Netherlands Antilles. Information.
THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen), previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, are part of the Lesser Antilles and consist of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curacao and Bonaire, just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and St. Maarten, located southeast of the Virgin Islands. The islands form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Area - 960 sq. km. Population - 183,000 (2005) Capital - Willemstad. 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 the slave trade. Slavery was not abolished until 1863. 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 a "status apart", and became a separate part of the kingdom. From 2000 to 2005 referendums were held on each island of the Netherlands Antilles to determine their future status. On June 22, 2000, 68.9% of the voters on Sint Maarten voted for status aparte. On September 10, 2004, Bonaire voted for closer links to the Netherlands. On November 5, 2004, 86.05% of the population in Saba also voted for closer links to the Netherlands; On April 8, 2005, 68% of people on Curacao voted for status aparte. On October 12, 2006, the Netherlands reached a agreement with Saba, Bonaire, and Sint Eustatius; this agreement would make these islands special municipalities. n November 3, 2006, Curacao and Sint Maarten were granted autonomy in an agreement, but this agreement was rejected by Curacao on November 28. n Feburary 12, 2007, an agreement was signed between the Netherlands and every island (sans Curacao). This agreement would end the Netherlands Antilles by December 15, 2008 and make available for the islands more than 1,000,000,000 guilders for debt payment and other purposes. Currency : 1 Netherlands Antillean gulden (ANG)
