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Dutch NEDERLANDSE ANTILLEN
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The southern islands are generally low in elevation, though hills range from the 787-foot (240-metre) Mount Brandaris in Bonaire to the 1,230-foot Mount Saint Christoffel in Curaçao. The islands consist mainly of igneous rocks and are fringed with coral reefs. The northern islands consist of volcanic rocks rising to Sentry Hill (1,119 feet) in the Dutch part of Saint Martin; Quill (1,198 feet), an extinct volcano on Sint Eustatius, with a large forested crater; and Mount Scenery, an extinct volcano on Saba that, at 2,910 feet (887 metres), is the islands' highest point. Curaçao, the largest island of the Netherlands Antilles (171 square miles), is indented in the south by deep bays, the largest of which, the Schottegat, provides a magnificent harbour for Willemstad. Bonaire, with an area of 111 square miles, lies about 20 miles east of Curaçao. Sint Eustatius (with an area of 8 square miles), along with Saba, forms the northwestern termination of the inner volcanic arc of the Lesser Antilles. Saba (5 square miles) consists of the peak of Mount Scenery surrounded by sea cliffs. The villages of The Bottom and Windwardside, occupying an old crater, are approached up a steep road from a rocky landing place on the south coast.
For the most part, the islands of the Netherlands Antilles have barren soil and little or no natural irrigation. On Curaçao and Bonaire there is much bare, eroded soil, the result of centuries of overgrazing. Drinking water on these islands is obtained mainly by distilling seawater.
Temperatures in the southern islands vary little from an annual average of 81 F (27 C), and the heat is tempered by the easterly trade winds. The islands lie west of the usual hurricane zone. Rainfall in the south is low and variable, often less than 22 inches (550 millimetres) a year. The climate is similar in the northern islands, but rainfall is greater and hurricanes occur. The annual rainfall is greatest on Sint Eustatius and Saba (42 inches and 47 inches, respectively) and falls mainly between May and November, occasionally in association with hurricanes.
The vegetation of the southern Netherlands Antilles, much overgrazed by animals, is sparse. Cacti and other drought-resistant plants abound. The island of Bonaire is known for its flamingos.
More than 90 percent of the population is urban. The rural population of the islands is generally dispersed, and villages are scarce except on Saba. Characteristic of Curaçao are its landhuizen, large 18th- and 19th-century rural mansions located on hills. Willemstad has some splendid sections of Dutch-style colonial architecture with tropical adaptations, painted in white and pastel colours. More than 85 percent of the inhabitants of the islands reside on Curaçao; the next two most populous islands are Saint Martin and Bonaire. The most sparsely populated islands are Sint Eustatius and Saba.
The islands have mostly black and mulatto populations except for Saba, which is about evenly divided between black and white. Most of the islands have small white minorities. Migration to Curaçao from other Caribbean islands, Venezuela, and Europe increased after the opening of its oil refinery in 1918.
Dutch is the official language, but Papiamento--a local Spanish-based creole that includes Portuguese, Dutch, and some African words--is widely used in the southern islands and is taught in elementary schools. English is the principal language of the northern islands, but Spanish also is spoken in the south. The major religion of the islands is Roman Catholicism, with small Methodist, Seventh-day Adventist, and Jewish minorities. For more than three centuries, a Sephardic Jewish community has lived in Curaçao.
The birth and death rates are relatively low, and the rate of natural increase is lower than on most other islands of the Caribbean. Migration to The Netherlands has increased.
Unlike most other Caribbean islands, the economy of the Netherlands Antilles never has been based on the export of sugar or other plantation crops, which the climatic conditions on the larger islands made impossible. Instead, Curaçao (and during the 18th century Sint Eustatius) developed into a regional trading and financial centre, activities that, together with oil refining and tourism, have become the basis of the islands' economy.
The southern islands have more exploitable minerals than the northern ones. Curaçao has some calcium phosphate mining; salt is processed on Bonaire.
Agriculture plays a minor role in the economy of the islands, although sugarcane and cotton plantations were once established on Saint Martin and Sint Eustatius. Curaçao was at one time used mainly for livestock raising, but, after the overgrazing of land, new small-scale agricultural ventures were begun, such as the cultivation of aloes for pharmaceutical products and oranges for Curaçao liqueur. Aloes also are grown on Bonaire. Fish are important to the economy of Sint Maarten. Saba is engaged chiefly in raising livestock and cultivating vegetables, particularly potatoes, which are exported to neighbouring islands.
The main industry of Curaçao is oil refining, which started with the opening up of the Venezuelan oil fields in 1914. After the oil refinery opened in 1918 on Curaçao, the industry became the economic mainstay of the islands. Bonaire has a textile factory, and Sint Maarten a rum distillery. Willemstad has become an important Caribbean banking centre. For all of the islands, tourism and service industries have become increasingly important.
The main exports of the Netherlands Antilles are petroleum and petroleum products, all of which are produced on Curaçao. The entrepôt trade in the free ports of Curaçao is also significant. Curaçao's foreign trade is mainly with Venezuela, the United States, and The Netherlands. Most of the islands' requirements of food and commercial goods are met by imports.
The Netherlands Antilles are a self-governing part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands. A governor, nominated by the local government and appointed by the crown, is the formal head of government and representative of the monarch. Executive authority is vested in a Council of Ministers headed by a prime minister. The council is responsible to the unicameral legislature (Staten), which is elected by universal adult suffrage. Although education in the Netherland Antilles is not compulsory, most of the population is literate. The main language of instruction is Dutch, and there is a university on Curaçao. The general standard of health on the islands is high.
Carnival time in February and the New Year's festivities are colourful celebrations. The Bonaire International Sailing Regatta is held every October, attracting boating enthusiasts from around the world. The 3,500-acre (1,420-hectare) national park on Curaçao showcases the island's wide variety of natural flora and fauna. Radio broadcasts are received throughout the islands, and there are television stations on Saint Martin and Curaçao.
The islands known as the Netherlands Antilles originally were inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians; the arrival in the early 16th century of the Spanish caused the decimation of the native population. The Dutch, attracted by salt deposits, occupied the islands in the early part of the 17th century, and, except for brief periods of British occupation, the islands have remained Dutch possessions. Through much of the 17th and 18th centuries the islands prospered from Dutch trade in slaves, plantation products, and contraband, but the economy declined from 1816 until 1914.
Curaçao was discovered by Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499 and settled in 1527 by the Spanish, who used it mainly for livestock raising. In 1634 Johannes van Walbeeck of the Dutch West India Company occupied and fortified the island, which became the base for a rich entrepôt trade flourishing through the 18th century. During the colonial period Curaçao was a major centre of Caribbean slave trade.
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.
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.
Discovered by Christopher Columbus on Nov. 11, 1493 (St. Martin's Day), the island was taken by French pirates in 1638, though the Spanish settled there in 1640. In 1648, French and Dutch prisoners of war allegedly met after the Spanish departure and amicably divided the island. The Dutch obtained the smaller but more valuable southern section, which contained large salt deposits.
Sint Eustatius, 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.
Saba was settled by the Dutch in 1632 but, because of its inaccessibility and ruggedness, never achieved any economic importance.
After World War II, negotiations began with the aim of conferring a greater measure of self-government on the islands. On Dec. 15, 1954, a charter was signed making the islands an autonomous part of The Netherlands. In 1969, Curaçao was torn by labour conflicts leading to riots and arson. Since then discussions on complete independence have been held intermittently.
Politics in the Netherlands Antilles are now dominated by three issues: economic problems, the coming of independence, and the degree of autonomy to be afforded each island within the federation. By the mid-1970s it was clear that most of the Netherlands Antilles feared the economic consequences of independence. The Dutch government pressed for independence but insisted on preserving a federated structure embracing all islands. In an unofficial referendum in 1977, Aruba voted to secede from the Antilles federation but remained within the kingdom. By 1978 all the islands had accepted the concept of insular self-determination.
(D.R.Ha./H.Ho.)
In 1989 the political leadership of Saint Martin announced its desire to achieve full independence in the shortest possible term; secessionist feelings were fueled by animosity toward the central administration in Curaçao. An investigation by the government of The Netherlands into the administration of Saint Martin resulted in 1993 in the arrest of two prominent leaders on charges of corruption and led to closer supervision by the metropolitan government of the island's affairs.
Efforts to placate secessionist sentiment in the islands by increasing insular autonomy apparently had the desired results, since during the mid-1990s all five islands voted to remain within the Netherlands Antilles.
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Anguilla | Antigua & Barduda | Aruba | The Bahamas | Barbados | Cozumel | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Netherlands Antilles | Saba | St. Eustatius | Bonaire | Curaçao | Puerto Rico | St. Barths | St. Kitts & Nevis | St. Louis | St. Maartin/St. Martin | St. Vincent & The Grenadines | Turks and Caicos | BVI | Anegada | Jost Van Dyke | Tortola | Virgin Gorda | USVI | St. Criox | St. John | St. Thomas |
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Indicates independent Island
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