Netherlands Antilles

Nederlandse Antillen Antias Hulandes Netherlands Antilles
Motto: Libertate unanimus (Latin: "Unified by freedom")
Anthem: Anthem without a title
Capital (and largest city)		Willemstad 12°7′N 68°56′W
Official languages		Dutch, English, Papiamento
Government
-	Monarch	Queen Beatrix
-	Governor	Frits Goedgedrag
-	Prime Minister	Emily de Jongh-Elhage
constitutional monarchy		part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Area
-	Total	800 km² (184th) 309 sq mi
-	Water (%)	Negligible
Population
-	July 2005 estimate	183,000 (185th)
GDP (PPP)		2003 estimate
-	Total	$ 2.45 billion (180th)
-	Per capita	$ 11,400 (2003 est.) (79th)
Currency		Netherlands Antillean gulden (ANG)
Time zone		(UTC-4)
Internet TLD		.an
Calling code		+599

The Netherlands Antilles, previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, were found at two different times by two different people. In 1493 the Windward Islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus and in 1499 the Leeward Islands were discovered by Alonso de Ojeda, where both gave the islands to Spain and under its control until the 17th century. The antilles are part of the Lesser Antilles and consist of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curaçao and Bonaire (1499, Alonso de Ojeda), just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten (1493, Christopher Columbus), located southeast of the Virgin Islands. The islands form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Economy to the islands' depend mostly upon tourism and petroleum deployment.

Geography

The Netherlands Antilles are comprised of five main (and several smaller) islands in the Caribbean Sea which are an autonomous part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. This island group consists of two chains of islands separated by about 500 miles. The highest point of the islands is Mount Scenery, 2,828 ft. (862 meters), located on Saba.

The two island groups of which the Netherlands Antilles consists are:

• in the southernmost portion of the Lesser Antilles, these Windward Islands lie less than 50 miles off the Venezuelan coast, just east of Aruba. Along with Aruba, they are often referred to as the "ABC Islands".
  • Bonaire, including an islet called Klein Bonaire ("Little Bonaire") - 111 square miles (288 sq km), population 14,000 at 2006 census.
  • Curaçao, including an islet called Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao") - 171 square miles (444 sq km), population 138,000 at 2006 census.

• a part of the Leeward Islands in the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and south of the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands:
  • Saba - 5 sqare miles (13 sq km), population 1,424 at 2004 census.
  • Sint Eustatius - 8.1 square miles (21 sq km), population 2,300 at 2001 census.
  • Sint Maarten; the southernmost part of the island is administered by Guadeloupe. 13.1 square miles (34 sq km), population 35,000 in 2006 estimate.

The Netherlands Antilles have just over 308 square miles of land and 226 miles of coastlines, with no major lakes or other major water sources. Maritime claims include 12 nautical miles which constitute exclusive fishing zone areas.

Map of the Netherlands Antilles

With a tropical, Caribbean climate, the islands are warm year round. Curaçao and Bonaire are rarely threatened by natural disasters since they lie south and west of the Caribbean hurricane belt. However, Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October.

The northern group of islands are composed of hilly volcanic origins with barren soil and little or no natural irrigation, making agriculture difficult; only 10 percent of the land is considered arable. The southern islands of Curaçao and Bonaire contain bare and eroded soil, the result of overgrazing. Plant life consists mainly of the drought-resistant variety.

Natural resources are extremely limited, with phosphates found on Curaçao and salt found on Bonaire.

Coral reefs are found off all five islands in the Netherlands Antilles. Each island boasts marine parks that encompass a significant fraction of those coral reefs. The need for nationwide government coordination in the protection of these reefs has come to the front due to deterioration of the reefs and a sense of urgency brought on by the discovery of dead reefs off the coast of Belize. Coastal development and dredging, wastewater pollution, increasing incidence of disease and groundings of ocean-going vessels are some of the dangers faced by the Antilles' reefs.

History

The Netherlands Antilles were initially inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians. As with most of the native Caribbean Island populations, the arrival in the early 16th century of Europeans caused the decimation of the native population.

The windward set of islands were found in 1493 by Christopher Columbus and the leeward set of islands by Alonso de Ojeda in 1499, both of whom sailed for Spain. In the 17th century, the islands were taken by the Dutch West India Company, attracted by salt deposits, and were used as bases for the slave trade as well as plantation products and contraband. Slavery was not abolished until 1863. Except for brief periods of British occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, the islands have remained Dutch possessions.

---

Though discovered and settled by Europeans at different times, the islands all share a similar history.

Sint Maarten (Saint Martin)

This was the first of the islands of the Netherlands Antilles to be sighted by Europeans, discovered by Christopher Columbus on Nov. 11, 1493 (St. Martin's Day, hence the name). In 1638 French pirates took control of the island, though by 1640 the Spanish began settling there. Spain left by 1648, at which time the island was amicably divided by Dutch and French prisoners of war. The French claimed a large northern section of the island. A smaller southern section went to the Dutch. The southern section proved to be more valuable due to large salt deposits.

WIK:

Curaçao

Discovered in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci. It was not settled until 1527, when Spanish settlers began to raise livestock there. The Dutch West India Company, led by Johannes van Walbeeck, occupied the island in 1634, fortifying it for use as a commercial center and trade base. It thrived throughout the 1700s, and was a major base for the slave trade during the period of colonization.

EB: There were two short periods during the Napoleonic Wars when Curaçao was held by the British, but it was returned to The Netherlands by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. The 19th century was a period of economic decline partially alleviated by the cultivation of aloes and oranges. Only after the construction of the Schottegat oil refinery, however, did economic conditions greatly improve. WIK: During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island changed hands among the British, the French, and the Dutch several times. Stable Dutch rule returned in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863. The end of slavery caused economic hardship, prompting many inhabitants of Curaçao to emigrate to other islands, such as to Cuba to work in sugarcane plantations.

When in 1914 oil was discovered in the Maracaibo Basin town of Mene Grande, the fortunes of the island were dramatically altered. Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch Government had built an extensive oil refinery installation on the former site of the slave-trade market at Asiento, thereby establishing an abundant source of employment for the local population and fueling a wave of immigration from surrounding nations. Although a few plantations were established on the island by the Dutch, the first profitable industry established on Curaçao was salt mining. The mineral was an extremely lucrative export at the time and became one of the major factors responsible for drawing the island into international commerce. Curaçao also became a center for slave trade during the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century, phosphate mining also became significant. All the while, Curaçao's fine deep water ports and ideal location in the Caribbean were crucial in making it a significant center of commerce.

Today, the main industries of the island include oil refining, tourism and financial services. Shipping and other activity related to the port of Willemstad also makes a considerable contribution to the economy.

Bonaire

also was discovered in 1499 by Ojeda and Vespucci. The island was settled by the Spanish in 1501 and claimed by the Dutch in 1634. It became part of the Dutch West India Company in 1636 and remained a government plantation until 1863. From 1807 to 1814 it was under British control.

WIK: Under Spanish occupation, the natives were enslaved and transported to Hispaniola, but the island's physical resources were largely ignored. By 1526, the island was depopulated. That year, Juan de Ampues, regional governor, turned it into a cattle plantation and repopulated it with Indians.

In 1633, the Dutch, having lost the island of St. Maarten to the Spanish, retaliated by capturing Curaçao, Bonaire, and Aruba. While Curaçao emerged as a center of the slave trade, Bonaire became a plantation of the Dutch West India Company. A small number of African slaves were put to work alongside Indians and convicts, cultivating dyewood and maize and harvesting solar salt around Blue Pan. Slave quarters, rising no higher than a man's waist and built entirely of stone, still stand in the area around Rincon and along the saltpans as a grim reminder of Bonaire's repressive past.

The Netherlands lost control of the island twice, from 1800-1803 and 1807-1815. During these intervals, the British had control over the neighboring island of Curaçao, and, by extension, Bonaire. During the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, Bonaire was a protectorate of Britain and the United States.

The clear water of Bonaire.

Sint Eustatius,

EB first colonized by the French and English in 1625, was taken by the Dutch in 1632. It became the main centre of slave trade in the eastern Caribbean and by 1780 had a population of 2,500. In 1781 the British sacked Oranjestad (after the U.S. flag had officially been saluted there for the first time), and the island never regained its trade. In the 17th and 18th centuries most of the land was under sugarcane cultivation.

WIK: The island was seen by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and claimed by an astonishing welter of nations over the next 150 years. In 1636, it was colonized by the chamber of Zeeland of the Dutch West India Company. As of 1678, the islands Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba fell under direct command of the Dutch West India Company. At Sint Eustatius a commander was stationed, who also governed over the islands Sint Maarten and Saba. At the time, the island was of some importance for sugar cultivation. The island was also home to one of the first Jewish settlements in the New World, dating back at least to the early 18th century. The Honen Dalim Synagogue, built in 1739, now stands in ruins.

Since the island sold arms and ammunition to anyone willing to pay, the island was one of the few ways for the rebellious Thirteen colonies to obtain weaponry. This good relationship between Sint Eustatius and the United States resulted in the famous "flag incident" of 16 November 1776, when Commander Johannes de Graaff of Sint Eustatius decided to return the salute fire of the visiting American brigantine Andrew Doria. The United States gave the answering salute great publicity because the salute was the first international acknowledgment of the independence of the United States.

The British did not take the incident too seriously, although they protested against the continuous trade between the United States and Sint Eustatius. In 1778, Lord Stormont claimed in Parliament that, "if Sint Eustatius had sunk into the sea three years before, the United Kingdom would already have dealt with George Washington". The trade between Sint Eustatius and the United States was the main reason for the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, which was disastrous for Dutch trading.

As a result of the war, Sint Eustatius was taken by the British on 3 February 1781. Commander de Graaff, who at the moment was not informed about the declaration of war but seeing that he was facing superior forces, surrendered the island to the British Admiral Rodney. Ten months later the island was conquered by the French, allies of the Dutch in this war. The Dutch regained command over the island in 1784.

At its peak, Sint Eustatius may have had a population of over 20,000 people. In the time since, this has gradually slumped to 3,600, and Sint Eustatius was eclipsed by other Dutch ports on Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Saba

EB: was settled by the Dutch in 1632 but, because of its inaccessibility and ruggedness, never achieved any economic importance. WIK:

Christopher Columbus is said to have sighted Saba on November 13, 1493, but did not land, as the island's perilously rocky shores were a major deterrent to Columbus and his crew. In 1632 a group of shipwrecked Englishmen landed upon Saba; they stated they found the island uninhabited when they were retrieved by others. But there has been some evidence found indicating that Carib or Arawak Indians may have been on the island. In 1635 a stray Frenchman claimed Saba for Louis XIII of France and around the year 1640, the Dutch West India Company sent people from the neighboring island of St. Eustatius to colonize the island. These settlers were then in 1664 evicted to St. Maarten by Sir Henry Morgan, the notorious English buccaneer, on one of the very few occasions that the nearly vertical rocky island was successfully invaded. The Netherlands finally took possession of Saba in 1816 after a spell of British occupation during the Napoleonic era.

Through the 17th and 18th centuries its major industries were sugar and rum, and, later, fishing, particularly lobster fishing. In the 1600s Saba was believed to be a favorable hideout for Jamaican pirates. England also deported its "undesirable" people to live in the Caribbean colonies. They too became pirates, taking haven on Saba. The most notable native Saban pirate was Hiriam Breakes, who famously quipped "Dead Men Tell No Tales." Legitimate sailing and trade later became important and many of the island's men took to the seas, during which time Saba lace became an important product made by the island's women.

The remains of the 1640 settlements can be found on the west side at Tent Bay.

The environment of Saba is mainly composed of woodland forest with ferns and damp soil, and many mango trees. There used to be forests of Mahogany trees until a hurricane in the 1960s destroyed many of the trees. The Mahogany trees are considered at risk of going extinct on the island. Visitors refer to Saba's forests as "the Elfin Forest" because of its high altitude mist and mossy appearance. Since then there has been a woodland reserve created and aptly named "Elfin Forest Reserve". Saba's lush plant and animal wildlife are diverse and are looked after by the Saba Conservation Foundation.

Hawksbill Turtle near Saba Island.

File:View from Mt Scenery, Saba.jpg

View from Mount Scenery.

---

In 1954, the status of islands was promoted from that of a colonial territory to part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as an associated state within a federacy. The island of Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986, when it was granted status aparte, becoming a self-governing state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Between June 2000 and April 2005, each island of the Antilles had referendums on their future status. The four options offered were:

• Closer ties with the Netherlands
• Remaining within the Netherlands Antilles group
• Autonomous state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (status aparte)
• Full independence

Of the islands, Sint Maarten and Curaçao voted for status aparte. Saba and Bonaire voted for closer ties to the Netherlands. Sint Eustatius was the only island to vote to stay in the Netherlands Antilles.

On October 12, 2006, the Netherlands reached an agreement with Saba, Bonaire, and Sint Eustatius; this agreement would make these islands special municipalities. On November 3, 2006, Curaçao and Sint Maarten were granted autonomy in an agreement, but this agreement was rejected by Curaçao on November 28 of the same year. The Curaçao government was not sufficiently convinced that the agreement would provide enough autonomy for Curaçao. Finally on July 9, 2007 Curaçao approved the agreement it had rejected in November 2006. On February 12, 2007, an agreement was signed between the Netherlands and every island except Curaçao. This agreement would end the Netherlands Antilles by December 15, 2008 and make 1 billion guilders (the islands' currency) available for debt relief, social development and poverty reduction.

Politics

The ruling monarch of the Netherlands is the also the head of state in the Netherlands Antilles, who is represented by a governor. The governor is the head of the local government, and forms, together with the council of ministers, the executive branch of the government, much like the United States government. The legislative branch is a two-layered system.

Delegates of the islands are represented in the government of the Netherlands Antilles, but each island has its own government that takes care of the daily tasks on the island. The islands have no major administrative divisions.

The Netherlands Antilles are not part of the European Union. Since 2006 the Islands have given rise to diplomatic disputes between Venezuela and the Netherlands. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez claims that the Netherlands may allow the United States to install military bases that would be necessary for a planned U.S. invasion of Venezuela. On May 23, 2006 an international military stance known as the Joint Caribbean Lion 2006, including forces of the U.S. Navy, began.

Future status

Map of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands and the Caribbean islands are in the same scale.

The Netherlands Antilles are to be disbanded on December 15, 2008. The idea of the Netherlands Antilles as a state never enjoyed full support of all islands. Political relations between islands were often strained. After a long struggle, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986, to form its own state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The desire for secession has also been strong in Sint Maarten.

In 2004 a commission of the governments of the Netherlands Antilles and the Netherlands reported on a future status for the Netherlands Antilles. The commission advised a revision of the Statute of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in order to dissolve the Netherlands Antilles.

Two new associated states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Meanwhile, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius would become a direct part of the Netherlands as special municipalities, a form of "public body" as outlined in article 134 of the Dutch Constitution. These municipalities will resemble ordinary Dutch municipalities in most ways (they will have a mayor, aldermen and a municipal council, for example) and will have to introduce most Dutch law. Residents of these three islands will also be able to vote in Dutch national and European elections. There are, however, some derogations for these islands. Social security, for example, will not be on the same level as it is in the Netherlands, and the islands are not obliged to introduce the euro; they may retain the Antillean guilder pending further negotiations. Also, it is unknown whether prostitution and same-sex marriage will become legal in these islands, which are legal on the mainland of the Netherlands. All five of the island territories may also continue to access the Common Court of Justice of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles (with the Joint Court probably receiving a new name). The three islands will also have to involve the Dutch Minister of Foreign Relations before they can make agreements with countries in the region.

Originally the term used for Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius to describe their expected association with the Netherlands was "Kingdom Islands". The Dutch province of North Holland has offered the three new municipalities to officially become part of the province.

Additionally, the Kingdom government would consist of the government of the Netherlands and one mandated minister per Caribbean country. The special municipalities would be represented in the Kingdom Government by the Netherlands, as they can vote for the Dutch parliament.

The Netherlands has proposed that the new EU constitution allow the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba to opt for the status of Outermost Region (OMR) also called Ultra Peripheral Region (UPR), if they wish.

Economy

The economy on the island is fostered by tourism, petroleum trans-shipment and oil refinement on Curaçao, as well as offshore finances. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the United States, and Mexico being the major suppliers, as well as the Dutch government which supports the islands with substantial development aid. Unfortunately poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. The Antillean "guilder" has a fixed exchange rate with the United States dollar of 1.79:1.

Demographics

A large part of the Netherlands Antilleans descend from European colonists and African slaves that were brought and traded there from the 17th to 19th century. The rest of the population originates from other Caribbean islands, Latin America, East Asia and elsewhere.

Papiamentu is predominant on Curaçao and Bonaire (as well as the neighboring island of Aruba). The creole used here descends from Portuguese and West African languages with a strong admixture of Dutch, plus subsequent lexical contributions from Spanish and English.

In early March 2007, after decades of long debate, English and Papiamentu have been made official languages alongside Dutch. Legislation is produced in Dutch but parliamentary debate is in Papiamentu or English, depending on the island. Due to the islands' closeness to South America, Spanish is becoming increasingly known and used throughout the archipelago.

The majority of the population are followers of the Christian faith, mostly Roman Catholic. Curaçao also hosts a sizable group of followers of the Jewish faith, since descendants of a Portuguese group of Sephardic Jews arrived from Amsterdam and Brazil in 1654.

Most Netherlands Antilleans are Dutch citizens and this status permits and encourages the young and university-educated to emigrate to the Netherlands. This exodus is considered to be to the islands' detriment as it creates a "brain drain". On the other hand, immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Anglophone Caribbean and Colombia have increased their presence in the last years, subduing this "brain drain".

Culture

The origins of the population and location of the islands give the Netherlands Antilles a mixed culture.

Tourism and overwhelming media presence from the United States has increased the regional United States influence. On all the islands, the holiday of Carnival is, like in many Caribbean and Latin American countries, an important one. Festivities include "jump-up" parades with beautifully colored costumes, floats, and live bands as well as beauty contests and other competitions. Carnival on the islands also includes a middle-of-the-night j'ouvert (juvé) parade that ends at sunrise with the burning of a straw King Momo, cleansing the island of sins and bad luck. On Sint Eustatius he is called "Prince Stupid".

External links

• Government of the Netherlands Antilles. Government Site. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• Central Bank. Bank Van De Nederlandse Antillen. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• Cabinet of the Netherlands Antilles' Plenipotentiary Minister in the Netherlands. Antillenhuis. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• CIA files of Netherlands Antilles. CIA World Factbook: Netherlands Antilles. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• 'Antilles Break-Up Closer' Article. BBCCaribbean. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
• Information on the island of Aruba. Aruba Plaza. Retrieved October 7, 2007.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Netherlands_Antilles  ^history
• Curaçao  ^history
• Bonaire  ^history
• Sint_Eustatius  ^history
• Saba  ^history
• Sint_Maarten  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Netherlands Antilles"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.