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Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sports. Adventures are often undertaken to create psychological arousal or in order to achieve a greater goal, such as the pursuit of knowledge that can only be obtained by such activities. Motivation. Adventurous experiences create psychological arousal, which can be interpreted as negative (e.g. fear) or positive (e.g. flow). For some people, adventure becomes a major pursuit in and of itself. According to adventurer André Malraux, in his "Man's Fate" (1933), "If a man is not ready to risk his life, where is his dignity?" Similarly, Helen Keller stated that "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Outdoor adventurous activities are typically undertaken for the purposes of recreation or excitement: examples are adventure racing and adventure tourism. Adventurous activities can also lead to gains in knowledge, such as those undertaken by explorers and pioneersthe British adventurer Jason Lewis, for example, uses adventures to draw global sustainability lessons from living within finite environmental constraints on expeditions to share with schoolchildren. Adventure education intentionally uses challenging experiences for learning.
Author Jon Levy suggests that an experience should meet several criteria to be considered an adventure: Mythology and fiction. Some of the oldest and most widespread stories in the world are stories of adventure, such as Homer's "Odyssey". The knight errant was the form the "adventure seeker" character took in the Late Middle Ages. Adventure fiction exhibits these "protagonist on adventurous journey" characteristics, as do many popular feature films, such as "Star Wars" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and other comic book publishers often use "adventurer"—or, in some cases, "costumed adventurer" or "superhuman adventurer"—as a synonym for "super-hero." Outdoors. Adventure books may have the theme of the hero or main character going to face the wilderness or Mother Nature. Examples include books such as "Hatchet" or "My Side of the Mountain". These books are less about "questing", such as in mythology or other adventure novels, but more about surviving on their own, living off the land, gaining new experiences, and becoming closer to the natural world.
Questing. Many adventures are based on the idea of a quest: the hero goes off in pursuit of a reward, whether it be a skill, prize, treasure, or perhaps the safety of a person. On the way, the hero must overcome various obstacles to obtain their reward. Video games. In video game culture, an adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of literary genres. Many adventure games (text and graphic) are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multi-player design difficult. Nonfiction works. From ancient times, travelers and explorers have written about their adventures. Journals which became best-sellers in their day were written, such as Marco Polo's journal "The Travels of Marco Polo" or Mark Twain's "Roughing It". Others were personal journals, only later published, such as the journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark or Captain James Cook's journals. There are also books written by those not directly a part of the adventure in question, such as "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe or books written by those participating in the adventure but in a format other than that of a journal, such as "Conquistadors of the Useless" by Lionel Terray. Documentaries often use the theme of adventure as well. Adventure sports. There are many sports classified as adventure sports, due to their inherent danger and excitement. Some of these include mountain climbing, skydiving, or other extreme sports.
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilisations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population. Asia shares the landmass of Eurasia with Europe, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. In general terms, it is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. A commonly accepted division places Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from Africa; and to the east of the Turkish straits, the Ural Mountains and Ural River, and to the south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black seas, separating it from Europe.
Since the concept of Asia derives from the term for the eastern region from a European perspective, Asia is the remaining vast area of Eurasia minus Europe. Therefore, Asia is a region where various independent cultures coexist rather than sharing a single culture, and the boundary between Europe is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural differences, some of which vary on a spectrum. China and India traded places as the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1800 CE. China was a major economic power for much of recorded history, with the highest GDP per capita until 1500. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and many other religions.
Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties, and government systems. It also has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot deserts in parts of West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in North Asia. Etymology. The term "Asia" is believed to originate in the Bronze Age toponym () which originally referred only to a portion of northwestern Anatolia. The term appears in Hittite records recounting how a confederation of Assuwan states including Troy unsuccessfully rebelled against the Hittite king Tudhaliya I around 1400 BCE. Roughly contemporary Linear B documents contain the term (), seemingly in reference to captives from the same area. Herodotus used the term in reference to Anatolia and the territory of the Achaemenid Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. He reports that Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus, but that Lydians say it was named after "Asies", son of Cotys, who passed the name on to a tribe at Sardis. In Greek mythology, "Asia" ( or ) was the name of a "Nymph or Titan goddess of Lydia". The Iliad (attributed by the ancient Greeks to Homer) mentions two Phrygians in the Trojan War named Asios (literally 'Asian'); and also a marsh or lowland containing a marsh in Lydia as .
The term was later adopted by the Romans, who used it in reference to the province of Asia, located in western Anatolia. One of the first writers to use Asia as a name of the whole continent was Pliny. Definition. Asia–Europe boundary. The threefold division of the Old World into Africa, Asia, and Europe has been in use since the 6th century BCE, due to Greek geographers such as Anaximander and Hecataeus. Anaximander placed the boundary between Asia and Europe along the Phasis River (now the Rioni) in Georgia of Caucasus (from its mouth by Poti on the Black Sea coast, through the Surami Pass and along the Kura River to the Caspian Sea), a convention still followed by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE. During the Hellenistic period, this convention was revised, and the boundary between Europe and Asia was now considered to be the Tanais (the modern Don River). This is the convention used by Roman era authors such as Posidonius, Strabo and Ptolemy. The border between Asia and Europe was historically defined by European academics.
In Sweden, five years after Peter's death, in 1730 Philip Johan von Strahlenberg published a new atlas proposing the Ural Mountains as the border of Asia. Tatishchev announced that he had proposed the idea to von Strahlenberg. The latter had suggested the Emba River as the lower boundary. Over the next century various proposals were made until the Ural River prevailed in the mid-19th century. The border had been moved perforce from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea into which the Ural River projects. The border between the Black Sea and the Caspian is usually placed along the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, although it is sometimes placed further north. Asia–Africa boundary. The boundary between Asia and Africa is the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea, and the Bab-el-Mandeb. This makes Egypt a transcontinental country, with the Sinai Peninsula in Asia and the remainder of the country in Africa. Asia–Oceania boundary.
Asia–North America boundary. The Bering Strait and Bering Sea separate the landmasses of Asia and North America, as well as forming the international boundary between Russia and the United States. This national and continental boundary separates the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait, with Big Diomede in Russia and Little Diomede in the United States. The Aleutian Islands are an island chain extending westward from the Alaskan Peninsula toward Russia's Komandorski Islands and Kamchatka Peninsula. Most of them are always associated with North America, except for the westernmost Near Islands group, which is on Asia's continental shelf beyond the North Aleutians Basin and on rare occasions could be associated with Asia, which could then allow the United States to be considered a transcontinental state. The Aleutian Islands are sometimes associated with Oceania, owing to their status as remote Pacific islands, and their proximity to the Pacific Plate. This is extremely rare however, due to their non-tropical biogeography, as well as their inhabitants, who have historically been related to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea belongs to the US state of Alaska and may be associated with either continent but is almost always considered part of North America, as with the Rat Islands in the Aleutian chain. At their nearest points, Alaska and Russia are separated by only . Ongoing definition. Geographical Asia is a cultural artifact of European conceptions of the world, beginning with the Ancient Greeks, being imposed onto other cultures, an imprecise concept causing endemic contention about what it means. Asia does not exactly correspond to the cultural borders of its various types of constituents. From the time of Herodotus, a minority of geographers have rejected the three-continent system (Europe, Africa, Asia) on the grounds that there is no substantial physical separation between them. For example, Sir Barry Cunliffe, the emeritus professor of European archeology at Oxford, argues that Europe has been geographically and culturally merely "the western excrescence of the continent of Asia".
Geographically, Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of Eurasia with Europe being a northwestern peninsula of the landmass. Asia, Europe and Africa make up a single continuous landmass—Afro-Eurasia—and share a common continental shelf. Almost all of Europe and a major part of Asia sit atop the Eurasian Plate, adjoined on the south by the Arabian and Indian Plate and with the easternmost part of Siberia (east of the Chersky Range) on the North American Plate. History. Ancient era. The history of Asia can be seen as the distinct histories of several peripheral coastal regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. The coastal periphery was home to some of the world's earliest known civilisations, each of them developing around fertile river valleys. The civilisations in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and the Yellow River shared many similarities. These civilisations may well have exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other innovations, such as writing, seem to have been developed individually in each area. Cities, states and empires developed in these lowlands.
The central steppe region had long been inhabited by horse-mounted nomads who could reach all areas of Asia from the steppes. The earliest postulated expansion out of the steppe is that of the Indo-Europeans, who spread their languages into West Asia, South Asia, and the borders of China, where the Tocharians resided. The northernmost part of Asia, including much of Siberia, was largely inaccessible to the steppe nomads, owing to the dense forests, climate and tundra. These areas remained very sparsely populated. The center and the peripheries were mostly kept separated by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus and Himalaya mountains and the Karakum and Gobi deserts formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could cross only with difficulty. While the urban city dwellers were more advanced technologically and socially, in many cases they could do little in a military aspect to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large equestrian force; for this and other reasons, the nomads who conquered states in China, India, and the Middle East often found themselves adapting to the local, more affluent societies.
Medieval era. The Islamic Caliphate's defeats of the Byzantine and Persian empires led to West Asia and southern parts of Central Asia and western parts of South Asia under its control during its conquests of the 7th century; Islam also spread over centuries to the southern regions of India and Southeast Asia through trade along the Maritime Silk Road. The Mongol Empire conquered a large part of Asia in the 13th century, an area extending from China to Europe. Before the Mongol invasion, Song dynasty reportedly had approximately 120 million citizens; the 1300 census which followed the invasion reported roughly 60 million people. The Black Death, one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, is thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road. Modern era. European involvement in Asia became more significant from the Age of Discovery onward, with Iberian-sponsored sailors such as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama paving the way for new routes from Atlantic Europe to Pacific Asia and the Indian Ocean respectively in the late 15th century. The Russian Empire also began to expand into northwestern Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century.
Among non-European empires, the Ottoman Empire controlled Anatolia, most of the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the mid 16th century onward, while in the 17th century, the Manchu conquered China and established the Qing dynasty. The Islamic Mughal Empire (preceded by the Delhi Sultanate of the 13th to early 16th century) and the Hindu Maratha Empire controlled much of India in the 16th and 18th centuries respectively. Western imperialism in Asia from the 18th to 20th centuries coincided with the Industrial Revolution in the West and the dethroning of India and China as the world's foremost economies. The British Empire first became dominant in South Asia, with most of the region being conquered by British traders in the late 18th and early 19th centuries before falling under direct British rule after a failed 1857 revolt; the 1869 completion of the Suez Canal, which increased British access to India, went on to further European influence over Africa and Asia. Around this time, Western powers started to dominate China in what later became known as the century of humiliation, with the British-supported opium trade and later Opium Wars resulting in China being forced into an unprecedented situation of importing more than it exported.
Foreign domination of China was furthered by the Japanese colonial empire, which controlled some of East Asia and briefly much of Southeast Asia (which had earlier been taken over by the British, Dutch and French in the late 19th century), New Guinea and the Pacific islands; Japan's domination was enabled by its rapid rise that had taken place during the Meiji era of the late 19th century, in which it applied industrial knowledge learned from the West and thus overtook the rest of Asia. One significant influence on Japan had been the United States, which had begun projecting influence across the Pacific after its early-to-mid-19th century westward expansion. The breakup of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century led to the Middle East also being contested and partitioned by the British and French. Contemporary era. With the end of World War II in 1945 and the wartime ruination of Europe and imperial Japan, many countries in Asia were able to rapidly free themselves of colonial rule. The independence of India came along with the carving out of a separate nation for the majority of South Asian Muslims, which in 1971 further split into Pakistan and Bangladesh; The Cold War in Asia strained relations between India and Pakistan and affected Asia more generally. The end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union by 1991 saw the independence of the five modern Central Asian countries.
Some Arab countries took economic advantage of massive oil deposits that were discovered in their territory, becoming globally influential, though stability in the Middle East has been affected since 1948 by the Arab–Israeli conflict and American-led interventions. East Asian nations (along with Singapore in Southeast Asia) became economically prosperous with high-growth "tiger economies"; China, having undergone market-driven reforms under Deng Xiaoping, regained its place among the top two economies of the world by the 21st century. India has also grown significantly because of economic liberalisation that started in the 1990s, with extreme poverty now below 20%; India and China's rise has coincided with growing tensions between the two, with the Indo-Pacific now an actively contested area between China and counterbalancing forces. Geography. Asia is the largest continent on Earth. It covers 9% of the Earth's total surface area (or 30% of its land area), and has the longest coastline, at . Asia is generally defined as comprising the eastern four-fifths of Eurasia. It is located to the east of the Suez Canal and the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains (or the Kuma–Manych Depression) and the Caspian and Black Seas. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. Asia is subdivided into 49 countries, five of them (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkey) are transcontinental countries lying partly in Europe. Geographically, Russia is partly in Asia, but is considered a European nation, both culturally and politically.
The Gobi Desert is in Mongolia and the Arabian Desert stretches across much of the Middle East. The Yangtze in China is the longest river in the continent. The Himalayas between Nepal and China is the tallest mountain range in the world. Tropical rainforests stretch across much of southern Asia and coniferous and deciduous forests lie farther north. Main regions. There are various approaches to the regional division of Asia. The following subdivision into regions is used, among others, by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). This division of Asia into regions by the United Nations is done solely for statistical reasons and does not imply any assumption about political or other affiliations of countries and territories. Climate. Asia has extremely diverse climate features. Climates range from Arctic and subarctic in Siberia to tropical in southern India and Southeast Asia. It is moist across southeast sections, and dry across much of the interior. Some of the largest daily temperature ranges on Earth occur in western sections of Asia. The monsoon circulation dominates across southern and eastern sections, due to the presence of the Himalayas forcing the formation of a thermal low which draws in moisture during the summer. Southwestern sections of the continent are hot. Siberia is one of the coldest places in the Northern Hemisphere, and can act as a source of arctic air masses for North America. The most active place on Earth for tropical cyclone activity lies northeast of the Philippines and south of Japan.
Politics. The most democratic countries in Asia are Japan, Taiwan and Israel according to the V-Dem Democracy indices in 2024. List of states and territories. Within the above-mentioned states are several partially recognized countries with limited to no international recognition. None of them are members of the UN, however Palestine has observer state status: Economy. Asia has the largest continental economy in the world by both GDP nominal and PPP values, and is the fastest growing economic region. , China is by far the largest economy on the continent, making up nearly half of the continent's economy by GDP nominal. It is followed by Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which are all ranked among the top 20 largest economies both by nominal and PPP values. Based on Global Office Locations 2011, Asia dominated the office locations with 4 of the top 5 being in Asia: Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul. Around 68% of international firms have an office in Hong Kong. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the economy of China had an average annual growth rate of more than 8%. According to economic historian Angus Maddison, India had the world's largest economy for much of the past three millennia prior to the 19th century, accounting for 25% of the world's industrial output. China was the largest and most advanced economy on earth for much of recorded history and shared the mantle with India. For several decades in the late twentieth century Japan was the largest economy in Asia and second-largest of any single nation in the world, after surpassing the Soviet Union (measured in net material product) in 1990 and Germany in 1968. (NB: A number of supernational economies are larger, such as the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or APEC). This ended in 2010 when China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest economy. It is forecasted that India will overtake Japan in terms of nominal GDP by 2027.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japan's GDP by currency exchange rates was almost as large as that of the rest of Asia combined. In 1995, Japan's economy nearly equaled that of the US as the largest economy in the world for a day, after the Japanese currency reached a record high of 79 yen/US$. Economic growth in Asia since World War II to the 1990s had been concentrated in Japan as well as the four regions of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore located in the Pacific Rim, known as the Four Asian Tigers, which are now all considered developed economies, having among the highest GDP per capita in Asia. Asia is the largest continent in the world by a considerable margin, and it is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, forests, fish, water, rice, copper and silver. Manufacturing in Asia has traditionally been strongest in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, and Singapore. Japan and South Korea continue to dominate in the area of multinational corporations, but increasingly the PRC and India are making significant inroads. Many companies from Europe, North America, South Korea and Japan have operations in Asia's developing countries to take advantage of its abundant supply of cheap labour and relatively developed infrastructure.
According to Citigroup in 2011, 9 of 11 Global Growth Generators countries came from Asia driven by population and income growth. They are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Asia has three main financial centers: Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Call centers and business process outsourcing (BPOs) are becoming major employers in India and the Philippines due to the availability of a large pool of highly skilled, English-speaking workers. The increased use of outsourcing has assisted the rise of India and the China as financial centers. Due to its large and extremely competitive information technology industry, India has become a major hub for outsourcing. Trade between Asian countries and countries on other continents is largely carried out on the sea routes that are important for Asia. Individual main routes have emerged from this. The main route leads from the Chinese coast south via Hanoi to Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through the Strait of Malacca via the Sri Lankan Colombo to the southern tip of India via Malé to East Africa Mombasa (see also: Indo-Pacific), from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea over the Suez Canal into Mediterranean (see also: Indo-Mediterranean), there via Haifa, Istanbul and Athens to the upper Adriatic to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe or further to Barcelona and around Spain and France to the European northern ports. A far smaller part of the goods traffic runs via South Africa to Europe. A particularly significant part of the Asian goods traffic is carried out on the Pacific Rim, toward Los Angeles and Long Beach. The melting of the Arctic is also paving the way for new shipping routes from Northeast Asia to Europe and North America. The land route to Europe are the subject of construction projects, comparatively smaller in scope. smaller in terms of scope. Intra-Asian trade, including sea trade, is growing rapidly.
In 2010, Asia had 3.3 million millionaires (people with net worth over US$1 million excluding their homes), slightly below North America with 3.4 million millionaires. In 2011, Asia topped Europe in number of millionaires. Citigroup in The Wealth Report 2012 stated that the total wealth of people in Asia with over $100 million in assets exceeded that of their North American counterparts for the first time, as the world's "economic center of gravity" continued moving east. At the end of 2011, there were 18,000 Asian people mainly in Southeast Asia, China and Japan who have at least $100 million in disposable assets, while North America with 17,000 people and Western Europe with 14,000 people. Tourism. With growing Regional Tourism with domination of Chinese visitors, MasterCard has released Global Destination Cities Index 2013 with 10 of 20 are dominated by Asia and Pacific Region Cities and also for the first time a city of a country from Asia (Bangkok) set in the top-ranked with 15.98 million international visitors.
Demographics. East Asia had by far the strongest overall Human Development Index (HDI) improvement of any region in the world, nearly doubling average HDI attainment over the past 40 years, according to the report's analysis of health, education and income data. China, the second highest achiever in the world in terms of HDI improvement since 1970, is the only country on the "Top 10 Movers" list due to income rather than health or education achievements. Its per capita income increased a stunning 21-fold over the last four decades, also lifting hundreds of millions out of income poverty. Yet it was not among the region's top performers in improving school enrollment and life expectancy.Nepal, a South Asian country, emerges as one of the world's fastest movers since 1970 mainly due to health and education achievements. Its present life expectancy is 25 years longer than in the 1970s. More than four of every five children of school age in Nepal now attend primary school, compared to just one in five 40 years ago. Hong Kong ranked highest among the countries grouped on the HDI (number 7 in the world, which is in the "very high human development" category), followed by Singapore (9), Japan (19) and South Korea (22). Afghanistan (155) ranked lowest amongst Asian countries out of the 169 countries assessed.
Languages. Asia is home to several language families and many language isolates. Most Asian countries have more than one language that is natively spoken. For instance, according to Ethnologue, more than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia, more than 400 languages spoken in India, and more than 100 are spoken in the Philippines. China has many languages and dialects in different provinces. Religions. Many of the world's major religions have their origins in Asia, including the five most practiced in the world (excluding irreligion), which are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion (classified as Confucianism and Taoism), and Buddhism. Asian mythology is complex and diverse. The story of the Great Flood for example, as presented to Jews in the Hebrew Bible in the narrative of Noah—and later to Christians in the Old Testament, and to Muslims in the Quran—is earliest found in Mesopotamian mythology, in the Enûma Eliš and "Epic of Gilgamesh". Hindu mythology similarly tells about an avatar of Vishnu in the form of a fish who warned Manu of a terrible flood. Ancient Chinese mythology also tells of a Great Flood spanning generations, one that required the combined efforts of emperors and divinities to control.
Abrahamic. The Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Druze faith, and Baháʼí Faith originated in West Asia. Judaism, the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths, is practiced primarily in Israel, the indigenous homeland and historical birthplace of the Hebrew nation: which today consists both of those Jews who remained in the Middle East and those who returned from diaspora in Europe, North America, and other regions; though various diaspora communities persist worldwide. Jews are the predominant ethnic group in Israel (75.6%) numbering at about 6.1 million, although the levels of adherence to Jewish religion vary. Outside of Israel there are small ancient Jewish communities in Turkey (17,400), Azerbaijan (9,100), Iran (8,756), India (5,000) and Uzbekistan (4,000), among many other places. As of 2016, there are am estimated 14.4–17.5 million (2016, est.) Jews alive in the world today, making them one of the smallest Asian minorities, at roughly 0.3–0.4& of the total population of the continent.
Christianity is a widespread religion in Asia, with more than 286 million adherents in 2010 according to Pew Research Center, and nearly 364 million according to Britannica Book of the Year 2014. Christians constitute around 12.6% of the total population of Asia. In the Philippines and Timor-Leste, Catholicism is the predominant religion; it was introduced by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, respectively. In Armenia and Georgia, Eastern Orthodoxy is the predominant religion. In the Middle East, such as in the Levant, Anatolia and Fars, Syriac Christianity (Church of the East) and Oriental Orthodoxy are prevalent minority denominations, which are both Eastern Christian sects mainly adhered to Assyrian people or Syriac Christians. Vibrant indigenous minorities in West Asia are adhering to the Eastern Catholic Churches and Eastern Orthodoxy. Saint Thomas Christians in India trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Significant Christian communities also found in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Islam, which originated in the Hejaz located in modern-day Saudi Arabia, is the second largest and most widely-spread religion in Asia with at least 1 billion Muslims constituting around 23.8% of the total population of Asia. With 12.7% of the world Muslim population, the country currently with the largest Muslim population in the world is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan (11.5%), India (10%), Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey. Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are the three holiest cities for Islam in all the world. The Hajj and Umrah attract large numbers of Muslim devotees from all over the world to Mecca and Medina. Iran is the largest Shia country. The Druze originated in West Asia, is a monotheistic religion based on the teachings of figures like Hamza ibn Ali and al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. The number of Druze people worldwide is around one million. Around 45–50% live in Syria, 35% to 40% live in Lebanon, and less than 10% live in Israel. Recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.
The Baháʼí Faith originated in Asia, in Iran (Persia), and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, India, and Burma during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh. Since the middle of the 20th century, growth has particularly occurred in other Asian countries, because Baháʼí activities in many Muslim countries has been severely suppressed by authorities. Lotus Temple is a big Baháʼí temple in India. Indian and East Asian religions. Almost all Asian religions have philosophical character and Asian philosophical traditions cover a large spectrum of philosophical thoughts and writings. Indian philosophy includes Hindu philosophy and Buddhist philosophy. They include elements of nonmaterial pursuits, whereas another school of thought from India, Cārvāka, preached the enjoyment of the material world. The religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India, South Asia. In East Asia, particularly in China and Japan, Confucianism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism took shape. , Hinduism has around 1.1 billion adherents. The faith represents around 25% of Asia's population and is the largest religion in Asia. However, it is mostly concentrated in South Asia. Over 80% of the populations of both India and Nepal adhere to Hinduism, alongside significant communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bali, Indonesia. Many overseas Indians in countries such as Burma, Singapore and Malaysia also adhere to Hinduism.
Buddhism has a great following in mainland Southeast Asia and East Asia. Buddhism is the religion of the majority of the populations of Cambodia (96%), Thailand (95%), Burma (80–89%), Japan (36–96%), Bhutan (75–84%), Sri Lanka (70%), Laos (60–67%) and Mongolia (53–93%). Taiwan (35–93%), South Korea (23–50%), Malaysia (19–21%), Nepal (9–11%), Vietnam (10–75%), China (20–50%), North Korea (2–14%), and small communities in India and Bangladesh. The Communist-governed countries of China, Vietnam and North Korea are officially atheist, thus the number of Buddhists and other religious adherents may be under-reported. Jainism is found mainly in India and in overseas Indian communities such as the United States and Malaysia. Sikhism is found in Northern India and amongst overseas Indian communities in other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia. Confucianism is found predominantly in mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and in overseas Chinese populations. Taoism is found mainly in mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. In many Chinese communities, Taoism is easily syncretised with Mahayana Buddhism, thus exact religious statistics are difficult to obtain and may be understated or overstated.
Culture. The culture of Asia is a diverse blend of customs and traditions that have been practiced by the various ethnic groups of the continent for centuries. The continent is divided into six geographic sub-regions: Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Asia. These regions are defined by their cultural similarities, including common religions, languages, and ethnicities. West Asia, also known as Southwest Asia or the Middle East, has cultural roots in the ancient civilisations of the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia, which gave rise to the Persian, Arab, Ottoman empires, as well as the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. These civilisations, which are located in the Hilly flanks, are among the oldest in the world, with evidence of farming dating back to around 9000 BCE. Despite the challenges posed by the vast size of the continent and the presence of natural barriers such as deserts and mountain ranges, trade and commerce have helped to create a Pan-Asian culture that is shared across the region.
Nobel laureates. Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali dramatist and author from Santiniketan (now in West Bengal, India), won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, becoming the first Asian Nobel laureate. The prize was awarded for Tagore's prose works and poetry, which had a significant additional impact on national literatures throughout the Western world. Tagore also authored both the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems. Other Asian writers who won Nobel Prize for literature include Yasunari Kawabata (Japan, 1968), Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan, 1994), Gao Xingjian (China, 2000), Orhan Pamuk (Turkey, 2006), and Mo Yan (China, 2012). Some may consider the American writer, Pearl S. Buck, an honorary Asian Nobel laureate, having spent considerable time in China as the daughter of missionaries, and based many of her novels, namely "The Good Earth" (1931) and "The Mother" (1933), as well as the biographies of her parents for their time in China, "The Exile" and "Fighting Angel", all of which earned her the Literature prize in 1938.
Mother Teresa of India and Shirin Ebadi of Iran were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially for the rights of women and children. Ebadi is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize. Another Nobel Peace Prize winner is Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma for her peaceful and non-violent struggle under a military dictatorship in Burma. She is a nonviolent pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar) and a noted prisoner of conscience. She is a Buddhist and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China" on 8 October 2010. He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China. In 2014, Kailash Satyarthi from India and Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education".
C.V. Raman is the first Asian to get a Nobel prize in Sciences. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect named after him". Japan has won the most Nobel Prizes of any Asian nation with 24 followed by India which has won 13. Amartya Sen () is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members. Other Asian Nobel Prize winners include Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Abdus Salam, Robert Aumann, Menachem Begin, Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Daniel Kahneman, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Ada Yonath, Yasser Arafat, José Ramos-Horta and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Timor Leste, Kim Dae-jung, and 13 Japanese scientists. Most of the said awardees are from Japan and Israel except for Chandrasekhar and Raman (India), Abdus Salam (Pakistan), Arafat (Palestinian Territories), Kim (South Korea), and Horta and Belo (Timor Leste).
In 2006, the Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus of was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of Grameen Bank, a community development bank that lends money to poor people, especially women. He is known for the concept of micro credit which, allows poor and destitute people to borrow money. The borrowers pay back money within the specified period and defaulting is very low. Yunus also became the leader of an interim government after the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement. The Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize, in Oslo, Norway in 1989.
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 and northwest of Curaçao. In 1986, Aruba became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and acquired the formal name the Country of Aruba. Aruba has an area of . Aruba measures in length from its northwestern to its southeastern end and is across at its widest point. Aruba is geologically located in South-America, lying on the South-American continental shelf. Alongside Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. The Dutch Caribbean encompasses the ABC islands along with the other three substantial islands, the SSS islands. In contrast to much of the Caribbean, which experiences humid tropical climates, Aruba has a dry climate with an arid xeric landscape. The relatively warm and sunny weather persists throughout the year. With a population of 108,027 (excluding undocumented immigrants), Aruba is home to about one-third of the total population of the Dutch Caribbean. As one of the four countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, alongside the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, Aruba shares Dutch nationality with its citizens. Aruba lacks administrative subdivisions but is divided into eight regions for census purposes with Oranjestad as its capital.
Etymology. The name Aruba most likely came from the Caquetío "Oruba" which means "well situated island", seeing as it was the Caquetío who were present on the island when Alonso de Ojeda arrived in the 16th century. Between 1529 and the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the name "Isla de Oruba" was used for the island by the Spanish. The island was ceded to the Dutch, and gradually its name was changed to Aruba. There were many different names for Aruba used by other Amerindian groups, all of which could have contributed to the present-day name Aruba. Another Caquetío name for the island was "Oibubia" which means "Guided island". The Taino name for the island was "Arubeira". The Kalinago also had two names for the island "Ora Oubao" which means "Shell island" and "Oirubae" which means "Companion of Curaçao". A common misconception is that the name "Aruba" came from "Oro hubo," (Spanish for "There was gold once"). However, the Spanish declared these islands "islas inútiles", meaning "useless islands", due to their apparent lack of mineral wealth. It was not until 1824 that gold was discovered on Aruba by a 12-year-old herder named Willem Rasmijn, leading to the Aruban Gold Rush.
History. Pre-ceramic age. In Aruba's prehistoric era, there were distinct periods: the Archaic or Pre-Ceramic and the Neo-Indian or Ceramic (Dabajuroïd)  period. The Archaic occupation of Aruba continued well into the first millennium AD, which is relatively late in compared to other parts of the insular Caribbean. The archaic lifestyle revolved around a food economy based on fishing, hunting, and gathering, with a strong emphasis on marine resources. Ceramics were absent, as was horticulture and agriculture. Weapons and tools were predominantly crafted from stone. Sharp-edged ax blades, chisels, and knives were commonly used, with the knives distinguishable by their elongated shape and flat blades. One notable site, Sero Muskita, yielded a tool that is older than other archaic age sites on the island. The finishing techniques and shape of this tool resembles one found at Arikok, suggesting a date before approximately 2000 BC. The presence of these tools on the island may be from occasional visits from the mainland. In total, 33 archaic age sites have been identified on Aruba.
Early human migration and cultural exchange. During this period, the Leeward Islands maintained connections and engaged in trade with mainland South America, particularly with partners in the present-day Falcón-Zulia state in Venezuela and possibly the La Guajira Peninsula (Venezuela/Colombia). The specific language group to which they belonged remains uncertain. This theory is supported by the discovery of 60 to 70 Amerindian cemetery burial grounds in Malmok and Canashito. Burial sites at Canashito are dated between 100 BC to 100 AD. isotopic research revealed that one of the individuals buried there was not from Aruba and had a different diet compared to the other four individuals of Aruban origin. This finding suggests that early human migration and cultural exchange were already part of the cultural pattern of these archaic Indians at an early stage. The burial site in Malmok dates to between 450 and 1000 AD. The Arubans of that time had a short and stocky physique, with adult men averaging in height and women averaging . The burial customs offer insight into the social dynamics of the archaic island inhabitants. Based on the burial patterns, it was deduced that they traveled in clans of 15 to 30 people. These groups were led by an adult man who was buried at the center of the cluster. His elevated status was emphasized by the presence of several stones marking his grave. The rest of the family group was buried around him.
Neo-Indian period: the Caquetío. The archaic population disappeared from Aruba from the archeological record around 950 AD, shortly after the arrival of the neo-Indian—Caquetío. It is clear that the Caquetíos had a superior culture in socio-economic and technological terms. It is possible that the Caquetío lived alongside the archaic Indians for a time and that they were ultimately displaced or assimilated. The Caquetío belonged to the Arawak people. The origin of Arawak civilization (a name based on a linguistic classification) is located in the central Amazon region. Between 1500 and 500 BC, the influence of the Arawaks had expanded to the Caribbean Basin and the Guianas. Between 850 and 1000 AD, Caquetío Indians migrated from western Venezuela, probably from the Paraguaná and Guajire peninsulas, to the Leeward Antilles. They belonged to the Arawak-Maipure language family. The name Caquetío refers to how this group referred to themselves during their first contact with Europeans. They had longer and narrower skulls than the archaic population, and their height was up to . The newcomers brought pottery and agriculture to the islands and are therefore classified as part of the neo-Indian period.
Caquetío chiefdom. The area over which the legendary cacique Manaure exercised his authority was the coastal region of the current state Falcón-Zulia at Venezuela, including the Paraguaná Peninsula, as well as Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The Caquetío people had a highly developed process of state formation. They had a chiefdom, which in human evolution is often a precursor to a kingdom, where central leaders—"paramount chiefs"—controlled multiple subordinate political-administrative units. The emphasis was more on the political and religious alliances between indigenous communities than on the military control or subjugate vast territories. At the head of the Caquetío chiefdom was a spiritual leader called "diao" who had both secular and religious authority in modern terms. He was endowed with powers that could influence nature: a shaman. The diao position was hereditary. By being allowed to marry multiple wives, the diao was able to establish and maintain political alliances with other groups, tribes, or villages. The chiefdom was centralized in its design, but not based on authoritarian or violence-based subjugation. The Spanish conquistadors interrupted this process of expansion at the time of the European contact (AD 1499–1535).
Political units and governance. The Caquetío territory consisted of several small political units that were under the authority of lower "second-tier chiefs" who were subordinate to the highest authority. How the central authority was exercised over the units is not clear. However, there are reports from the contact period that suggest the diao did not exert his power over the lower units in arbitrary manner. Likely there was a form of consultation between the diao and lower leaders. In the 16th century, two sub-units, the Guaranos and Amuayes, lived on the Paraguaná Peninsula. Aruba, which is less than 30 kilometers away from Paraguaná, was previously connected to one of these units. After the diao and the regional sub-units, such as the mentioned Guaranaos an Amuayes in Paraguaná, the village formed the third level of governance in the hierarchy of the chiefdom. Aruba had (not simultaneously) five villages: three larger ones Ceri Noca (Santa Cruz), Tanki Flip (Noord), and Savaneta, and two smaller ones near Tanki Leendert and Parkietenbos, which have not yet been systematically studied. The location of Aruban villages varied. They were situated in places where beneficial agriculture land was available and where the most favorable hydrological conditions prevailed, such as where several "rooi" (gullies) came together and where relatively much water was available.
Agriculture, trade, and network. The Caquetío people probably used a shifting cultivation farming method, also known as slash-and-burn. The yields from agriculture and fishing were supplemented by engaging in trade of raw materials and artifacts that were not locally available or producible. Sixteenth century sources indicate that the Caquetíos traded in, among other things, salt, canoes, tobacco, and beads. The Leeward Caquetíos certainly did not live in isolation but formed outlying regions of a dynamic chiefdom with regional trading networks. Burial practices. In 1882 French explorer Alphonse L. Pinart documented an account provided by an old Aruba Indian. According to the Indian's account, witnessed at the former Indian encampment at "Saboneta" (Savaneta), a native female was inhumed in one of the large conical ollas. Her body was doubled up inside the vase, with the head protruding through the orifice. Subsequently, a smaller urn was placed upside down on the head, and the entire burial was covered with earth.
The Caquetío people were buried in clusters, both within and potentially outside village boundaries. At times, there was a secondary burial, possibly reserved for exceptional individuals. In the primary burial, the deceased were buried in a large pot, covered with a smaller pot placed on top. In a secondary burial, the body was initially buried without a pot, and after a few months or years, the bones were exhumed and reburied in smaller pots for a second time. Some pots contained grave offerings such as axes, shells, and pottery. The secondary burial method was practiced until recently in South America. The striking similarity between the Neo-Indian burial practices in Aruba and the post-Columbian variant in Guajira justifies the assumption that the similar beliefs about life after death existed in both societies. Last indigenous Aruban. Nicolaas Pyclas was regarded as the last known indigenous Aruban. Pyclas spoke and understood the extinct language of the original inhabitants of Aruba, adhering to their way of life and customs. He resided in a hut in Savaneta. His diet included sea snails, such as "cocolishi" ("Cerun uva") and "carco" ("Aliger gigas"), as well as wild herbs. Pyclas rejected any involvement in religious practices. Around 1840, he was found dead hanging from a tree branch not far from his hut. Estimated to be approximately 50 years old, he was buried in situ and was not properly buried due to the hard rocky surface, he was only covered with a layer of earth and stones. Pyclas' skull was gifted to the former "Rijks Ethnographisch Museum", presently National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, with the mediation of A.J. van Koolwijk.
Spanish period. Early explorations. It is known that Christopher Columbus was not searching for a new continent but for the shortest route to India. India had been the spearhead of European trade expansion and the foreign policy of the Spanish Crown since the travels of Marco Polo a century earlier. India, China, and Japan formed the focal point of medieval ideas about boundless riches, cities with houses covered in gold, and islands with inexhaustible amounts of spices, pearls, and silk. The suspicion arose that India could be reached via the relatively short route to the west, across the ocean of Atlantis. During his third voyage to the New World, Columbus was searching for the southern route to India and explored the Paria Peninsula (eastern Venezuela) and the Orinoco region, where he discovered the fresh river water of the Orinoco Delta. The suspicion arose that he had not found islands off the coast of India but a much more extensive land mass; an extension of Asia. Columbus did not realize that this was an unknown continent. Characteristic of his Christian medieval perspective, Columbus solved the puzzle by assuming that he had discovered the earthly paradise. The earthly paradise was inaccessible to humans without God's permission. Columbus experienced the geographical discovery of the New World in Christian terms and assigned himself a special role assigned by a divine power. With the discovery of the Americas the myths of the Golden Age, Atlantis, and the earthly paradise moved from Asia to the New World. He died on May 20, 1506, believing that he had found new islands of the coast of or possibly a peninsula of India—pre-islands: "Ant-ilha." These Ant-ilhas were inhabited by peoples whom he called "Indians".
In 1500, Juan de la Cosa drew the first map of the New World, which depicted the two Leeward Antilles known at the time. This was followed by the more accurate Cantino map, created anonymously in 1502, which also showed an extensive landmass and mentioned the "Isla do gigante" (Island of Giants) and "Isla" "do brasil" (Island of Brasil)"." The location of the Isla do gigante southwest of the Isla do brasil suggest that it refers to Bonaire and Curaçao since Aruba is located more to the northwest. In 1493, the year in which the West Indian islands became known in Europe, the division between the secular (civil) and religious authorities in the New World had to be arranged. The newly appointed Spanish Pope Alexander VI issued the "Inter Caetera" bull, granting the Spanish Crown sovereignty over the newly discovered territories and the responsibility of the holy task: "to send good, God-fearing men, who are earned and capable, to those islands and continents to teach the natives living there about the Catholic faith and instill in them good habits". In exchange for the papal approval of the treaty, Spain promised to vigorously carry out missionary work in the discovered territories. This gave Spain the right to evangelize the Americas and appoint and dismiss priests, blurring the separation between church and state in the region. In other words, the Spanish Crown was granted significant religious authority in the Americas, which was not strictly separate from the state and weakened the distinction between the religious and secular spheres—a key aspect of separation between church and state.
Conquistadors. "Conquistadors" were fascinated by legends of inexhaustible gold reserves of El Dorado. The conquest was characterized by bloodshed, destruction, and forced assimilation of the native peoples into European society, such as the initiation of Indian slavery by Columbus in 1492. Europeans had an advantage because they had superior weapons, such as firearms, steel swords, armor, ships, horses, and targeted military strategies. While expedition leaders mostly came from the higher echelons of late medieval society, their foot soldiers were usually from the lower middle class of southern Europe. These soldiers formed the basis of the future group of "encomenderos." The encomienda system granted Spanish colonizers right by the Spanish Crown to extract tribute and labor from indigenous peoples. For example, indigenous communities had to give up a portion of the yields from their agricultural or farm land, known as "conucos" in Taino, as a form of taxation and to provide for the food supply of the colonists. The defeated were often kidnapped and forced to participate in expeditions elsewhere in the New World as slave laborers.
The Caquetío population of the Leeward Antilles was incorporated into the Spanish colonial empire . On June 8 and 10, 1501, Alonso De Ojeda acquired the exclusive right to exploit the current Venezuelan coastal area, known as Coquivacoa, and the islands of the coast Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire, and probably also the Mongues and Aves Islands. De Ojeda had to form an administration as far west as possible on the "Tierra Firme" to secure the Spanish presence. It is believed that de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci visited Bonaire and Curaçao, but neither Vespucci nor de Ojeda are thought to have set foot on Aruban soil. He was explicitly forbidden to enslave natives. However, de Ojeda lacked administrative skills and intentions, and he became a controversial figure. De Ojeda established a base named Santa Cruz at the tip of Guajira, from whence he conducted trade and, probably even more importantly, carried out his raids, including slave hunts. During his third voyage to the New World in 1502, de Ojeda visited Curaçao, but his attempt to exploit the region failed. Instead, Bartolomé de Las Casas documented de Ojeda's raids, slave hunts, and atrocities in the rural areas of present-day Cartagena in his book, . These raids were disastrous, even for the Spaniards, and marked the end of the first attempt to control the region.
Between 1513 and 1515, the Leeward Antilles, including Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire, were depopulated. Captain Diego Salazar led this effort, which affected an estimated 2,000 indigenous inhabitants from these islands, and likely more from Tierra Firme. Most of the Caquetío were taken to Hispaniola as forced laborers. Many of them likely died on the way or later in the gold mines by the Spanish colonizers or during the devastating smallpox epidemic of 1518. Later on, new Indians migrated from the mainland to Aruba, while Indians were brought to Curaçao by Juan de Ampiés. The indigenous population was under encomienda, which ended the autonomy of Caquetío community in the islands. Their relatives on the mainland did not fare any better. After an unsuccessful attempt by Bartolomé de Las Casas to convert the local population to Christianity, the coastal region of the mainland was leased to the banking firm of the Welsers in 1528. This led to the violent conquest of the Caquetío kingdom. Before 1634, Curaçao, along with its neighboring islands Bonaire and Aruba, were considered part of the province of Venezuela. They had been separated from Venezuela only during the period of the Welser grant.
The appropriation of the Caribbean region turned out to be a failure for the Spaniards. The exploitation of the West Indian islands proved unprofitable, and gold mining on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico declined. Spanish settlers moved elsewhere, and In 1569, the Spanish Crown banned settlement on the Caribbean islands by royal decree. This measure that did not apply to the leased islands of Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire. The colonization of the large Caribbean islands, such as Cuba, was encouraged while the small islands were abandoned. Most of the islands remained largely uncontrolled and undefended, making them a potential opportunity for northwestern European countries that wanted to break Spain's monopoly on colonizing the New World. England, France, the Netherlands, and Denmark explored the possibilities of piracy and trade on the Caribbean islands. On the continent, the great empires declined, but indigenous societies continued to exist and were exposed to a long process of miscegenation. In the Falcón-Zulia province, among other places, Caquetío societies survived on Tierra Firme, although their cultures and social structures were largely destroyed by the Spaniards. On the (former) Caquetío coastal islands of Aruba, Curaçao, and Trinidad, indigenous people lived well into the colonial period. The indigenous history of the Guajira peninsula extends to the present day. The Wayú are increasingly being recognized on the Leeward Antilles as possible contemporary ancestors or lost relatives from prehistoric times.
Spanish ranch. The conquistadors brought European cattle to Aruba. Over time, they also introduced goats, sheep, dogs, donkeys, cows, pigs, and possibly even cats. It is believed that rabbits, brought by the Dutch, later became wild on the island. Aruba essentially became a Spanish ranch, with cattle roaming freely in search of food. Despite more trees in the past, the overall vegetation was similar to today. The horses introduced were lighter than Dutch ones, and their hooves became so hard from roaming freely that they did not need horseshoes. To avoid stallions injuring each other during mating battles, horseshoes were impractical. After three weeks of service, particularly in the dry season, the horses were released to recover. Occasionally, a small group of Spaniards would disembark on the island, but typically Aruba was left to fend for itself. According to Dutch geographer Joannes De Laet, by 1630 there were few Indians and some Spaniards on Aruba. Early Dutch period. Dutch conquest: salt. The Dutch were compelled to venture into forbidden waters of the Caribbean, known as Spain's "mare clausum," because of their need for salt, in open defiance of Phillip II. Since the mid-15th century, the prosperous Dutch herring industry had been steadily expanding. The towns of Hoorn, Enkhuizen, and Medemblik were particularly active in the salt trade, thanks to their thriving fishing industries. Herring was a crucial commodity for Dutch commerce, requiring salt for preservation. Salt also played a vital role in the butter and cheese industry, as well as in preserving food during long voyages. The curing or pickling process for herring was well established during the Middle Ages. After catching the herring, the packers would remove the internal organs, mix them with salt to create a brine, and pack them in barrels along with additional salt. While Zeeland was not heavily involved in fishing, they were renowned for their salt whitening process, which was highly sought after throughout Europe.
Salt importation began in the 15th century when the Dutch discovered high-quality salt in Setúbal the Iberian coast. This sea salt was good for preserving herring because of its magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride content. However, the Eighty Years' War prompted Phillip II to halt this trade. With the salt supply cut off, the Dutch were forced to seek new trade routes. Their quest for salt led them to the West Indies. Seeking alternative sources, they turned their attention to Punta de Araya in Tierra Firme by the 17th century. The salt reserves in Punta de Araya were abundant and of high quality, surpassing that of the Iberian peninsula. Rather than being a rock salt deposit, it was a gem salt derived from the clay of the surrounding hills. However, following the Truce of twelve years, the Dutch discovered that the Spaniards had fortified the saltpans, forcing them to give up their stake in Araya salt. After hostilities resumed, the Dutch established the West India Company (WIC) with the main objective of engaging in strategic military actions and privateering organization against Spain. This was the or reason for the existence of the WIC. Their secondary objective was focused on commerce and colonization, a choice that ultimately led to the downfall of the WIC in 1674. The WIC also gathered information on Spanish treasure fleets. In 1623, the first official fleet of the new WIC, a small squadron of only three ships commanded by Pieter Schouten, set sail for the Caribbean to engage in looting and plundering in the Lesser Antilles and the Yucátan peninsula. It was during this voyage that the Dutch first encountered Aruba.
Around 1628 or 1629, the Dutch started obtaining salt regularly on Tortuga. Governor Francisco Núñez Melián of Venezuela destroyed the saltpans and took some Dutch prisoners, forced them to cut Brazilwood in Curaçao. One of these Dutchmen, Jan Janszoon Otzen, carefully assessed the island's excellent harbor and profitable saltpans, which he later communicated to the WIC. Recognizing their struggle for salt, the Dutch realized the need to establish a base in these waters to secure Curaçao. WIC agent Johannes van Walbeeck was appointed as the expedition's commander and future Governor of Curaçao, Bonaire, and Aruba. Curaçao was captured and acquired by the WIC in June 1634, primarily by their desire to obtain salt. In Van Walbeeck's report of 1634, Aruba is mentioned only in relation to Curaçao, where he refers to Bonaire and Aruba collectively as the "islands of Curaçao". By 1816, Aruba possessed seven salt pans, all of which yielded salt of subpar quality. The salt production was just sufficient to meet the local demand. Aruban laborers, often assisted by donkeys, were tasked with gathering the salt, which was subsequently distributed among the island's inhabitants. Around 1924, salt extraction at Rancho had limited benefits, primarily being used in the preservation of fish during shipping. Paardenbaai (Horses' Bay) contained salt pans up until 1949 when it was dredged and disappeared beneath the sand.
New Netherland. Between the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678, there were 30 years of crisis in the Dutch Antilles and the entire Caribbean region. By 1648, Curaçao had lost its importance as a military outpost. Governor Peter Stuyvesant had a plan to strengthen the connections between the islands and New Netherland. He believed that the two colonies could support each other: New Netherland would provide food in exchange for slaves from Curaçao, horses from Aruba, and salt from Bonaire. But Stuyvesant did not anticipate the rivalry between the two colonies, which prevented them from working together effectively. The Dutch in Curaçao preferred to sell their goods to other Caribbean islands where they could get a better price, rather than trading with their fellow countrymen in New Netherland. Additionally, the islands were involved in illegal trade with the Spanish mainland and did not want to switch to legal trade with New Netherland. Stuyvesant needed slaves to strengthen New Amsterdam's defenses, but he mostly received old or sick slaves, called "mancarrons", in response to his requests. The better slaves were sold elsewhere to the highest bidder. However, the people in New Netherland were not motivated by unselfish reasons or a strong sense of patriotism. They continued to trade with their French, English, and Swedish neighbors across the border. Only in extreme situations did their shared heritage become more important than making money. For example, when the islands faced famine due to a series of dry seasons, Stuyvesant came to the rescue by sending a ship with food just in time.
The troubled relationship between the Curaçao islands and New Netherland came to a sudden end in 1664. At that time, even though a war between England and the United Provinces had not been officially declared, an English fleet led by Richard Nicolls demanded that New Amsterdam surrender. While the Dutch briefly regained control of the colony in 1673, it was once again used as leverage in 1674 to show the English the dangers of their alliance with France. During the 17th century, the Dutch considered England their main adversary, as evidenced by the three wars they fought against the English. The Second Anglo-Dutch War and the subsequent peace treaty in 1667 marked a pivotal moment in Caribbean colonial possessions. Dutch supremacy waned, and the enforcement of English Navigation Acts left a lasting impact on regional trade. Nevertheless, the Caribbean islands eventually regained stability and prosperity, experiencing fewer changes in colonial holdings for centuries to come. Slavery. In the 16th century, Spaniards engaged in coercive labor practices, deporting Arawak Indians to Hispaniola in 1515. Colonists exerted control over Indians on the "useless islands", mirroring the hardships of these faced by subsequent African slaves, marked by a denial of freedom and forced labor. After 1775 the names of African slaves began appearing in records, with examples such as "Cecilia" and "Apolinar" tied to families like Silvester and Alvarez from Alto Vista near the coast.
The Dutch colonizer recognized red slavery, particularly of Indians captured in wars. In the Guyanas, Indians taken as prisoners in conflicts were traded, even following peace treaties. Though Indians on Aruba were not officially classified as slaves during the West India Company's rule, oral tradition in Aruba mentioned Amerindian slaves in the early 20th century. Father noted their presence in Curaçao as pseudo-slaves. In 1827, Commander Simon Plats found 51 Amerindians treated as pseudo-slaves by Aruban families. Some were brought by shipowners involved in the slave trade. Plats had masters sign a declaration recognizing the freedom of the Amerindians, ensuring proper upbringing, education, and accommodation. Contrary to common belief, Aruba had a history of slavery, challenging the notion that conditions were considerably better than in other Caribbean regions. Records are limited, with mentions primarily concerning Curaçao in 1750 and 1795. Aruba's circumstances surrounding slavery were comparatively less severe, leading to misconceptions that indigenous people were not enslaved. However, by 1862, 15 percent of Aruba's population were slaves, with 27 percent in Bonaire. A "Population Report" from 1820 indicates 331 slaves in Aruba—157 indigenous people and 174 of African descent. In 1840, the number increased to 497 slaves, with 269 being indigenous people and 228 of African descent. Approximately, half of Aruba's slaves were of indigenous origin, and the other half were of African descent. Although Dutch law generally prohibited the enslavement of indigenous people, the actual practice varied.
English interregnum and economic development. The British Empire took control of the island during the Napoleonic Wars holding it from 1806 to 1816, after which it was returned to Dutch authority in accordance with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814. Aruba was then integrated into the Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies, along with Bonaire. Throughout the 19th century, the island's economy evolved, centered around gold, phosphate (Aruba Phosphate Company), and the aloe vera industry (Royal Aruba Aloe), However, despite these economic activities, Aruba continued to be a relatively underdeveloped and economically disadvantaged region during this period. 20th and 21st centuries. The first oil refinery, Lago Oil and Transport Company, in San Nicolas was built in 1924 and a subsidiary of Standard Oil. The refinery on Aruba grew to become one of the largest in the world. In 1927, the Arend Petroleum Company was established to the west of Oranjestad. The refineries processed crude oil from the vast Venezuelan oil fields, bringing greater prosperity to the island.
During World War II, the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany. In 1940, the oil facilities in Aruba came under the administration of the Dutch government-in-exile in London, causing them to be attacked by the German navy in 1942. In August 1947, Aruba formulated its first "staatsreglement" (constitution) for Aruba's "status aparte" as an autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, prompted by the efforts of Henny Eman, a noted Aruban politician. By 1954, the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, providing a framework for relations between Aruba and the rest of the kingdom. That created the Netherlands Antilles, which united all of the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean into one administrative structure. Many Arubans were unhappy with the arrangement, however, as the policy was perceived as being dominated by Curaçao. In 1972, at a conference in Suriname, Aruban politician Betico Croes proposed the creation of a Dutch Commonwealth of four states: Aruba, the Netherlands, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles, each to have its own nationality. Backed by his newly created party, the Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo, Croes sought greater autonomy for Aruba, with the long-term goal of independence, adopting the trappings of an independent state in 1976 with the creation of a flag and national anthem. In March 1977, a referendum was held with the support of the United Nations. 82% of the participants voted for complete independence from the Netherlands. Tensions mounted as Croes stepped up the pressure on the Dutch government by organising a general strike in 1977. Croes later met with Dutch Prime Minister Joop den Uyl, with the two sides agreeing to assign the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague to prepare a study for independence, entitled "Aruba en Onafhankelijkheid, achtergronden, modaliteiten, en mogelijkheden; een rapport in eerste aanleg" (Aruba and independence, backgrounds, modalities, and opportunities; a preliminary report) (1978).
Autonomy. In March 1983 Aruba reached an official agreement within the kingdom for its independence, to be developed in a series of steps as the Crown granted increasing autonomy. In August 1985, Aruba drafted a constitution that was unanimously approved. On 1 January 1986, after the 1985 general election was held for its first parliament, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles, officially becoming a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with full independence planned for 1996. Croes was seriously injured in a traffic accident in 1985, slipping into a coma. He died in 1986, never seeing the enacting of "status aparte" for Aruba for which he had worked over many years. After his death, Croes was proclaimed "Libertador di Aruba". Croes' successor, Henny Eman of the Aruban People's Party became the first Prime Minister of Aruba. Meanwhile, in 1985, Aruba's oil refinery closed. It had provided Aruba with 30 percent of its real income and 50 percent of government revenue. The significant blow to the economy led to a push for a dramatic increase in tourism, and that sector has expanded to become the island's largest industry. At a convention in The Hague in 1990, at the request of Prime Minister Nelson Oduber, the governments of Aruba, the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Antilles postponed indefinitely Aruba's transition to full independence. The article scheduling Aruba's complete independence was rescinded in 1995, although it was decided that the process could be revived after another referendum.
Geography. Aruba is located 77 km (48 mi) west of Curaçao and 29 km (18 mi) north of Paraguaná Peninsula of Venezuela. Aruba showcases three distinct landscapes. The northwestern region is primarily characterized by flat batholith landscapes. Notable landmarks include the conical Hooiberg hill and rock formations like Ayo and Casibari. Moreover, the northeastern part of the island features the oldest formations known as the Aruba Lava Formation. This region is marked by rolling hills, including Jamanota, and is home to Arikok National Park, and limestone terraces surround these two landscapes. The low-lying limestone terrace regions are defined by their white sandy beaches and the high plateaus on the north side of the island, in contrast, are constantly battered by the rough waters of the ocean, featuring caves and small natural bridge formations. The arid landscape in Aruba is not solely a product of its climate but is also a consequence of extensive deforestation and exploitation during the Spanish colonization of the island. Consequently, certain crops, such as aloe vera, thrive in this environment due to the high calcium-rich soil known as liming. As of 2022, Aruba only has 2.3% of forest-covered land area and only 0.5% of protected natural area. The Aruba Conservation Foundation, established in 2003, oversees the management of the conservation of 16 established protected areas, which encompass a total of nearly 25% of the island's surface, as well as four Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) The Arikok National Park, established as formal conservation land in 2000, covers 20% of the island. Forest cover is around 2% of the total land area, equivalent to 420 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990. None of the forest was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity), and no forest area was found within protected areas.
The geography includes naturally formed "rooi" or gullies that channel rainwater towards dams and ultimately the ocean. Other than Arikok National Park, the Bubali Bird Sanctuary is the only significant body of water on the island that holds the status of protected nature reserve and serves as a brackish water lagoon. Regions. Aruba is divided into eight regions for census purposes, with no administrative function. Some correspond to parishes and include several community facilities. Flora and fauna. The landscape is characterized by common xeric scrublands featuring various cacti, thorny shrubs, and evergreen plants. Notably, aloe vera is also found on the island, and its economic significance has led to its inclusion on the coat of arms of Aruba. Cacti include "melocactus and" "opuntia", with "opuntia stricta" being prominent. Drought-tolerant trees like "Caesalpinia coriaria" and "Vachellia tortuosa" are present. The isolation from the South America mainland contributed to the evolution of multiple endemic species. The island provides a habitat for unique wildlife, including the endemic Aruban Whiptail, Aruba Rattlesnake, as well as subspecies of Aruban Burrowing Owl and Brown-throated Parakeet.
Climate and natural hazards. According to the Köppen climate classification, Aruba is characterized by a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen "BSh"), characterized by limited rainfall, totaling just annually. Notably, Aruba remains dry even during its supposed rainy season. Rainfall can be highly variable, ranging from as little as during strong El Niño years (e.g. 1911/1912, 1930/1931, 1982/1983, 1997/1998) to over in La Niña years, such as 1933/1934, 1970/1971 or 1988/1989. An exception to the general aridity is observed during the short rainy season from September to January. During this period, the southward retreat of the Intertropical Convergence Zone leads to more frequent moist northeasterly winds. Aruba is positioned south of the Main Development Region for tropical cyclones and generally avoids the direct impact of these storms. However, late in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, the island was affected by two hurricanes in their early stages. In Oranjestad, mean monthly temperatures remain consistently moderate, with little variation (low diurnal temperature variation) ranging from to . This temperature stability is moderated by the constant trade winds originating from the northeast, sweeping in from the Atlantic Ocean.
Demographics. In terms of country of birth, the population is estimated to be 66% Aruban, 9.1% Colombian, 4.3% Dutch, 5.1% Dominican, 3.2% Venezuelan, 2.2% Curaçaoan, 1.5% Haitian, 1.2% Surinamese, 1.1% Peruvian, 1.1% Chinese, 6.2% from other backgrounds. In terms of nationality, the population is estimated to be 78.7% Dutch, 6.6% Colombian, 5.5% Venezuelan, 2.8% Dominican; 1.3% Haitian, and 5.1% from other backgrounds (). In 2019, recently arrived Venezuelan refugees were estimated to number around 17,000 on Aruba, accounting for some 15% of the population. Aruba's population has strong Arawak heritage compared to most Caribbean islands, although there are no full-blooded Aboriginals remaining. The islanders' features clearly reflect their genetic Arawak heritage. The population has diverse origins. The majority of the population of Aruba is of mixed ancestry including European, Amerindian and to a lesser extent African and/or Asian ancestry with minorities of various other groups and nationalities. Arubans are primarily descended from Caquetío Indians, Dutch settlers, Spanish settlers, enslaved Africans and to a lesser extent various other groups who have settled on Aruba over time, including Venezuelans, Colombians, Dominicans, Portuguese, Greeks, Italians, English, French, Germans, West Indians, Indo-Caribbeans, Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, Javanese, Levantine Arabs and Sephardic Jews.
The population experienced fluctuations between 1972 and 2022, primarily influenced by net migration. While there have been periods of growth, there have also been declines, especially during economic challenges. Notably, between 1988 and 2016, the population nearly doubled. However, in 2017, a decline occurred, breaking almost three decades of continuous growth. The first three years of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022) also contributed to a population decrease, mainly due to reduced births and emigration. As of the 3rd quarter in 2024, the population stood at 108,027 people, marking a modest 0.4% growth compared to the previous year. This increase was driven by a significant rise in immigration, which saw a 20.4 percent uptick. Language. Aruba is a multilingual society. The Official languages are Dutch and Papiamento. While Dutch is the sole language for all administration and legal matters, Papiamento is the predominant language used in Aruba. Papiamento is a Portuguese/Spanish based creole language, spoken on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao that also incorporates words from the Caquetio language, Dutch, various West African languages and English. English and Spanish are also widely spoken on the island, their usage having grown due to tourism and immigration. Other common languages spoken, based on the size of their community, include Portuguese, Cantonese, French and German.
In recent years, the government has shown an increased interest in acknowledging the cultural and historical importance of Papiamento. Although spoken Papiamento is fairly similar among the several Papiamento-speaking islands, the orthography differs per island, with Aruba using etymological spelling (Papiamento), and Curaçao and Bonaire a phonetic spelling (Papiamentu). The book "Buccaneers of America", first published in 1678, states through eyewitness account that the natives on Aruba spoke Spanish already. Spanish became an important language in the 18th century due to the close economic ties with Spanish colonies in what are now Venezuela and Colombia. Venezuelan TV networks are received on the island, and there are significant communities of Venezuelans and Colombians on Aruba. Around 13% of the population today speaks Spanish natively. Use of English dates to the early 19th century, when the British ruled Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire. When Dutch rule resumed in 1815, officials already noted wide use of the language. There is also a little studied native variety of English Creole spoken in San Nicolaas, known as San Nicolaas English.
Aruba has newspapers published in Papiamento: "Diario", "Bon Dia", "Solo di Pueblo", and "Awe Mainta"; English: "Aruba Daily", "Aruba Today", and "The News"; and Dutch: "Amigoe". There are 18 radio stations (two AM and sixteen FM) and two local television stations (Telearuba and Channel 22). Religion. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion, followed by approximately 75% of the population. In addition to Catholicism, there is a diverse range of religions practiced including Protestantism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and African diaspora religions. The Lourdes Grotto, named after the famous French religious pilgrimage site, was constructed in 1958 by a priest named Erkamp and his parishioners. This shrine is nestled into the rocks of Seroe Preto, just off the main road to San Nicolas. Inside the cave, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary, easily visible from the main road. Each year, on February 11 (the feast of Lady Lourdes), a procession departs from St. Theresita Church in San Nicolas and heads to the grotto, where a Mass is held.
Government. Along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten, Aruba is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with internal autonomy. Matters such as foreign affairs and defense are handled by the Netherlands. Aruba's politics take place within a framework of a 21-member Staten (Parliament) and an eight-member Cabinet; the Staten's 21 members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve a four-year term. The governor of Aruba is appointed for a six-year term by the monarch, and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are indirectly elected by the Staten for four-year terms. Politics. The legal system is based on the Dutch model. Legal jurisdiction lies with the "Gerecht in Eerste Aanleg" (Court of First Instance), the "Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie van Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, en van Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba" (Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) and the "Hoge Raad der Nederlanden" (Supreme Court of Justice of the Netherlands). The "Korps Politie Aruba" (Aruba Police Force) is the law enforcement agency and operates district precincts in Oranjestad, Noord, San Nicolaas, and Santa Cruz, where it is headquartered.
Divergent Legal Protections from the rest of the Kingdom of the Netherlands include not being part of the Law Enforcement Council (Raad van de Rechtshandhaving), which is a legal entity based on the Kingdom Act of the July 7, 2010 the Kingdom Act on the Law Enforcement Council. Aruba is the only country in the kingdom that does not have an ombudsman. Deficit spending has been a staple in Aruba's history, and modestly high inflation has been present as well. By 2006, the government's debt had grown to 1.883 billion Aruban florins. In 2006, the government changed several tax laws to reduce the deficit. Direct taxes have been converted to indirect taxes as proposed by the International Monetary Fund. Foreign relations. Aruba is one of the overseas countries and territories (OCT) of the European Union and maintains economic and cultural relations with the European Union and the United States. Aruba is also a member of several international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and Interpol. Although not officially a part of the European Union, Aruba does receive support from the European Development Fund.
Military. Defence is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch Armed Forces that protect the island include the Navy, Marine Corps, and the Coastguard including a platoon sized national guard. All forces are stationed at Marines base in Savaneta. In 1999 the U.S. Department of Defense established a forward operating site the airport. Education. Historically, Dutch was not widely spoken on the island, except within colonial administration, and its usage increased in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Students in Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire were predominantly taught in Spanish until the late 18th century. Dutch serves as the primary language of instruction, with Papiamento taught as a subject in the lower grades of secondary education. The educational system mirrors the Dutch education structure, with public national education financed by the government of Aruba. The education landscape includes a mix of public and private institutions, such as the International School of Aruba, the Schakel College, and Colegio Arubano.
The University of Aruba is the national university. Aruba hosts three medical schools, American University School of Medicine Aruba, Aureus University School of Medicine and Xavier University School of Medicine. Economy. The economy is dominated by four main industries: tourism, aloe export, petroleum refining, and offshore banking. Aruba has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean region. The GDP per capita (PPP) was estimated to be $37,500 in 2017. Its main trading partners are Colombia, the United States, Venezuela, and the Netherlands. The agriculture and manufacturing sectors are fairly minimal. Gold mining was important in the 19th century. Aloe was introduced in 1840 but did not become a big export until 1890. Cornelius Eman founded Aruba Aloe Balm, and over time the industry became very important to the economy. At one point, two-thirds of the island was covered in aloe vera fields, and Aruba became the largest exporter of aloe in the world. The industry continues today, though on a smaller scale.
Access to biocapacity is much lower than world average. In 2016, Aruba had 0.57 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, much less than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. In 2016, Aruba used 6.5 global hectares of biocapacity per person—their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use almost 12 times the biocapacity that Aruba contains. This is the extent of Aruba's biocapacity deficit. The official exchange rate of the Aruban florin is pegged to the US dollar at Afl 1.80 to US$1.00. This fact, and the majority of tourists being US, means businesses of hotel and resort districts prefer to bank and trade with the consumer in US dollars. Aruba is a prosperous country. Unemployment is low (although the government has not published statistics since 2013) and per capita income is one of the highest in the Caribbean (approximately $24,087). At the end of 2018, the labor force participation rate was 56.6% for women. Until the mid-1980s, the main industry was oil refining; the refinery was shut down, and the economy shifted towards tourism. The refinery has been closed and restarted repeatedly during the last decades. In recent years a letter of intent was signed with CITGO (the US subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA) to explore the possibility of reopening the refinery again.
Until 2009, the Netherlands granted development aid to Aruba. This aid was mainly for law enforcement, education, administrative development, health care and sustainable economic development. This aid was discontinued at Aruba's request in 2009. Since 2015, however, a form of financial supervision has been reintroduced because debt has risen sharply to over 80% of GDP. Aruba has two free trade zones (Barcadera and Bushiri), where import and export and the movement of services are tax-free. Tourism. Aruba has a large and well-developed tourism industry, receiving 1,082,000 tourists who stayed overnight in its territory in 2018. About 75% of the gross national product is earned through tourism and related activities. Most tourists are from North America, with a market-share of 73.3%, followed by Latin America with 15.2% and Europe with 8.3%. In 2018, there were 40,231 visitors from the Netherlands. For private aircraft passengers bound for the United States, the United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a full pre-clearance facility since 1 February 2001 when Queen Beatrix Airport expanded. Since 2008, Aruba has been the only island to have this service for private flights.
Culture. Aruba boasts a diverse culture. According to the "Bureau Burgelijke Stand en Bevolkingsregister" (BBSB, Civil Registry and Population Register), in 2005, the island was home to people from 92 different nationalities. Dutch influence is still evident in traditions like the celebration of "Sinterklaas" (Saint Nicholas) on December 5 and 6, as well as national holidays like April 27 when Aruba, along with the rest of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, celebrates "Koningsdag" (King's day) or "Dia di Rey" (in Papiamento) is celebrated. On 18 March, Aruba celebrates its National Anthem and Flag Day. Christmas and New Year's Eve are celebrated with the typical music and songs of gaitas for Christmas and the for New Year. Traditional food and drinks like "ayaca", "ponche crema", ham, and more are also parts of the festive season. January 25 is dedicated to celebrating Betico Croes day, while June 24 is the day for "Dia di San Juan". In addition to Christmas, religious holidays such as the Feast of the Ascension and Good Friday are observed.
Aruba's Carnaval is a significant cultural event, akin to celebrations in other Caribbean and Latin American countries. It began in the 1950s, influenced by residents from Venezuela and nearby islands (Curaçao, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Barbados, St. Maarten, and Anguilla) who worked at the oil refinery. The Carnaval Celebrations now spans from early January until Fat Tuesday, featuring a grand parade on the final Sunday of the festivities. Aruba has seen an increased influence of American culture with rising tourism from the United States. This is evident in the adoption of American celebrations like Halloween in October and Thanksgiving Day in November. Architecture. From the beginning of the colonization of the Netherlands until the beginning of the 20th century, the architecture in the most inhabited areas was influenced by the Dutch colonial style and also some Spanish elements from the Catholic missionaries. After the boom of the oil industry and the tourist sector in the 20th century, the architectural style of the island incorporated a more American and international influence. In addition, elements of the Art Deco style can still be seen in several buildings in San Nicolas. Therefore, it can be said that the island's architecture is a mixture of Spanish, Dutch, American and Caribbean influences.
Sport. The most popular sports in Aruba are football, basketball, baseball, and volleyball, as well as beach sports. Aruba has competed at the Olympic Games since 1988. Infrastructure. Queen Beatrix International Airport is near Oranjestad. Aruba has four ports: Barcadera, the main cargo port; Paardenbaai, the cruise ship terminal in Oranjestad/Taratata; Commandeurs Baai (Commander's Bay) in Savaneta; and Sint Nicolaas Baai in San Nicolaas. Paardenbaai services all the cruise-ship lines such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, NCL, Holland America, MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises and Disney. Nearly one million tourists enter this port per year. Aruba Ports Authority, owned and operated by the Aruban government, runs these seaports. "Arubus" is a government-owned bus company. Its buses operate from 3:30 a.m. until 12:30 a.m., 365 days a year. Private minibuses/people movers service zones such as the Hotel Area, San Nicolaas, Santa Cruz and Noord. A streetcar service runs on rails on the main street of Oranjestad.
Water- en Energiebedrijf Aruba, N.V. (W.E.B.) produces and distributes potable water and power. Average daily water consumption in Aruba is about 35,600 m3 (46,500 cu. yd.) per day., and average power generation is 104 MW. W.E.B. produces electricity, which is distributed by N.V. Elmar. Both companies share the same parent holding which is Utilities Aruba N.V. The Sunrise Solar Park was installed and opened in 2018.There are three sewage treatment plants at Zeewijk, Parkietenbos and Bubali. The one in Bubali (near the bird sanctuary) is 4 decades old and is processing over 8,000 m3 (10,000 cu. yd.) per day, around double its original capacity of 4,500 m3 (5900 cu. yd.) per day (due to Aruba's growth). A solid waste landfill (16 hectares; 40 acres) is located at Parkietenbos. The capacity is between 130 and 150 kilotons per year. Sometimes there are huge spontaneous fires creating pollution. There are two telecommunications providers: government-based Setar, and privately owned Digicel. Digicel is Setar's competitor in wireless technology using the GSM platform.
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first frame of government during the American Revolution. It was debated by the Second Continental Congress at present-day Independence Hall in Philadelphia between July 1776 and November 1777, was finalized by the Congress on November 15, 1777, and came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 colonial states. A central and guiding principle of the Articles was the establishment and preservation of the independence and sovereignty of the original 13 states. The Articles consciously established a weak confederal government, affording it only those powers the former colonies recognized as belonging to the British Crown and Parliament during the colonial era. The document provided clearly written rules for how the states' league of friendship, known as the Perpetual Union, was to be organized.
While waiting for all states to ratify the Articles, the Congress observed them as it conducted business during the American Revolution, directing the Revolutionary War effort, conducting diplomacy with foreign states, addressing territorial issues, and dealing with Native American relations. Little changed procedurally once the Articles of Confederation went into effect, since their ratification mostly codified laws already in existence and procedures the Continental Congress had already been following. The body was renamed the Congress of the Confederation, but most Americans continued to call it the Continental Congress, since its organization remained the same. As the Confederation Congress attempted to govern the continually growing 13 colonial states, its delegates discovered that the limitations on the central government, such as in assembling delegates, raising funds, and regulating commerce, limited its ability to do so. As the government's weaknesses became apparent, especially after Shays's Rebellion, several prominent political thinkers in the fledgling union began asking for changes to the Articles that would strengthen the powers afforded to the central government.
In September 1786, some states met to address interstate protectionist trade barriers between them. Shortly thereafter, as more states became interested in meeting to revise the Articles, a meeting was set in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. This became the Constitutional Convention. Delegates quickly agreed that the defects of the frame of government could not be remedied by altering the Articles, and so went beyond their mandate by authoring a new constitution and sent it to the states for ratification. After significant ratification debates in each state and across the nation, on March 4, 1789, the government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the Constitution. The new Constitution provided for a much stronger federal government by establishing a chief executive (the president), courts, and taxing powers. Background and context. The political push to increase cooperation among the then-loyal colonies began with the Albany Congress in 1754 and Benjamin Franklin's proposed Albany Plan, an inter-colonial collaboration to help solve mutual local problems. Over the next two decades, some of the basic concepts it addressed would strengthen; others would weaken, especially in the degree of loyalty (or lack thereof) owed the Crown. Colonists' civil disobedience resulted in the British enacting coercive and quelling measures, such as the passage of what colonists called the Intolerable Acts in the British Parliament, and armed skirmishes which resulted in dissidents being proclaimed rebels. These actions eroded the number of colonists continuing to be Loyalists to the Crown. Together with the highly effective propaganda campaign of the Patriot leaders, caused an increasing number of colonists to begin agitating for independence from the mother country. In 1775, with events outpacing communications, the Second Continental Congress began acting as the provisional government for the United Colonies.
It was an era of constitution writing—most states were busy at the task—and leaders felt the new nation must have a written constitution; a "rulebook" for how the new nation should function. During the war, Congress exercised an unprecedented level of political, diplomatic, military and economic authority. It adopted trade restrictions, established and maintained an army, issued fiat money, created a military code and negotiated with foreign governments. To transform themselves from outlaws into a legitimate nation, the colonists needed international recognition for their cause and foreign allies to support it. In early 1776, Thomas Paine argued in the closing pages of the first edition of "Common Sense" that the "custom of nations" demanded a formal declaration of American independence if any European power were to mediate a peace between the Americans and Great Britain. The monarchies of France and Spain, in particular, could not be expected to aid those they considered rebels against another legitimate monarch. Foreign courts needed to have American grievances laid before them persuasively in a "manifesto" which could also reassure them that the Americans would be reliable trading partners. Without such a declaration, Paine concluded, "[t]he custom of all courts is against us, and will be so, until, by an independence, we take rank with other nations."
Beyond improving their existing association, the records of the Second Continental Congress show that the need for a declaration of independence was intimately linked with the demands of international relations. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution before the Continental Congress declaring the colonies independent; at the same time, he also urged Congress to resolve "to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign Alliances" and to prepare a plan of confederation for the newly independent states. Congress then created three overlapping committees to draft the Declaration, a model treaty, and the Articles of Confederation. The Declaration announced the states' entry into the international system; the model treaty was designed to establish amity and commerce with other states; and the Articles of Confederation, which established "a firm league" among the thirteen free and independent states, constituted an international agreement to set up central institutions for the conduct of vital domestic and foreign affairs.
Drafting. On June 12, 1776, a day after appointing the Committee of Five to prepare a draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Second Continental Congress resolved to appoint a committee of 13 with one representative from each colony to prepare a draft of a constitution for a union of the states. The committee was made up of the following individuals: The committee met frequently, and chairman John Dickinson presented their results to the Congress on July 12, 1776. Afterward, there were long debates on such issues as state sovereignty, the exact powers to be given to Congress, whether to have a judiciary, western land claims, and voting procedures. To further complicate work on the constitution, Congress was forced to leave Philadelphia twice, for Baltimore, Maryland, in the winter of 1776, and later for Lancaster then York, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1777, to evade advancing British troops. Even so, the committee continued with its work. The final draft of the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union" was completed on November 15, 1777. Consensus was achieved by including language guaranteeing that each state retained its sovereignty, leaving the matter of western land claims in the hands of the individual states, including language stating that votes in Congress would be "en bloc" by state, and establishing a unicameral legislature with limited and clearly delineated powers.
Ratification. The Articles of Confederation was submitted to the states for ratification in late November 1777. The first state to ratify was Virginia on December 16, 1777; 12 states had ratified the Articles by February 1779, 14 months into the process. The lone holdout, Maryland, refused to go along until the landed states, especially Virginia, had indicated they were prepared to cede their claims west of the Ohio River to the Union. It would be two years before the Maryland General Assembly became satisfied that the various states would follow through, and voted to ratify. During this time, Congress observed the Articles as its de facto frame of government. Maryland finally ratified the Articles on February 2, 1781. Congress was informed of Maryland's assent on March 1, and officially proclaimed the Articles of Confederation to be the law of the land. The several states ratified the Articles of Confederation on the following dates: Article summaries. The Articles of Confederation contain a preamble, thirteen articles, a conclusion, and a signatory section. The individual articles set the rules for current and future operations of the confederation's central government. Under the Articles, the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically relinquished to the national Congress, which was empowered to make war and peace, negotiate diplomatic and commercial agreements with foreign countries, and to resolve disputes between the states. The document also stipulates that its provisions "shall be inviolably observed by every state" and that "the Union shall be perpetual".
Summary of the purpose and content of each of the 13 articles: Congress under the Articles. Army. Under the Articles, Congress had the authority to regulate and fund the Continental Army, but it lacked the power to compel the States to comply with requests for either troops or funding. This left the military vulnerable to inadequate funding, supplies, and even food. Further, although the Articles enabled the states to present a unified front when dealing with the European powers, as a tool to build a centralized war-making government, they were largely a failure; Historian Bruce Chadwick wrote: Phelps wrote: The Continental Congress, before the Articles were approved, had promised soldiers a pension of half pay for life. However Congress had no power to compel the states to fund this obligation, and as the war wound down after the victory at Yorktown the sense of urgency to support the military was no longer a factor. No progress was made in Congress during the winter of 1783–84. General Henry Knox, who would later become the first Secretary of War under the Constitution, blamed the weaknesses of the Articles for the inability of the government to fund the army. The army had long been supportive of a strong union.
Knox wrote: As Congress failed to act on the petitions, Knox wrote to Gouverneur Morris, four years before the Philadelphia Convention was convened, "As the present Constitution is so defective, why do not you great men call the people together and tell them so; that is, to have a convention of the States to form a better Constitution." Once the war had been won, the Continental Army was largely disbanded. A very small national force was maintained to man the frontier forts and to protect against Native American attacks. Meanwhile, each of the states had an army (or militia), and 11 of them had navies. The wartime promises of bounties and land grants to be paid for service were not being met. In 1783, George Washington defused the Newburgh conspiracy, but riots by unpaid Pennsylvania veterans forced Congress to leave Philadelphia temporarily. The Congress from time to time during the Revolutionary War requisitioned troops from the states. Any contributions were voluntary, and in the debates of 1788, the Federalists (who supported the proposed new Constitution) claimed that state politicians acted unilaterally, and contributed when the Continental army protected their state's interests. The Anti-Federalists claimed that state politicians understood their duty to the Union and contributed to advance its needs. Dougherty (2009) concludes that generally the States' behavior validated the Federalist analysis. This helps explain why the Articles of Confederation needed reforms.
Foreign policy. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended hostilities with Great Britain, languished in Congress for several months because too few delegates were present at any one time to constitute a quorum so that it could be ratified. Afterward, the problem only got worse as Congress had no power to enforce attendance. Rarely did more than half of the roughly sixty delegates attend a session of Congress at the time, causing difficulties in raising a quorum. The resulting paralysis embarrassed and frustrated many American nationalists, including George Washington. Many of the most prominent national leaders, such as Washington, John Adams, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin, retired from public life, served as foreign delegates, or held office in state governments; and for the general public, local government and self-rule seemed quite satisfactory. This served to exacerbate Congress's impotence. Inherent weaknesses in the confederation's frame of government also frustrated the ability of the government to conduct foreign policy. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson, concerned over the failure of Congress to fund an American naval force to confront the Barbary pirates, wrote in a diplomatic correspondence to James Monroe that, "It will be said there is no money in the treasury. There never will be money in the treasury till the Confederacy shows its teeth."
Furthermore, the 1786 Jay–Gardoqui Treaty with Spain also showed weakness in foreign policy. In this treaty, which was never ratified, the United States was to give up rights to use the Mississippi River for 25 years, which would have economically strangled the settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains. Finally, due to the Confederation's military weakness, it could not compel the British army to leave frontier forts which were on American soil—and which, in 1783, the British promised to leave, but which they delayed leaving pending U.S. implementation of other provisions such as ending action against Loyalists and allowing them to seek compensation. This incomplete British implementation of the Treaty of Paris would later be resolved by the implementation of Jay's Treaty in 1795 after the federal Constitution came into force. Taxation and commerce. Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government's power was kept quite limited. The Confederation Congress could make decisions but lacked enforcement powers. Implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all thirteen state legislatures.
Congress was denied any powers of taxation: it could only request money from the states. The states often failed to meet these requests in full, leaving both Congress and the Continental Army chronically short of money. As more money was printed by Congress, the continental dollars depreciated. In 1779, George Washington wrote to John Jay, who was serving as the president of the Continental Congress, "that a wagon load of money will scarcely purchase a wagon load of provisions." Mr. Jay and the Congress responded in May by requesting $45 million from the States. In an appeal to the States to comply, Jay wrote that the taxes were "the price of liberty, the peace, and the safety of yourselves and posterity." He argued that Americans should avoid having it said "that America had no sooner become independent than she became insolvent" or that "her infant glories and growing fame were obscured and tarnished by broken contracts and violated faith." The States did not respond with any of the money requested from them.
Congress had also been denied the power to regulate either foreign trade or interstate commerce and, as a result, all of the States maintained control over their own trade policies. The states and the Confederation Congress both incurred large debts during the Revolutionary War, and how to repay those debts became a major issue of debate following the War. Some States paid off their war debts and others did not. Federal assumption of the states' war debts became a major issue in the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention. Accomplishments. Nevertheless, the Confederation Congress did take two actions with long-lasting impact. The Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance created territorial government, set up protocols for the admission of new states and the division of land into useful units, and set aside land in each township for public use. This system represented a sharp break from imperial colonization, as in Europe, and it established the precedent by which the national (later, federal) government would be sovereign and expand westward—as opposed to the existing states doing so under their sovereignty.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 established both the general practices of land surveying in the west and northwest and the land ownership provisions used throughout the later westward expansion beyond the Mississippi River. Frontier lands were surveyed into the now-familiar squares of land called the township (36 square miles), the section (one square mile), and the quarter section (160 acres). This system was carried forward to most of the States west of the Mississippi (excluding areas of Texas and California that had already been surveyed and divided up by the Spanish Empire). Then, when the Homestead Act was enacted in 1867, the quarter section became the basic unit of land that was granted to new settler-farmers. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 noted the agreement of the original states to give up northwestern land claims, organized the Northwest Territory and laid the groundwork for the eventual creation of new states. Although it did not happen under the articles, the land north of the Ohio River and west of the (present) western border of Pennsylvania ceded by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, eventually became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and the part of Minnesota that is east of the Mississippi River. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 also made great advances in the abolition of slavery. New states admitted to the union in this territory would never be slave states.
No new states were admitted to the Union under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles provided for a blanket acceptance of the Province of Quebec (referred to as "Canada" in the Articles) into the United States if it chose to do so. It did not, and the subsequent Constitution carried no such special provision of admission. Additionally, ordinances to admit Frankland (later modified to Franklin), Kentucky, and Vermont to the Union were considered, but none were approved. Presidents of Congress. Under the Articles of Confederation, the presiding officer of Congress—referred to in many official records as "President of the United States in Congress Assembled"—chaired the Committee of the States when Congress was in recess, and performed other administrative functions. He was not, however, an executive in the way the later president of the United States is a chief executive, since all of the functions he executed were under the direct control of Congress. There were 10 presidents of Congress under the Articles. The first, Samuel Huntington, had been serving as president of the Continental Congress since September 28, 1779.
U.S. under the Articles. The peace treaty left the United States independent and at peace but with an unsettled governmental structure. The Articles envisioned a permanent confederation but granted to the Congress—the only federal institution—little power to finance itself or to ensure that its resolutions were enforced. There was no president, no executive agencies, no judiciary, and no tax base. The absence of a tax base meant that there was no way to pay off state and national debts from the war years except by requesting money from the states, which seldom arrived. Although historians generally agree that the Articles were too weak to hold the fast-growing nation together, they do give credit to the settlement of the western issue, as the states voluntarily turned over their lands to national control. By 1783, with the end of the British blockade, the new nation was regaining its prosperity. However, trade opportunities were restricted by the mercantilism of the British and French empires. The ports of the British West Indies were closed to all staple products which were not carried in British ships. France and Spain established similar policies. Simultaneously, new manufacturers faced sharp competition from British products which were suddenly available again. Political unrest in several states and efforts by debtors to use popular government to erase their debts increased the anxiety of the political and economic elites which had led the Revolution. The apparent inability of the Congress to redeem the public obligations (debts) incurred during the war, or to become a forum for productive cooperation among the states to encourage commerce and economic development, only aggravated a gloomy situation. In 1786–87, Shays's Rebellion, an uprising of dissidents in western Massachusetts against the state court system, threatened the stability of state government.
The Continental Congress printed paper money which was so depreciated that it ceased to pass as currency, spawning the expression "not worth a continental". Congress could not levy taxes and could only make requisitions upon the States. Less than a million and a half dollars came into the treasury between 1781 and 1784, although the governors had been asked for two million in 1783 alone. When John Adams went to London in 1785 as the first representative of the United States, he found it impossible to secure a treaty for unrestricted commerce. Demands were made for favors and there was no assurance that individual states would agree to a treaty. Adams stated it was necessary for the States to confer the power of passing navigation laws to Congress, or that the States themselves pass retaliatory acts against Great Britain. Congress had already requested and failed to get power over navigation laws. Meanwhile, each State acted individually against Great Britain to little effect. When other New England states closed their ports to British shipping, Connecticut hastened to profit by opening its ports.
By 1787, Congress was unable to protect manufacturing and shipping. State legislatures were unable or unwilling to resist attacks upon private contracts and public credit. Land speculators expected no rise in values when the government could not defend its borders nor protect its frontier population. The idea of a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation grew in favor. Alexander Hamilton realized while serving as Washington's top aide that a strong central government was necessary to avoid foreign intervention and allay the frustrations due to an ineffectual Congress. Hamilton led a group of like-minded nationalists, won Washington's endorsement, and convened the Annapolis Convention in 1786 to petition Congress to call a constitutional convention to meet in Philadelphia to remedy the long-term crisis. Signatures. The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles for distribution to the states on November 15, 1777. A copy was made for each state and one was kept by the Congress. On November 28, the copies sent to the states for ratification were unsigned, and the cover letter, dated November 17, had only the signatures of Henry Laurens and Charles Thomson, who were the President and Secretary to the Congress.
The Articles, however, were unsigned, and the date was blank. Congress began the signing process by examining their copy of the Articles on June 27, 1778. They ordered a final copy prepared (the one in the National Archives), and that delegates should inform the secretary of their authority for ratification. On July 9, 1778, the prepared copy was ready. They dated it and began to sign. They also requested each of the remaining states to notify its delegation when ratification was completed. On that date, delegates present from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina signed the Articles to indicate that their states had ratified. New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland could not, since their states had not ratified. North Carolina and Georgia also were unable to sign that day, since their delegations were absent. After the first signing, some delegates signed at the next meeting they attended. For example, John Wentworth of New Hampshire added his name on August 8. John Penn was the first of North Carolina's delegates to arrive (on July 10), and the delegation signed the Articles on July 21, 1778.
The other states had to wait until they ratified the Articles and notified their Congressional delegation. Georgia signed on July 24, New Jersey on November 26, and Delaware on February 12, 1779. Maryland refused to ratify the Articles until every state had ceded its western land claims. Chevalier de La Luzerne, French Minister to the United States, felt that the Articles would help strengthen the American government. In 1780, when Maryland requested France provide naval forces in the Chesapeake Bay for protection from the British (who were conducting raids in the lower part of the bay), he indicated that French Admiral Destouches would do what he could but La Luzerne also "sharply pressed" Maryland to ratify the Articles, thus suggesting the two issues were related. On February 2, 1781, the much-awaited decision was taken by the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis. As the last piece of business during the afternoon Session, "among engrossed Bills" was "signed and sealed by Governor Thomas Sim Lee in the Senate Chamber, in the presence of the members of both Houses ... an Act to empower the delegates of this state in Congress to subscribe and ratify the articles of confederation" and perpetual union among the states. The Senate then adjourned "to the first Monday in August next." The decision of Maryland to ratify the Articles was reported to the Continental Congress on February 12. The confirmation signing of the Articles by the two Maryland delegates took place in Philadelphia at noon time on March 1, 1781, and was celebrated in the afternoon. With these events, the Articles were entered into force and the United States of America came into being as a sovereign federal state.
Congress had debated the Articles for over a year and a half, and the ratification process had taken nearly three and a half years. Many participants in the original debates were no longer delegates, and some of the signers had only recently arrived. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were signed by a group of men who were never present in the Congress at the same time. Signers. The signers and the states they represented were: Roger Sherman (Connecticut) was the only person to sign all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. Robert Morris (Pennsylvania) signed three of the great state papers of the United States: the United States Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. John Dickinson (Delaware), Daniel Carroll (Maryland) and Gouverneur Morris (New York), along with Sherman and Robert Morris, were the only five people to sign both the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution (Gouverneur Morris represented Pennsylvania when signing the Constitution).
Parchment pages. Original parchment pages of the Articles of Confederation, National Archives and Records Administration. Revision and replacement. In September 1786, delegates from five states met at what became known as the Annapolis Convention to discuss the need for reversing the protectionist interstate trade barriers that each state had erected. At its conclusion, delegates voted to invite all states to a larger convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1787. The Confederation Congress later endorsed this convention "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation". Although the states' representatives to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia were only authorized to amend the Articles, delegates held secret, closed-door sessions and wrote a new constitution. The new frame of government gave much more power to the central government, but characterization of the result is disputed. The general goal of the authors was to get close to a republic as defined by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, while trying to address the many difficulties of the interstate relationships. Historian Forrest McDonald, using the ideas of James Madison from "Federalist 39", described the change this way:
In May 1786, Charles Pinckney of South Carolina proposed that Congress revise the Articles of Confederation. Recommended changes included granting Congress power over foreign and domestic commerce, and providing means for Congress to collect money from state treasuries. Unanimous approval was necessary to make the alterations, however, and Congress failed to reach a consensus. The weakness of the Articles in establishing an effective unifying government was underscored by the threat of internal conflict both within and between the states, especially after Shays's Rebellion threatened to topple the state government of Massachusetts. Historian Ralph Ketcham commented on the opinions of Patrick Henry, George Mason, and other Anti-Federalists who were not so eager to give up the local autonomy won by the revolution: Historians have given many reasons for the perceived need to replace the articles in 1787. Jillson and Wilson (1994) point to the financial weakness as well as the norms, rules and institutional structures of the Congress, and the propensity to divide along sectional lines.
Rakove identifies several factors that explain the collapse of the Confederation. The lack of compulsory direct taxation power was objectionable to those wanting a strong centralized state or expecting to benefit from such power. It could not collect customs after the war because tariffs were vetoed by Rhode Island. Rakove concludes that their failure to implement national measures "stemmed not from a heady sense of independence but rather from the enormous difficulties that all the states encountered in collecting taxes, mustering men, and gathering supplies from a war-weary populace." The second group of factors Rakove identified derived from the substantive nature of the problems the Continental Congress confronted after 1783, especially the inability to create a strong foreign policy. Finally, the Confederation's lack of coercive power reduced the likelihood for profit to be made by political means, thus potential rulers were uninspired to seek power. When the war ended in 1783, certain special interests had incentives to create a new "merchant state", much like the British state people had rebelled against. In particular, holders of war scrip and land speculators wanted a central government to pay off scrip at face value and to legalize western land holdings with disputed claims. Also, manufacturers wanted a high tariff as a barrier to foreign goods, but competition among states made this impossible without a central government.
Legitimacy of closing down. Two prominent political leaders in the Confederation, John Jay of New York and Thomas Burke of North Carolina believed that "the authority of the congress rested on the prior acts of the several states, to which the states gave their voluntary consent, and until those obligations were fulfilled, neither nullification of the authority of congress, exercising its due powers, nor secession from the compact itself was consistent with the terms of their original pledges." According to Article XIII of the Confederation, any alteration had to be approved unanimously: [T]he Articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and the Union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State. On the other hand, Article VII of the proposed Constitution stated that it would become effective after ratification by a mere nine states, without unanimity:
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. The apparent tension between these two provisions was addressed at the time, and remains a topic of scholarly discussion. In 1788, James Madison remarked (in "Federalist No. 40") that the issue had become moot: "As this objection ... has been in a manner waived by those who have criticised the powers of the convention, I dismiss it without further observation." Nevertheless, it is a historical and legal question whether opponents of the Constitution could have plausibly attacked the Constitution on that ground. At the time, there were state legislators who argued that the Constitution was not an alteration of the Articles of Confederation, but rather would be a complete replacement so the unanimity rule did not apply. Moreover, the Confederation had proven woefully inadequate and therefore was supposedly no longer binding. Modern scholars such as Francisco Forrest Martin agree that the Articles of Confederation had lost its binding force because many states had violated it, and thus "other states-parties did not have to comply with the Articles' unanimous consent rule". In contrast, law professor Akhil Amar suggests that there may not have really been any conflict between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution on this point; Article VI of the Confederation specifically allowed side deals among states, and the Constitution could be viewed as a side deal until all states ratified it.

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