Zeelandia – Rais.cw

The landhuis of this original water plantation stands on a small hill and is clearly visible from a distance at the present industrial estate. The estate lies in the former Ruiterkwartier. Zeelandia was built in phases: the oldest part is the elongated pavilion that lies in an east-west direction and dates from the second half of the 18th century. The middle section, which runs in a north-south direction, is of more recent date. Various outbuildings also still stand here, and furthermore a strikingly large and elongated pavilion that was added later.

Cows

At plantation Zeelandia some farming and horticulture was done, and American ploughs were also employed here in 1851 and 1855. A nopalery (cactus plantation) was also laid out in 1838 in connection with cochineal cultivation. Cochineal is a species of scale insect that likes to grow on the nopal cactus and covers itself with a fluffy layer. Inside, however, it contains a red pigment, called cochineal or carmine red, a natural dye that was formerly very popular in the textile industry. In the 2nd half of the 18th century a privilege for grazing cows was also obtained at Zeelandia, and there were also some salt pans in the eastern part of the Schottegat. Like the farming and horticulture, these did not yield much, and Zeelandia was in the first place a water plantation and then a country house of wealthy city residents.

Seru Hulanda

Hollandia, Hollandse Berg or Seroe Hoelanda lies east of Zeelandia and is a gift from the owner of Zeelandia to his faithful enslaved coachman. The Frenchman Jean Rodier was from 1761 to 1782 director of "Curaçao and subordinate islands". After his term as administrator he bought Zeelandia and lived from 1781 to 1787 as a planter. His wife, Elisabeth Ellis, came from a well-known planter family and stayed on the plantation after her husband died in 1787. Brenneker relates that the elderly coachman went with Rodier on his journey to the Netherlands and on return received the small piece of land with accompanying hill, which he called Seru Ulanda in memory of his stay in the Netherlands. Another version says that Rodier was going to the Netherlands because of illness and wanted to take his coachman along. The latter, however, dreaded the journey: he felt too old and feared he would not survive three months there and three months back. Rodier then gave him as a gift a piece of land with a hill east of Zeelandia. As a souvenir of his master's journey to the Netherlands he named his newly acquired property "Seru Ulanda" and gave the title deeds into the keeping of Daniel Specht, owner of Koraal Specht. The latter, however, lost the deed of gift, as a result of which the land later became the property of the government. Possibly this coachman is Domingo Marchena, who was named in documents as owner of Seru Ulanda. Marchena acted as collector for pastor Putman for the construction of the new church of Santa Rosa.

Remarkable owners

Gerardus Balthasar Bosch, who has various publications about the islands to his name, was also owner of Zeelandia in 1823. He came to Curaçao at the age of 20, where he worked as a minister from 1825 to 1836. He was the founder of the Association of the Lutheran and Reformed congregation in 1823. He died in April 1839 in Arnhem and bequeathed 400 guilders to the poor fund in Curaçao. Another owner was C.L. van Uytrecht, who bought Zeelandia when he was still a civil servant. He became a well-known planter and was also owner of other plantaadjes such as Bicento, Papaya and San Pedro, but also of extensive plantations such as Ascencion and Santa Cruz. From 1855 Zeelandia remained for quite a long time, as a country residence, in the possession of the businessman Samuel E.L. Maduro Jr and descendants. In 1857 it was 38 hectares in size and valued at 12,000 guilders. The estate was parcelled out in 1935 for house building: because of the housing shortage in the capital, the drift to the periphery of the city began, creating new population concentrations at Zeelandia and Van Engelen.

Senior citizens' home

At the celebration of the 300-year existence of the Protestant congregation, the landhuis was fitted out in 1936 as a home for elderly men: the Queen Wilhelmina Home. Rooms were added for the kitchen and bathrooms. The elongated building in a north-south direction was also built north-west of the landhuis. It has 18th-century façade architecture inspired by that of landhuis Brievengat. In 1950 a maternity clinic was housed in the landhuis, and in 1966 a fundraising campaign was organised for a very urgent restoration.

Harbour facilities

Zeelandia was also the focal point in the discussion on the construction of new harbour facilities — including industrial estate and free zone — in the eastern part of the Schottegat. Around 1947 the plan was on the table to lay out a boulevard from Saliña to Groot Kwartier with Zeelandia as its starting point, because it would be closer to Saliña. Because of the high costs, and because people wanted to leave an inner lake free, the Zeelandia plan was shifted 400 metres in a westerly direction, towards Koningsplein.

Country club

In later years Zeelandia was a country club with meeting rooms, library and telecommunication facilities for the offshore sector. In 1999 the landhuis was restored again and served as the location for a restaurant. Of the original 39 hectares only the terrain around the landhuis is nowadays left, after the laying-out of the industrial estate and a complex of (granny-flat) dwellings for seniors in the south-west of the plantation, the parcelling for villa districts and the Zeelandia Office Park of the Algemeen Pensioenfonds Curaçao east of the landhuis.