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Defense on Aruba is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands Military forces that protect Aruba include the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Netherlands Marine Corps and the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. There is also a small indigenous militia (ARUMIL, literally "Aruban militia") of about platoon strength (stationed at the Marine Corps Barracks Savaneta).
Until 1929, there were hardly any military forces present on the Dutch Antilles including Aruba. On 28 June 1929 the Venezuelan rebel leader Rafael Simón Urbina attacked Curaçao and took several hostages amongst whom was the governor Leonard Albert Fruytier and the garrison commander Borren. They were all taken to Venezuela where Urbina had hoped to overthrow the Government. His attempt failed and Urbina was taken prisoner. All hostages were returned to Curaçao. Three Dutch soldiers were killed in action during this attack. [1] After Urbina's attack, the Dutch government decided to station one naval ship ("stationsschip") in the Antilles permanently. It also decided to raise a volunteer defense corps on both Curaçao and Aruba (Vrijwilligerskorps Curaçao (VKC) and Vrijwilligerskorps Aruba (VKA). After World War II, the VKC and VKA were redesignated Antiliaanse Militie (ANTMIL) which still exists on Curaçao. When Aruba obtained its independence within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986, the ANTMIL on Aruba was redesignated Arubaanse Militie or ARUMIL.
For the Kingdom of the Netherlands, World War II started with the invasion of the Netherlands by Germany on May 10, 1940. Because of the Lago oil refinery at San Nicolas, Aruba was deemed strategically important to the allied war effort and that same night 180 French marines arrived on Aruba to assist the local military. On July 6 they were replaced by 120 British soldiers who in turn were replaced by the 4th Battalion Queens Own Cameron Highlanders in September. In December an artillery unit from the Dutch East Indies army (KNIL) was also sent to Aruba to improve the defences. Also in December military service became compulsory and the VKA grew in size. All soldiers were billeted near the oil refinery at Savaneta, the present location of the Marine barracks. Early 1942, the British troops were replaced by over a thousand American soldiers. The Dutch coastal batteries on Aruba and Curaçao engaged U-boats at least three times during World War II, during the Attack on Aruba in February 1942 and again during the Bombardment of Curaçao. Later a Dutch battery on Curaçao engaged another U-boat when it attacked an oil tanker sailing off the island. None of the batteries hit their targets. [2]
The Netherlands Armed Forces deploy both ground and naval units in the Caribbean with some of these forces based on Aruba. These forces include:
Additionally, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, under the direction of the Royal Netherlands Navy commander in the Caribbean, maintains a significant presence. [5]
ARUMIL soldiers are volunteers and are led by their own NCOs and officers. The ARUMIL are trained by Netherlands Marine Corps. When basic training is completed every soldier in the ARUMIL becomes an Aruban Marine. Basic training and selection takes place on Aruba, further training takes place in either the Netherlands or Curaçao. ARUMIL officers have to complete the regular Netherlands Marine Corps Officers training course (Praktische opleiding tot officier der mariniers, POTOM). The ARUMIL platoon works closely with the Dutch Marines company stationed at Aruba. [6]
An increase of instability in South America, specifically Venezuela [ citation needed ], made the Netherlands heighten the security level and increase monitoring of the Dutch island in cooperation with the United States.
Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, situated in the south of the Caribbean Sea. Aruba is located approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Curaçao.
The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Royal Netherlands Navy is the maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was founded on 8 January 1488, making it the third-oldest naval force in the world.
The ABC islands is the physical group of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. These have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded them back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815. They are a short distance north of the Falcón State, Venezuela. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the European Union; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.
Oranjestad, the capital and most populous of Aruba's eight regions, is located on the southwestern coast of the island. In Papiamento, the local language, Oranjestad is commonly referred to as "Playa" by the locals.
The Netherlands Marine Corps is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the Regiment de Marine on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt and famous Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It is the second-oldest still-active marine corps in the world.
The music of the former Netherlands Antilles is a mixture of native, African and European elements, and is closely connected with trends from neighboring countries such as Venezuela and Colombia and islands such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Santo Domingo, Haiti, Martinique, Trinidad, Dominica, and Guadeloupe. The former Netherlands Antilles islands of Curaçao and Aruba are known for their typical waltzes, danzas, mazurkas and a kind of music called tumba, which is named after the conga drums that accompany it.
The Aruba national football team is the national team of Aruba. It was founded in 1932 and is affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), CONCACAF and FIFA and is controlled by the Arubaanse Voetbal Bond.
The history of Curaçao starts with settlement by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people coming from the South American mainland. They are believed to have inhabited the island for many hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
The Battle of the Caribbean refers to a naval campaign waged during World War II that was part of the Battle of the Atlantic, from 1941 to 1945. German U-boats and Italian submarines attempted to disrupt the Allied supply of oil and other material. They sank shipping in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and attacked coastal targets in the Antilles. Improved Allied anti-submarine warfare eventually drove the Axis submarines out of the Caribbean region.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Aruba:
The Caribbean Netherlands is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union; as such, European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
The Dutch Caribbean are the New World territories, colonies, and countries of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the northern and southwestern regions of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.
The Territory of Curaçao national football team was the official football team for the Territory of Curaçao, under the control of the Curaçaose Voetbal Bond (CVB).
The 1969 Curaçao uprising was a series of riots on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, then part of the Netherlands Antilles, a semi-independent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The uprising took place mainly on 30 May but continued into the night of 31 May – 1 June 1969. The riots arose from a strike by workers in the oil industry. A protest rally during the strike turned violent, leading to widespread looting and destruction of buildings and vehicles in the central business district of Curaçao's capital, Willemstad.
Suffisant Naval Barracks is a Dutch armed forces base located on Curaçao. Until 2009, it was used by the infantry company 31 INFCIE of the Netherlands Marine Corps. Currently the base is used for the conscription of Curaçaoan youths. However, rather than being purely military in nature, the conscription also serves a social purpose: conscripts can get an education and receive diplomas on the base. During the first six months the conscripts receive military training and in the remaining six months they study to obtain a diploma. The conscripts are called miliciens. Currently the Royal Marechaussee has a brigade stationed on the base as well.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by the States General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry.
The Curaçao Volunteer Corps is a volunteer defense unit of Curaçao that was founded on 23 June 1929. During the Second World War it was part of the regular defense force in Curaçao and took part in the defense of the island.
