5 Facts of Netherlands Antilles

The capital of Netherlands Antilles is Willemstad

The Netherlands Antilles, also know as the Dutch Antilles, are a group of Caribbean Islands located off the coast of Venezuela, South America. Islands originally included in the Netherlands Antilles island group were Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Maarten, Saint Eustatius and Saba. Settled during the 17th century, after conquest by the Dutch West India Company, the Netherlands Antilles were officially dissolved in 2010. Acts of Parliament allowed Aruba, Saint Maarten and Curacao to succeed from the group, while allowing integration for Saba, Bonaire and Saint Eustatius.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

The Netherlands Antilles Windward Islands consist of Saint Martin, Saint Eustatius and Saba. Its Leeward islands are Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, also known as the ABC islands. While all the islands have a tropical climate, the Leeward Islands rarely experience the advent of hurricanes. Windward island hurricanes occur in summer, with these islands experiencing a wetter climate.

2

An extreme ethnic and cultural variety of people live on the islands. These populations descend from Latin American, European, African and Portuguese populations. Languages spoken here comprise a mixture of Dutch, Spanish, English, West African and Portuguese Creole. Papiamentu is the name given a dialect, commonly spoken on some of the islands, that combines these languages and lexicons.

3

Religious faith in the Netherlands Antilles is made up of a Christian majority. Protestants, Roman Catholics and Jewish followers comprise the largest religious groups.

4

Import of most capital and consumer products has allowed the islands of the Netherlands Antilles to prosper, even with a scarcity of agricultural resources. Income here is typically high when compared with many other nearby countries. Tourism and petroleum refining and shipment have allowed development of a sophisticated infrastructure, closely aligned to powerful global economies.

5

In 2006, Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, created a stir between his country and Dutch government by accusing the Dutch defense minister of being a puppet to the United States. The spat commenced as the Netherlands gave permission for the US Navy to deploy military vessels to the Dutch Antilles.