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Oranjestad, Aruba
Oranjestad ( , , ; literally " Orange City") is the capital and largest city of Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. In the local language, Papiamento, Oranjestad is often referred to as "Playa". In 2010, the population of the capital was 28,294. History The town was built around Fort Zoutman shortly after it was built in 1796. Initially, the town had no official name, being known only as the town on the Bay of Horses (''Paardenbaai'' in Dutch), a place from which horses were raised and exported to neighbouring Curaçao and Jamaica. In the early 19th century, Oranjestad was like a village, because Aruba had no large plantations or international traders. The total population of the island in 1816 was estimated at 1,732 most of whom were farmers. Fort Zoutman was the main building around which 200 small houses had been erected. The town had two churches: one Catholic and one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capital City
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution. In some jurisdictions, including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the official ( constitutional) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. English-language news media often use the name of the capital city as an alternative name for the government of the country of which it is the capital, as a form of metonymy. For example, "relations between Washington and London" refer to " relations between the United States and the United Kingdom". Terminology and etymology The word ''capital'' derives from the Latin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
