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.

Politics
 
The head of state is the ruling monarch of the Netherlands, who is represented in the Netherlands Antilles by a governor. The governor is also head of the local government, and forms, together with the council of ministers, the executive branch of the government.

The legislative branch is two-layered. Delegates of the islands are represented in the government of the Netherlands Antilles, but each island has its own government that takes care of the daily tasks on the island.

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.

Demographics

A large part of the Netherlands Antilleans descends from European colonists and African slaves that were brought and traded here from the 17th to 19th century. The rest of the population originates from other Caribbean islands, Latin America, East Asia and elsewhere in the world.

Papiamento is predominant on Curaçao and Bonaire (as well as the neighboring island of Aruba). This creole language is formed from elements of Dutch, Spanish, English and Portuguese.

English is the chief language of the northern islands (St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius). Spanish is becoming the second language after English in the northern islands, mostly in St. Maarten.

Although the official language is Dutch, the Netherlands Antillean government officially recognizes the usage of both English and Papiamentu. While legislature is produced in Dutch, parliamentary speeches or political discussion is in English or Papiamentu, depending on the island.

The majority of the population are followers of the Christian faith, mostly Roman Catholic. Curaçao also hosts a sizeable group of Jews, descendants of a Portuguese group of Sephardic Jews that arrived from Amsterdam and Brazil in 1654.

A large group of young and/or highly educated Antilleans have emigrated to the Netherlands over the past decades, which leaves the islands with substantial social and economic problems. On the other hand, immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Anglophone Caribbean and Colombia have increased their presence in the last years.