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Aruba[urOO´bu] Pronunciation Key, island, autonomous part of the Netherlands (1995 est. pop. 66,000), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Oranjestad is the capital and main port. The population is largely a mixture of European and indigenous Caribbean peoples. Roman Catholics make up more than three quarters of the island's population, and there is a significant Protestant minority. Dutch is the official language, but many Arubans also speak Papiamento (a Spanish-based creole with Portuguese, Dutch, and English elements) and English. Tourism, oil refining, and offshore banking are the economic mainstays of the island, although the island's refinery was closed from 1985 to 1991. The Spanish claimed Aruba in 1499. It fell to the Dutch in 1636 and since then, with the exception of a few years during the Napoleonic Wars, it has belonged to the Netherlands. Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986 and is still linked with them economically.
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