For the integral territories of the constituent country of the Netherlands, see Caribbean Netherlands.
The Dutch Caribbean[a] (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.
The islands in the Dutch Caribbean were, from 1815, part of the colonies Curaçao and Dependencies (1815–1828) or Sint Eustatius and Dependencies (1815–1828), which were merged with the colony of Suriname (not considered part of the Dutch Caribbean, although it was on the Caribbean coast of Northeastern South America) and governed from Paramaribo until 1845, when all islands again became part of Curaçao and Dependencies.
In 1954, the islands became the country (Dutch: Land) Netherlands Antilles (1954–2010). The autonomy of the Netherlands Antilles' island territories was stipulated in the Islands Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles. Initially the Netherlands Antilles consisted of four island territories: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and the Windward Islands. The latter split into the Island Territories Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten in 1983.
The island of Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 to become a separate constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, leaving five island territories within the Netherlands Antilles. This situation remained until the complete dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles as a unified political entity in 2010. In that year Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous constituent countries within the Kingdom (like Aruba); while Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands proper. The Netherlands proper is located in the European Union.
Geographyedit
Geographically, the six entities of the Dutch Caribbean are clustered in two widely separated areas of the Caribbean.
Three are just off the coast of Venezuela, at the far west end of the Leeward Antilles, which extend west from the south end of the Windward Islands--thus, they are at the southwest end of the Lesser Antilles. From west to east, they are Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire.
Politically, each of the six entities of the Dutch Caribbean currently has one of two relationships with the Netherlands:
Three have the status of being constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Three have the status of being special municipalities of the Netherlands alone, as distinct from the Kingdom in its entirety.
Three Caribbean polities are countries (Dutch: landen) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. The Netherlands is the fourth and largest constituent country in the Kingdom.
Sint Maarten comprises the southern half of the island of Saint Martin. The northern half of the island – the Collectivity of Saint Martin – is an overseas territory of France. Aruba and Curacao are located in the far south of the Caribbean being 30 kilometres and 65 kilometres from the coast of Venezuela.
BES islands, for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (special municipalities of the Netherlands)
Map of the Dutch Caribbean islands.
Those countries and special municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean (blue background) form the Dutch Caribbean.
^Dutch: Caribisch deel van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, lit.'Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands'; colloquially de CAS- en BES-eilanden, 'the CAS and BES islands'.
Referencesedit
^ abcdefZaken, Ministerie van Algemene (May 19, 2015). "Waaruit bestaat het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden?" (in Dutch). Rijksoverheid.nl.
^"Rijksdienst Carbische Nederland (Rijksdienst Dutch Caribbean)". Government of the Netherlands. from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
^. Netherlands Embassy in the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dutch Caribbean.
January 19, 2024
dutch, caribbean, integral, territories, constituent, country, netherlands, caribbean, netherlands, historically, known, dutch, west, indies, territories, colonies, countries, former, current, dutch, empire, kingdom, netherlands, caribbean, they, north, south,. For the integral territories of the constituent country of the Netherlands see Caribbean Netherlands The Dutch Caribbean a historically known as the Dutch West Indies are the territories colonies and countries former and current of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea They are in the north and south west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago Dutch CaribbeanFlag of the Kingdom of the NetherlandsLocation of the Dutch Caribbean islands Aruba Curacao Sint Maarten Caribbean Netherlands from west to east Bonaire Saba Sint EustatiusArea980 km2 380 sq mi 1 Population as of January 2019 337 617 1 GDP Nominal US 8 911 billion 2 GDP per Capita Nominal US 29 240 2 Density343 km2 890 sq mi LanguagesDutch English PapiamentoGovernment3 constituent countries3 special municipalitiesCurrently it comprises the constituent countries of Aruba Curacao and Sint Maarten CAS islands and the special municipalities of Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba BES islands 1 The term Dutch Caribbean is sometimes also used for the Caribbean Netherlands an entity consisting of the three special municipalities forming part of the constituent country of the Netherlands since 2010 3 4 The Dutch Caribbean has a population of 337 617 as of January 2019 1 Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2 1 Constituent countries 2 2 Special municipalities 3 Comparison 4 Grouping of islands 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksHistory editFurther information Dutch colonization of the Americas and Dutch West India Company The islands in the Dutch Caribbean were from 1815 part of the colonies Curacao and Dependencies 1815 1828 or Sint Eustatius and Dependencies 1815 1828 which were merged with the colony of Suriname not considered part of the Dutch Caribbean although it was on the Caribbean coast of Northeastern South America and governed from Paramaribo until 1845 when all islands again became part of Curacao and Dependencies In 1954 the islands became the country Dutch Land Netherlands Antilles 1954 2010 The autonomy of the Netherlands Antilles island territories was stipulated in the Islands Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles Initially the Netherlands Antilles consisted of four island territories Aruba Bonaire Curacao and the Windward Islands The latter split into the Island Territories Saba Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten in 1983 The island of Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 to become a separate constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands leaving five island territories within the Netherlands Antilles This situation remained until the complete dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles as a unified political entity in 2010 In that year Curacao and Sint Maarten became autonomous constituent countries within the Kingdom like Aruba while Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands proper The Netherlands proper is located in the European Union Geography editGeographically the six entities of the Dutch Caribbean are clustered in two widely separated areas of the Caribbean Three are at the far northern end of the Leeward Islands thus the far northern end of the Lesser Antilles From north to south these are Sint Maarten occupying roughly the southern half of the island of Saint Martin Saba and Sint Eustatius Three are just off the coast of Venezuela at the far west end of the Leeward Antilles which extend west from the south end of the Windward Islands thus they are at the southwest end of the Lesser Antilles From west to east they are Aruba Curacao and Bonaire Politically each of the six entities of the Dutch Caribbean currently has one of two relationships with the Netherlands Three have the status of being constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Three have the status of being special municipalities of the Netherlands alone as distinct from the Kingdom in its entirety Constituent countries edit nbsp Willemstad the capital of Curacao and the largest city in the Dutch Caribbean nbsp Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard cutterThree Caribbean polities are countries Dutch landen within the Kingdom of the Netherlands Aruba Curacao and Sint Maarten The Netherlands is the fourth and largest constituent country in the Kingdom Sint Maarten comprises the southern half of the island of Saint Martin The northern half of the island the Collectivity of Saint Martin is an overseas territory of France Aruba and Curacao are located in the far south of the Caribbean being 30 kilometres and 65 kilometres from the coast of Venezuela Special municipalities edit Main article Caribbean Netherlands The three Caribbean islands that are special municipalities of the Netherlands alone are Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba Collectively these special municipalities of the Netherlands are also known as the BES islands or the Caribbean Netherlands Bonaire is located in the far south of the Caribbean being about 80 kilometres from the coast of Venezuela whilst Saba is located about 50 kilometres south of Sint Maarten where the highest mountain in the Netherlands Mount Scenery is located 880 meters above sea level and Sint Eustatius is located directly north of the Saint Kitts Comparison editFlag Name Island group Constitutional status Capital Area 1 Population 1 January 2019 Density nbsp Aruba Leeward Antilles Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Oranjestad 180 km2 69 sq mi 112 309 624 km2 1 620 sq mi nbsp Bonaire Leeward Antilles Special municipality of the Netherlands Kralendijk 294 km2 114 sq mi 20 104 69 km2 180 sq mi nbsp Curacao Leeward Antilles Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Willemstad 444 km2 171 sq mi 158 665 358 km2 930 sq mi nbsp Saba Leeward Islands Special municipality of the Netherlands The Bottom 13 km2 5 0 sq mi 1 915 148 km2 380 sq mi nbsp Sint Eustatius Leeward Islands Special municipality of the Netherlands Oranjestad 21 km2 8 1 sq mi 3 138 150 km2 390 sq mi nbsp Sint Maarten Leeward Islands Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Philipsburg 34 km2 13 sq mi 41 486 1 221 km2 3 160 sq mi Total 986 km2 381 sq mi 337 617 343 km2 890 sq mi Grouping of islands editThe islands have also been informally grouped in the following ways Geographically by location in the Lesser Antilles in alphabetical order ABC islands for Aruba Bonaire and Curacao within the Leeward Antilles group SSS islands for Saba Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten within the Leeward Islands group Politically by constitutional status in order of population size CAS islands for Curacao Aruba and Sint Maarten constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands BES islands for Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba special municipalities of the Netherlands nbsp Map of the Dutch Caribbean islands nbsp Those countries and special municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean blue background form the Dutch Caribbean See also editCentral banks and currencies of the Caribbean Dutch navy in the Caribbean Curacaoans in the Netherlands Arubans in the Netherlands Dutch nationality lawNotes edit Dutch Caribisch deel van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden lit Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands colloquially de CAS en BES eilanden the CAS and BES islands References edit a b c d e f Zaken Ministerie van Algemene May 19 2015 Waaruit bestaat het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in Dutch Rijksoverheid nl a b COUNTRY COMPARISON GDP Central Intelligence Agency Rijksdienst Carbische Nederland Rijksdienst Dutch Caribbean Government of the Netherlands Archived from the original on 2 July 2015 Retrieved 4 June 2015 Visa for the Dutch Caribbean Netherlands Embassy in the United Kingdom Archived from the original on 19 January 2014 Retrieved 4 June 2015 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dutch Caribbean Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dutch Caribbean amp oldid 1196391500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
