Prins Plantation
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| Prins Plantation | |
|---|---|
| Native name Plantage Prins (Dutch) | |
 Prins Plantation at Boca Prins (1947) | |
 Interactive map of Prins Plantation | |
| Location | Aruba |
| Coordinates | 12°29′42″N 69°54′40″W / 12.49495°N 69.91105°W |
| Built | 1930s |
| Owner | Mokki Arends |
Prins Plantation (Dutch: Plantage Prins), originally a coconut plantation in Aruba,[1][2] saw its house reconstructed in the 1950s. The decline of palm trees, attributed to disease, led to the cessation of farm production.[3]
In 1911, the Werbata-Jonckheer map identified Prins Plantation as one of 23 mostly small plantations characterized by mixed agriculture, coconut trees and housing. Additionally, a larger plantation was situated inland, north of Oranjestad in San Barbola, birthplace of Virginia Demetricia. The township Savaneta actually originated from a governmental plantation that later transformed into a small village.[4]
The plantation derives its name from a Swedish mining engineer Paulus Printz, who lived in the area during the eighteenth century while searching for gold on behalf of the Administrators of the Chamber of Amsterdam of the Dutch West India Company. According to Van Raders' 1825 map, the ruin of his dwelling (№ 37) was located on the hilltop to the northwest of the plantation, but it has since disappeared. The hilltop, being exposed to the wind, was more favorable for habitation than the wind-sheltered arroyo.[5][6] Printz worked in Aruba from June 14, 1725, to June 3 1727, when he received an order from Amsterdam to cease the work.[7]
