Curaçao's earliest people came by way of the water, and for more than three millennia, the water provided most of what they required. Their simple lifestyle depended largely on fishing and that simplicity continued, with only gradual change, until the Spanish and Dutch arrived in the 16th century. The place now called Spanish Water made an ideal home - a sheltered cove, thick with mangrove along the shore, teeming with conch, crab and other marine life. For a thousand years, a people known as the Arawaks lived here. After the Europeans came, the Arawaks disapeared as a distinct people and not much was known about them for many years. Farmers, Fishers and Hunters In contrast to earlier inhabitants of Curaçao, the Arawaks were farmers as well as fishers and hunters. On high ground near Spanish Water, they built their village and cleared fields for growing maize and manioc. The Arawaks located their work camp on a small peninsula which juts into Spanish Water from the Santa Barbara mainland. Here, they could easily beach their boats and unload their catch. Glimpses of the Past For a thousand years, the Arawaks found all they needed in the waters and soils around Santa Barbara. Through what they left behind, we can catch a glimp of their time. A simpler time - but in terms of day-to-day subsistence, a time just as challenging as our own. Arrival of the Europeans When the Europeans arrived in 1499, Curaçao was inhibited by Caiquetios Indians, a tribe closeley related to Indians of the nearby South American coast. The Spanjard Alonso de Ojeda, who sailed with Columbus, was the first European to land a party on the island. In 1634, the Dutchman Johan van Walbeeck arrived and claimed Curaçao for Holland, although skirmishes with Spanish and Indian forces had to be fought before Dutch control was firmly established. Several such engagements took place in and around the Spanish Water. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries Curaçao's main function in the Dutch colonial system was to provide protection and support for merchants of the Dutch West India Company. Curaçao's future took a sharp turn in 1916, when the Shell Oil Company opened the island's first oil refinery. Since that time, the oil industry has been important to Curaçao's economy but international banking evolved as Curaçao's leading economic engine. Currently, the country is positioning to have tourism be its major industry. Today, as part of the Netherlands Antilles and the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Curaçao enjoys the benefits of both political autonomy and ongoing close association with The Netherlands.