Curaçao and Bonaire are two Caribbean islands

Curaçao (population 150,000) is an island in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea, one of the Windward Islands of the Netherlands Antilles, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curaçao's capital is Willemstad.

The languages widely spoken on Curaçao are Papiamento, Castilian (Spanish), English and Dutch. Of these languages, Papiamento is the native language of most inhabitants, with Dutch being the official state language taught in schools. Papiamento is a creole language that has developed through centuries of contact between the diverse peoples living on Curaçao.

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Discovered by the Spaniards, the island was occupied by the Dutch in 1634. The original inhabitants were Arawak Indians, which were decimated after the Spanish occupation. After the island became a territory of the Netherlands, slaves were brought from Africa. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863. Because of its history, the island now has a diverse ethnic background. Willemstad features colonial architecture and has the western hemisphere's oldest synagogues in continuous use, founded in 1651. This earned Willemstad a place on UNESCO's world heritage list.

The main industries of the island are tourism and oil refining. Off-shore banking activities also contribute to the local economy. Curaçao gained limited self-government on January 1, 1954. There has been calls to put up a referendum in order to decide if the island should seek full independence like Aruba or become a province of the Netherlands. But the question has never been resolved and the ambiguous relationship with the Netherlands still stands.

The name "Curaçao" has become associated with a particular shade of blue, and is sometimes used as an adjective, because of the deep-blue liqueur named "Blue Curaçao". Curaçao liqueur is a drink flavored with the dried peels of bitter oranges grown on the island. Although blue is the most famous version, Curaçao liqueur is also produced clear, or with orange or green coloring.

External link

• curacao.rinkes.nl | Curaçao (http://curacao.rinkes.nl)

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