The Arawak people were the first settlers in Aruba and were living there when the Spanish arrived in 1499. However, the Spanish, believing the land to be useless, simply left it to the Arawak. Gollee, one can only imagine how happy and relieved the Arawak were to be left alone undisturbed. Alas, by 1636 the Dutch arrived and seized not just the day, but the island too, settling at Oranjestad by the late 1600's. In the early 1800's it was the English who were in control but when they left, the Dutch returned.