Bonaire Slave Huts

Things to do · Bonaire — southern coastal road (Red Slave), Caribbean Netherlands

Along the coastal road by the southern salt pans stand two clusters of tiny coral-stone huts built around 1850 to shelter the enslaved people who worked Bonaire's salt harvest — the doorways barely reach an adult's waist. This spot near the island's southern tip holds the red huts beside the Red Slave obelisk; the white huts stand a little further north at Witte Pan. Together with the coloured obelisks that once guided salt ships to anchor, they form one of the Caribbean's most intact monuments to this painful history. The site is free, open to all, and a sobering stop on the island's southern loop.