spanish, West African languages, Dutch and Amerindian languages.[3]
During the colonial era, enslaved Africans were transported to Aruba by Dutch settlers,[8] although not in large numbers as the Dutch (and before them, the Spanish) considered Aruba too dry for large-scale plantations.[9]
Throughout the 20th century, many immigrants from the British West-Indies (namely from Trinidad and Grenada) settled in San Nicolaas, namely to work in the Aruban oil industry. Many brought their local English Creoles and dialects to the town,[10] later developing into what is today known as San Nicolaas English (known locally as Bush English).
In the 21st century, most recent African-descended immigrants to Aruba come from a new inflow of Haitian, Surinamese and Dominican labor migrants.[11]
