Soto is a small town in northern

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

in the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

. It is located close to

Santa Marta Bay Santa Marta Bay ( es, Bahía de Santa Marta) is a bay located in the Caribbean Sea, in northern Magdalena Department of Colombia. Its waters bathe the city of Santa Marta, the country's second port in the Caribbean. In the vicinity of the bay is ...

, a deep indentation in the island's northwest coast. The small town of Santa Cruz lies just to the northwest, and the town of

Barber, Curaçao Barber is a town in the north of the island of Curaçao. It is located inland from the north coast, to the southeast of Christoffelberg, at a major road junction. To the north lies the smaller settlement of San Hyronimo, and to the west lie Santa ...

lies to the northeast, across the hilly ridge which stretches for much of the island's length.

Overview

The history of Soto begins with the plantations Klein Santa Martha and Groot Santa Martha. The plantations were founded before 1696, and were one of the oldest of Curaçao. After the abolition of slavery in 1863, agricultural communities were established. In 1925, a church was constructed in Soto, and a parish was established. Next to the church, a school, convent and a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

were built. The population density is low, and the number of inhabitants has remained constant with a slight downwards trend. Soto is one of the poorest areas of Curaçao. Playa Santa Martha is a public beach on the Santa Marta Bay. The Bay is a lagoon with azure water. There used to be a hotel on the beach, however nowadays it is a quiet spot.

Klein Santa Martha

Klein Santa Martha started as a sugar plantation. Around 1830,

divi-divi ''Libidibia coriaria'', synonym ''Caesalpinia coriaria'', is a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and northern and western South America. Common names include divi-divi, cascalote, guaracabuya, gu ...

was grown on the plantation, however it started to specialise in salt, and became one of the largest salt producer of Curaçao. In 1910, the production was 6,000 barrels. In 1937, it was purchased by the government who wanted to transform the plantation into a model farm called Helfirchdorp. The project was a failure, and the estate was abandoned. In 1995, the estate was restored to its original condition, and as of 2022, it is a

boutique hotel Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...

and restaurant.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Curacao Bandabou Populated places in Curaçao