Page 24 - ATA

A14 LOCAL
Tuesday 21 May 2019

A Nobelnative heart

Episodio XIX
Native Aruban compassion story. Each week we share the most interesting and revealing
articles regarding Aruba, a destination to be explored,we
What it meant to be a slave in Aruba? can find,and so doing uncover amazing and informative
stories along the way.

In these stories of Curacao and the Dutch Colonies we encounter this amazing story
which starts in the Mediterranean in the year 1762 and ends in Aruba 1765.

During one of these trips to Curacao, ap-
proaching the plaza where all the slaves
normally would be lined up, there he was,
standing and staring at this noisy dock-
ing ship that had just arrived full of slaves
at the port in Willemstad. He stood there
and could not believe his eyes to see how
cruel other human beings where treated
and felt great compassion for one of them
in particular. One who was wounded and
that gave the impression to be educated
and seemed to be a civilized person. Aru-
ba had always treated those who were
considered to be slaves very well.
Pic.3. The Jupiter
Miguel decided to try to convince the
slave trader to sell him the slave for pea-
nuts mentioning his dire conditions. So he
opens his money pouch he carries on his
waist, took out two tiny pieces of gold,
a small and a bigger one and returns his
pouch behind his poncho. He plays a lit-
Pic. 1 Fiscal Miguel Alvarez of the natives tle with the small nuggets in his hand like
shaking a maraca and say “cuateronza,”
It was in the year of 1763 that Fiscal Miguel with this I will save this man’s life. Now he
Alvarez, a religious chief appointed by the thought, he still had to convince the mas-
Pope and of the Roman Catholic Church, ter of the slaves that the slave he wanted
as the one person responsible for the life to buy did not have much more time to
and faith of Aruba’s Amerindian souls and live, and yes: four ounces of gold did the
also as the care taker and authority of the job.
Church “Queen of the Holiest Rosary of
Alto Vista of Aruba”.This well to-do Amer- Once that Mr. Alvarez got him, he imme-
indian of the Caquetios, a merchant and diately took him over to a friend’s house in
business man sailed a lot between the is- Curacao; there they took care of him for a
lands and the mainland. Pic.2. The Schot- week until the slave was appearing better
teGat Curacao`s main fortified port and in order to sail over to Aruba.
it`s capital Willemstad around 1750. When Alvarez and his slave arrived at Tara
Tata beach that they called Playa, people
congratulated him for the good purchase
the Fiscal had made, but Miguel told them
that he had not bought that man, that he
had only given them money so that the
man could get his freedom.

The inhabitants of Aruba saw that the
slave, the man had done the sign of the
holy cross the same way they do it them-
selves and thought he must be a good
person.The name of that freed slave was
Crisostomo and so little by little Crisostomo
was getting used to his new reality of life.
Miguel Alvarez had a room build especial-
ly for him in the town of Noord, close to his
own house.

Pic.2. The SchotteGat Curacao`s main fortified
port and it`s capital Willemstad around 1750. Continued on Page 15
Pic.4.A white Cristian slave Left, and his owner at right.