History of the Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles were
colonized by the Netherlands in the 17th century. They were once the center of the
Caribbean slave trade. The island of
Curaçao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring
Aruba) was restored in the early
20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered
Venezuelan oil fields. The island of
Sint Maarten is shared with France (whose northern portion is named
Saint-Martin and is part of
Guadeloupe). The Netherlands Antilles remain part of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands.
