Land and People

Netherlands Antilles, island group, an autonomous part of the Netherlands (2005 est. pop. 220,000), 371 sq mi (961 sq km), West Indies. Formerly known as the Dutch West Indies and Netherlands West Indies, they are divided into two groups. Lying off Venezuela are Bonaire and Curaçao; in the Leeward Islands, east of Puerto Rico, are Saba, St. Eustatius, and the southern half of Saint Martin. Willemstad, on Curaçao, is the capital of the Netherlands Antilles. The land is mainly hilly and semiarid; the climate is tropical with northeast trade winds.
The majority of the people are Christian and have a mixed African background. The official language of the Netherlands Antilles is Dutch, but Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) is the predominant tongue. English and Spanish are also spoken.
The economy is dependent on tourism, the refining and transshipment of Venezuelan petroleum, and offshore finance. The Netherlands Antilles have a higher per capita income and a more developed infrastructure than other nearby countries. Poor soil and scanty water resources hamper agricultural production, which is largely limited to aloes, sorghum, peanuts, fruits, and vegetables. There is also some light manufacturing.
When the Spanish arrived in the 16th cent., the region was inhabited by Arawaks and Caribs. The islands were captured by the Dutch in the 17th cent. and were worked by the many African slaves who were brought to their shores. Slavery was abolished in 1863 and the economy faltered until the oil industry began to flourish in the 20th cent. The Netherlands Antilles became autonomous in 1954, and Aruba was separated from the group in 1986. In 2004 a government commission recommended splitting up the Netherlands Antilles, giving St. Martin and Curaçao autonomy and establishing direct Dutch rule over the other islands. In a series of referendums islanders largely seconded this proposal, except on St. Eustatius, where they voted to preserve the status quo.

Economy

Tourism, petroleum transshipment and oil refinement (on Curaçao), as well as offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. 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. 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

History

Both the leeward (Alonso de Ojeda, 1499) and windward (Christopher Columbus, 1493) island groups were discovered and initially settled by the Spanish. In the 17th century, the islands were conquered by the Dutch West India Company and were used as bases for slave trade. Only in 1863 was slavery abolished.
In 1954, the islands were promoted from colony to a 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 a "status apart", and became a separate part of the kingdom. Some of the other islands have indicated that they wish to obtain the same status, but no agreements on this have yet been reached. Other options sometimes considered are independence or together becoming a province of the Netherlands.