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Curaçao
Kòrsou (Papiamentu)

10 October 2010

75.4% Curaçaoans
9% Dutch
3.6% Dominican
3% Colombian
1.2% Haitian
1.2% Surinamese
1.1% Venezuelan
1.1% Aruban
0.9% unspecified
6% other[2]

Curaçaoan

444[3] km2 (171 sq mi) (181th)

372 m (1,220 ft)

148,925[4] (177th)

349.13/km2 (904.2/sq mi)

2021[5] estimate

$5.5 billion (184th)

$35,484 (45th)

2021 estimate

$3.5 billion[6] (149th)

$22,581 (40th)

0.811[7]
very high

right

Curaçao includes the main island of Curaçao and much smaller, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao").[13] Curaçao has a population of 158,665 (January 2019 est.),[3] with an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi); its capital is Willemstad.[13] Together with Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao forms the ABC islands. Collectively, Curaçao, Aruba, and other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. It is the largest of the ABC islands in area and population, and the largest of the Dutch Caribbean.[15]


The name "Curaçao" may originate from the indigenous autonym of its people, supported by early Spanish accounts referring to the inhabitants as "Indios Curaçaos". Curaçao's history begins with the Arawak and Caquetio Amerindians, with the island becoming a Spanish colony after Alonso de Ojeda's 1499 expedition. Despite being deemed "the useless island" due to poor agricultural yield and lack of precious metals, it became a strategic cattle ranching area. Dutch colonization in 1634 shifted the island's focus to trade, shipping, and later, a hub for the Atlantic slave trade. The Jewish community, fleeing persecution in Europe, settled here and significantly influenced the economy and culture.


The 18th and 19th centuries saw Curaçao under attack by the British but remained predominantly Dutch. Post-abolition of slavery in 1863 led to economic shifts and migrations. Dutch remains the official language, though Papiamentu, English, and Spanish are widely spoken, reflecting the island's diverse cultural influences. Curaçao was formerly part of the Curaçao and Dependencies colony from 1815 to 1954 and later the Netherlands Antilles from 1954 to 2010, as Island Territory of Curaçao.[16][17][13]


The discovery of oil in the Maracaibo Basin in 1914 transformed Curaçao into a critical refinery location, altering its economic landscape. There were efforts towards becoming a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, achieving autonomy in 2010. Despite facing challenges like economic stagnation and COVID, Curaçao continues to navigate its path within the Caribbean and broader world stage.

Etymology[edit]

One explanation for the island's name is that Curaçao was the autonym by which its indigenous peoples identified themselves.[18] Early Spanish accounts support this theory, referring to the indigenous peoples as Indios Curaçaos.[19]


From 1525, the island was featured on Spanish maps as Curaçote, Curasaote, Curasaore, and even Curacaute.[20] By the 17th century, it appeared on most maps as Curaçao or Curazao.[19] On a map created by Hieronymus Cock in 1562 in Antwerp, the island was called Qúracao.[21]


A persistent but undocumented story claims the following: in the 16th and 17th centuries—the early years of European exploration—when sailors on long voyages got scurvy from lack of vitamin C, sick Portuguese or Spanish sailors were left on the island now known as Curaçao. When their ship returned, some had recovered, probably after eating vitamin C-rich fruit there. From then on, the Portuguese allegedly referred to the island as Ilha da Curação (Island of Healing) or the Spanish as Isla de la Curación.[13]

(1635)

Fort Amsterdam

(1703)

Fort Beekenburg

(1797)

Fort Nassau

(1826)

Waterfort

(1828)[71]

Rif Fort

(built between 1701 and 1704)

Fort Piscadera

a company of the on Curaçao on a rotational basis;

Royal Netherlands Army

a Fast Raiding Interception and Special Forces Craft (FRISC) troop (fast boats);

a guardship, normally a , from the Royal Netherlands Navy on station in the Caribbean on a rotational basis;

Holland-class offshore patrol vessel

the Royal Netherlands Navy support vessel ;

HNLMS Pelikaan

Curmil (Curaçaoan) militia elements;

Elements of a brigade of the Armed Forces.[75]

Royal Marechaussee

;[109] 69.8%

Roman Catholic

;[109] 9%

Adventist

;[109] 8.9%

Evangelical

;[109] 7.6%

Pentecostal

Other ;[109] 3.2%

Protestant

;[109] 2%

Jehovah's Witnesses

Other; 3.8%

[109]

None; 10%

[109]

Unspecified; 0.6%

[109]

Infrastructure[edit]

Airport[edit]

Curaçao International Airport (also called Hato International Airport) is located on the northern coast of the island and offers connections to the Caribbean region, South America, North America and Europe. Curaçao Airport is a fairly large facility, with the third longest commercial runway in the Caribbean region after Rafael Hernández Airport in Puerto Rico and Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe. The airport served as a main base for Insel Air, and for Air ALM, the former national airlines of Curaçao.

Railways[edit]

In 1887 a horse drawn street tramway opened in Punda, the part of the capital Willemstad on the eastern side of Sint Annabaai. It had a U-shaped route about 2 km in length. In 1896, a tramway opened in Otrabanda on the opposite side of the bay, but it ceased operations within a few months. The Punda line was rebuilt in 1911, regauged to metre gauge, and the horse-drawn trams replaced by petrol engined ones. The line closed in 1920.[135]

singer-songwriter

Izaline Calister

writer

Joceline Clemencia

past-CEO of KLM

Peter Hartman

writer and sculptor[150]

May Henriquez

writer

Tip Marugg

a singer songwriter and television personality based in the United States

Kizzy

model, actress, beauty queen

Ruënna Mercelina

cinematographer, closely associated with Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch[151]

Robby Müller

composer, pianist[152]

Wim Statius Muller

a graduated percussionist of Berklee College of Music[153]

Pernell Saturnino

singer-songwriter

Sherman Smith (musician)

ceramist

Ellen Spijkstra

children's writer

Siny van Iterson

Drummer, Co-Founder. Van Halen, Mammoth

Alexander Arthur Van Halen

Singer-Songwriter, Multi-instrumentalist, Co-Founder. Mammoth, Van Halen.

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen

Leeward Antilles

Telecommunications in Curaçao

Religion in Curaçao

Habitantenan di Kòrsou, sinku siglo di pena i gloria: 1499–1999. , Gibbes, FE, Skriwanek, MA., 1999. Curaçao: Fundashon Curaçao 500.

Römer-Kenepa, NC

Social movements, violence, and change: the May Movement in Curaçao. WA Anderson, RR Dynes, 1975. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

Stemmen uit het Verleden. Van Buurt, G., Joubert, S., 1994, Curaçao.

Het Patroon van de Oude Curaçaose Samenleving. Hoetink, H., 1987. Amsterdam: Emmering.

Dede pikiña ku su bisiña: Papiamentu-Nederlands en de onverwerkt verleden tijd. van Putte, Florimon., 1999. Zutphen: de Walburg Pers

Corcos, Joseph. A Synopsis of the History of the Jews of Curaçao. Curazao: Imprenta de la Librería, 1897.

Emmanuel, Isaac S. and Suzanne A. History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles. 2 vols. Cincinnati: American Jewish Archives, 1970.

Rupert, Linda M. "Contraband Trade and the Shaping of Colonial Societies in Curaçao and Tierra Firme." Itinerario 30 (2006): 35–54.

(in Dutch)

Government of Curaçao

Archived 13 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine in Papiamentu

Government of Curaçao

Curaçao Tourism Board

Curaçao Official Instagram Account

Directory and information guide for Curaçao

First Millennium Development Goals and Report. Curaçao and Sint Maarten. 2011

Halman, Johannes; Robert Rojer (2008). . Amsterdam: Broekmans & Van Poppel. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008.

Jan Gerard Palm Music Scores: Waltzes, Mazurkas, Danzas, Tumbas, Polkas, Marches, Fantasies, Serenades, a Galop and Music Composed for Services in the Synagogue and the Lodge

Halman, Johannes I.M.; Rojer, Robert A. (2008). . Leiden: KITLV. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009.

Jan Gerard Palm: Life and Work of a Musical Patriarch in Curaçao (In Dutch language)

Palm, Edgar (1978). . Curaçao: E. Palm. Archived from the original on 5 June 2004.

Muziek en musici van de Nederlandse Antillen

Boskaljon, Rudolph (1958). . Anjerpublicaties 3. Assen: Uitg. in samenwerking met het Prins Bernhard fonds Nederlandse Antillen door Van Gorcum. Archived from the original on 2 February 2004.

Honderd jaar muziekleven op Curaçao