Building Materials
(Published in the newspaper Amigoe on the 4st of June 2025)
Bringing in building materials was a real cost. So, both imported and local materials were used together. The most important materials were local natural stone and lime, which was used to make mortar for bricklaying.
Natural stone
Natural stone was found locally and came in two types: coral stone and quarry stone. Coral stones are the smooth, round stones you find on the beach. They’re shaped by the waves. You can just pick them up. Quarry stone, on the other hand, is limestone from quarries. They cut it and later even used explosives to get it. So, it’s usually angular. Country houses were often far from the sea, so they used quarry stones to build them. Sometimes, they also used basalt (diabaas) for outbuildings.
Natural stone walls can be a bit tricky to make due to the irregular shape of the stones, so they’re usually thicker than regular walls. Load-bearing outer walls can be up to 40-50 centimeters thick!
Part of the wall of the Zevenbergen country house made of quarrystone
Bricks
Bricks were brought in from abroad. They were also used as ballast on ships. The bricks were more expensive than the local natural stone. They were often used for decorative purposes like arches, frames, and dormers, where the natural stone wasn’t suitable. Bricks came in two main forms. Initially, it was the smaller yellow IJsselsteentje. IJssel bricks were made near Gouda on the Hollandse IJssel. Later, a slightly larger red brick appeared. The type of clay and the firing process determine the color. Calcareous clay produces the yellow IJssel bricks. Ferrous clay produces the red bricks.
IJssel Bricks (IJsselsteentjes)
Rooftiles
Rooftiles were also brought in. They were also used as ballast on ships. The rooftiles they used were mostly the “Oudhollandse” rooftiles from the rooftile factories on the Rhine and the Ijssel in Holland. They came in all sorts of designs and colors.
“Oudhollandse” roof tiles on the horse stable on Savonet
Lime
Hydrated lime was a must-have for making mortar for construction projects. It was also used to smooth roof tiles. To fill the cracks between the tiles, lime mortar (strika panchi) was often applied on the inside to prevent leaks.
Lime was burned in field ovens or masonry lime kilns. In the past, mangrove wood was used for this, among some other types of wood. Mangrove wood is tough, dense, and dries well, so it burns great and provides long-lasting heat. Heating limestone or coral to 900–1000°C takes a lot of fuel. Mangrove wood was perfect for reaching these temperatures in traditional lime kilns.
Lime, also known as calcium carbonate (CaCO3), is found in nature as limestone, coral stone, and shells. When lime is burned, it turns into a powder called quicklime (CaO). In Papiamento, quicklime is called “kalki bibu.”
Lime kilns use layers of lime and wood. Burning lime needed a lot of wood and so did making charcoal. This led to a lot of forests being cut down. The government was worried about this in the past already. In 1826, they made it a rule that burning lime needed a government’s permission.
Lime kiln renovated by Carmabi (front view and interior) at the Salinja of Rif St. Marie (Willibrordus)
The quicklime was put out with water. This made hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2). In Papiamento, they call hydrated lime “kalki pagá”. You can use hydrated lime to make mortar by mixing it with clay.
The mortar got even stronger when tras was added to it. Tras is volcanic ash, and it was often imported from St. Eustatius on Curaçao. Lime mortar is white. By adding a dye to lime water, the buildings were given a color. That’s how country houses got their often typical ochre, yellow color.
Wood
Wood was used in both local and imported forms. Locally, manzaliña wood and the wood of cactus trees were used. Mahogany was also used. On Savonet, next to the hòfi behind the country house, is the so-called mahokkenbos. Mahok (Swietenia mahogoni) has been planted here in the past. Mahok, or West Indian mahogany, is a reddish-brown wood that was often used for furniture and boat building. Years ago, a tree fell in the mahok forest, on the overflow (Sakadó) of a dam there. This tree is now used to make planks for the ticket office on Savonet.
Making planks from a fallen mahok tree
Mangrove and tamarind wood was perfect for building rafters. Then, battens were attached to the rafters and roof tiles were laid on top.
But guess what? Most of the wood used in building and construction came from North America way back in the 18th century. Think oak, white pine, yellow pine, and especially pitch pine (American pine).
This article talked about the materials used to build the houses on a plantation. Some of it was imported. But the plantation also made things to export. We’ll cover export products in the next article.
8. Building Materials on the Curacao Plantation