Piscadera – Rais.cw

The Piscaderabaai is the first inlet west of the city on the south coast. The original Indian name of the bay is Maniguacóa. At the Spanish conquest it was renamed Pescadero, which later became Piscadera. It was in fact a popular fishing place with more than 40 different species of fish. Catching and selling fish was therefore an important source of income for the residents around the bay. The narrow entrance of the bay, with a beach to match, is a natural separation between Veeris and Klein Piscadera. It continues into an inner water where various plantations were established, such as Groot and Klein Piscadera, Raphaël and Klein Hofje. According to Brenneker the inner water had its own name in various places, such as Martins Streedels, Isla grandi, Isla chikí, Playa di Rafé, Playa di Vèrs (bay of Raphaël and of Veeris), Punta di chumbu (lead headland), Shon Asèm, Marie Pampoen, Mikaëla, Bati Paña di Rafé and Bati Paña di Vèrs (beating the laundry at Raphaël and Vèrs). On the north side of the bay lies Playa di Piscadera, where a small harbour for fishing boats has been built. Punta Fó is the east point and Punta di Makok the westernmost point of the Piscaderabaai. Fishermen call the exit of the inner water Boka di Strom, because there is usually a strong current there. Piscadera has three beaches nowadays: the haf di Piscadera, the so-called Pirate Bay, and the bay at the former Hilton hotel, now called Dreams.

Fort Piscadera

On the terrace behind Dreams Curaçao Resort stand remains of the fort that was built around 1704 at the entrance of the Piscaderabaai. It overlooked the bay from the east and in 1714 was extended into a star-shaped fort with an open land side, i.e. without rear cover. Forts on Curaçao also often had minimal garrisons and a shortage of defensive materiel. The French from Guadeloupe, then still allied with the Netherlands, left the harbour peacefully in September 1800. Once out of sight, however, they set course for Fort Sint Michiel, cunningly talked the garrison there round and advanced to Piscadera, with the intention of conquering Willemstad overland. Once informed of this treachery, the army command at Willemstad ordered the cannons at Piscadera to be dismantled and transported to the city on specially made ferries. This succeeded only in part: at the moment of departure the French were already at the fort at Piscadera. The material dismantled by the Dutch was transported to the inner water at Zakitó (near the Koredó walking strip at the Rif). And the cannons left behind were used by the French later to bombard the city.

English invasion

On 31 January 1804 only 13 men were present at the fort at Piscadera with 14 cannons, but …. without ammunition. They had no choice but to flee at once when 190 English soldiers, under vice admiral Bligh, stormed it. The English kept the fort occupied until 26 February of that year. They then left, after having bombarded Punda and Otrobanda for 26 consecutive days with four heavy ship's cannons dragged along, which they had mounted at Fort Waakzaamheid. A cannonball lodged in the wall of the Fortkerk can still be seen. Various wooden houses in Otrobanda and the stately Lutheran church in the Breedestraat went up in flames, houses and warehouses were broken open, the poor box of the Catholic church was plundered, and all gold and silver jewellery of Otrobanda residents was taken away. Bligh himself also lost officers through enemy fire and soldiers who fell ill or deserted and hid in the streets of Otrobanda…. At Fort Piscadera, declared dilapidated around 1819 and restored in 1950, two cannons still lie; the others now stand at the Curaçao Museum. And at the former defence structure hotel guests now lie peacefully in the sun by the swimming pool.

Hotel Maniguacoa

In 1928 the plantations Groot Sint Michiel, Groot Piscadera and Klein Hofje were bought by the forerunner of Shell, the Curaçaosche Petroleum Industrie Maatschappij (CPIM), for the expansion of its water supply. In 1925 Shell also obtained on ground lease the terrain at the entrance of the Piscaderabaai for the construction of a holiday resort for the staff of Venezuelan companies of the Royal Shell groups and local employees. A safe bathing place then arose there, by building a steel net fixed to posts some way into the sea to keep the sharks at a distance. There was also the possibility of lodging for 20 guests in this hotel, which Shell christened Hotel Maniguacóa — the old Indian name for Piscadera. In 1941 the Piscadera Beachclub was founded and the facilities were extended to 100 beds. At the country club even tourists with a day pass were admitted, although strict control was still applied. Parties were also organised, and a new road of 4 kilometres led visitors from Willemstad to the club. All facilities were taken over around 1980 by the Curaçao Hilton Hotel. After the Second World War the refinery transferred the bay and the surrounding area back to the government for the development of tourism.

Julianadorp

Between 1925 and 1929 Shell bought the plantations next to Groot Piscadera, also Groot Sint Joris, Kas grandi, Zapateer, Montaña Bou, Brakkeput Meimei and Mount Pleasant, for the construction of dams. The water was pumped from the dams and wells with pumps and used for the preparation of drinking water. The dam in the oldest part of Julianadorp — across from Centrum Supermarkt — was also built for this. Julianadorp lies for the greater part on the terrain of plantation Groot Piscadera and in the north-west for a small part on plantation Groot Sint Michiel. In October 1929 Shell built at Groot Piscadera the first 20 semi-detached two-storey houses for its employees in the part that soon came to be called oudbouw-Julianadorp (old-build Julianadorp). Many employees had left their families behind in the Netherlands and now had them come over. Until 1955 another 160 luxury villas were built on this screened-off terrain, where non-residents were admitted only on showing a pass. Like a real village, there were also schools and shops in the neighbourhood, but the latter have now disappeared. In connection with her accession to the throne, the village was officially named after Queen Juliana in 1955. Between 1960 and 1985 all houses were sold by the refinery to private individuals.

Plantation Groot Piscadera

The former plantation Groot Piscadera is one of the oldest on Curaçao and was first owned by the West India Company. Together with those of Rooi Canarie and the Suikertuyn it was laid out in 1662 as one of the first food plantations for enslaved people housed in camps at Zuurzak and Sint Joris. Supplies of fresh milk and meat came from the cattle corral at Vaerschenbaai — or "Versebaai" — which around 1700 also belonged to Piscadera. The plantations Klein Piscadera, Raphaël and Klein Hofje were also once part of Groot Piscadera. The landhuis of Groot Piscadera is of later date and was probably built in the 19th century. Around 1700 Groot Piscadera had a large herd of livestock, consisting of 311 head of cattle, sheep and goats. On company plantations maize and beans were usually grown, but at Piscadera also sugar cane and dividivi and, from 1678, also indigo. At that time 108 enslaved people were employed here. The government plantation was leased to private individuals around 1717 and sold at a public auction in 1796 to Raphaël Alvares Correa, together with the plot Klein Hofje. The name of this owner of plantation Groot Piscadera still lives on in the nearby plantation Raphaël. According to old documents the heirs of his widow sold plantation Groot Piscadera in 1807 to Manuel Penso, who was probably married to a daughter or granddaughter of the Correas. Documents also indicate that in 1866 the government bought a strip of land seven metres wide for the construction of the public road that would divide Piscadera in two. Landhuis Groot Piscadera is nicely maintained as private property. The magasina has now been converted into a dwelling house, and the grounds around the landhuis have been parcelled out. The landhuis lies west of Centrum Supermarket Piscadera, opposite Klein Hofje. Close to Klein Hofje lies Hòfi Mahok, the former hofje of Groot Piscadera, which owes its name to large mahok trees that grow there.

Klein Hofje

Klein Hofje was a small plantation lying between Klein Piscadera, Groot Piscadera, De Savaan and Raphaël. Shell built a sewage treatment plant here for Julianadorp and later transferred it to the government. Klein Hofje nowadays serves for the processing of waste water, which is used, among other things, for irrigation of, among other things, the nearby golf course of Blue Bay Resort. Rainwater from far-off areas such as south Seru Mahuma and western Santa Maria finds its way to the inner water of Piscadera via the small "Klein Hofje". The fact that even during the most extreme drought periods Klein Hofje stays lushly green indicates an inexhaustible underground freshwater supply to the area.

With thanks to François van der Hoeven, Frensel Mercelina, the Werkgroep Archeologie (photos) and Christel Monsanto.