)
The
C of the ABC Islands (part of the five-island Netherlands Antilles group), Curaçao
is an excellent dive spot. It also offers intimate beaches, shops, excellent
restaurants, and lively casinos.
Curacao All-Inclusive Resorts Click Here
The
C of the ABC Islands (part of the five-island Netherlands Antilles group), Curaçao
is an excellent dive spot. It also offers intimate beaches, shops, excellent
restaurants, and lively casinos.
)
People
Curaçao is one of the few islands in the Caribbean
where the annual income averages US$5,000 or more (most people on other islands
scrape by on $1,500 or less). The Shell Refinery remains an important element in
the island's economy. In addition, Curaçao has obtained a reputation as an
international banking center, with hundreds of millions of dollars passing
through businesses that only have a phone and P.O. Box number. Today there are
79 nationalities represented on the island, including Dutch, English, Spanish,
Portuguese, Chinese, East Indian, and Venezuelan. About 80 percent of the
population is Roman Catholics; the Jewish population totals about 600. The
Mikveh Israel–Emmanuel Synagogue is thought to be the oldest in continuance in
the Western Hemisphere, since Jews from Spain and Portugal, via Brazil, were
among the earliest settlers on the island.
The local language is Papiamento, the official language Dutch, but almost
everybody speaks some form of English, as well as Spanish.
)
History
Long before the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda
set foot on the island in 1499, Arawak tribes, from the clan of the Caquetios
called Curaçaos, inhabited the island. After Ojeda marked his claim, a Spanish
settlement followed in 1527. A hundred years later, the Spanish unceremoniously
left the island, leaving it in the hands of Holland, which deemed it a
possession of the Dutch West Indies Company. The island's natural harbors and
strategic location in the Caribbean inspired predatory interest among the French
and British, who continually tried to send the Dutch packing, with little
success. In 1642 a young Dutchman named Peter Stuyvesant became governor of the
island, a mere three years before he took over governorship of the Dutch colony
of New Amsterdam, today known as New York. During Dutch rule, the island was
divided into plantations. Not all were devoted to agriculture; some of the
estates were utilized for salt mining. In 1863 emancipation freed the slaves.
The island made waves on the international scene when oil was discovered in
Venezuela, and the Royal Dutch Shell Company, impressed with Curaçao's fine
harbor potential, erected the world's largest oil refinery there. The industry
lasted well into this century, attracting laborers from many nations who have
created the melting pot that makes up Curaçao's population today.
Today, Curaçao is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands. Curaçao and the
other territories which comprise the Netherlands Antilles—Bonaire, Saba, St.
Eustatius, and Sint Maarten—are administered through Willemstad, the capital
of the Netherlands Antilles.
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Transportation
Inquire whether your hotel has a free shuttle service to the shopping district
of Willemstad. If not, yellow city buses stop at Wilhelmina Plein, near
the shopping center, and travel to most parts of the city. Buses stop when
you hail them.
Taxi rates are regulated by the government. Don't tip drivers unless they carry
your luggage. Charges after 11 PM go up by 25 percent. You'll find
lots of taxis waiting for passengers on the Otrabanda side of the floating
bridge. If you want to make a tour by taxi, expect to pay about US$20 per
hour (up to four passengers allowed).
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05/25/2010