|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Curacao!
TCA
Headquarters
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Netherlands
Antilles Flag |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Curacao's Flag |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CURACAO
is located in the Southwest Caribbean at latitude north 12°, longitude
west 68° just 70 km (44 miles) north of Venezuela, South America and
2½ hours south of Miami by air. The island is 61 km long by 5 to
14 km wide and covers 444 km² (182 miles²).
Curacao,
Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba form the Netherlands Antilles
and are an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The locals
are Dutch nationals and carry European Union passports. The population
as of 1995 was 207,333 and is made up of Catholics, Jews, Protestants and
Muslims. Over 80% of the population is Catholic and is largely of African
descent.
The
capitol is Willemstad. The average temperature is 28.2º C and the
average wind speed is 5.8 meters/sec.
Curacao's
flag is a blue field which portrays the sea and sky which is cut by a yellow
sun. The two stars on the flag represent Curacao and it's unihabited sister
island, Klein Curacao. The five points of the star symbolize the five continents
from which the varied population originate. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Hato's International
Airport, "Dr. A. Plesman" Airport* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ICAO:
Altitude:
Location:
Runways:
Nav Aids: |
TNCC
26 feet above sea level
N12*11.52 W68*57.42
11 - ILS - 111.9 - approach 110*
29 - approach 290*
VOR 116.7 - NDB 343.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transportation
In the Netherlands Antilles in 1995 registered over 64,000 cars. 7,563
ships landed in ports for a total of more than 69 million tons of cargo.
There were more than 81,000 aircraft landings carrying more than 2 1/2
million passengers. This number would significantly increase at the end
of the Century with the added traffic created by Tradewind Caribbean Airlines
which is home based at Hato International Airport.
For news of the Island, look up these information sources:
Amigoe
- (http://www.amigoe.com) Daily newspapaer covering the island in Dutch.
Antillian
News Network
- (http://www.antilleannews.net) Weekly news service by Curacao Online
Network.
The
Daily Herald
- (http://www.thedailyherald.com) Daily news, classifieds and message boards
in English.
Bonaire
Reporter
- (http://www.bonairenews.com) Weekly news from Bonaire. Subscription only.
La
Prensa Online
- (http://www.laprensacur.com) Newspaper in the local language, Papiamentu.
The
Caribbean Champion
- (http://www.caribbeanchampion.an) Weekly magazine for St. Maarten. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willemstad, circa 1900 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
History:
Like
all other Caribbean societies, Curacao owes its origin to the expansion
of Europe in the 15th and 16th Centuries. Spain and Portugal first, followed
by England, France and the Netherlands. Spain took prominance on Curacao
in 1499 at the expense of the island natives, the Arawak Indians. The Dutch
took possession in 1634 in a period of Dutch domination of the trade and
the seas that spans roughly 200 years from 1600 to 1800. The British occupied
the island for two brief periods from 1800 to 1803 and 1807 to 1818. The
island has remained a Dutch colonial territory since, until the Netherlands
Antilles acquired self-government within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
in 1954. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willemstad, circa
1954. Fort Amsterdam is on the point in the foreground. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Curacao
thrived from trade with the South American coastal communities rather than
other nations and therefore didn't adopt the same cultural beginnings that
other ports like San Juan de Puerto Rico and Havana acquired. For a time
Curacao was the center of the slave trade and some of the slaves have remained
on the island. Curacao is said to be shaped culturally by the Northern
Europeans, Iberians and Africans and even today you encounter Dutch and
Iberian influences in culture in addition to clear South American and African
influences as can be seen in the districts of the Historic Area of Willemstad. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
city was started like many typical water approach cities with the stronghold
of the harbor guarded by fortifications built in the 19th century. Water
Fort, Rif Fort and Fort Nassau seem to form a giant unbreakable fortress
when viewed from the sea, discouraging any attempt for piracy or conquest. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The suburb districts
of Willemstad depict the history and culture of this great city. This is
the district of Punda. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Punda,
Old Willemstad, still has an unmistakable Dutch charm with an urban grid
structure build behind the walls of Fort Amsterdam. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Across Anna Bay, on
the other side of the harbor, is the district of Otrabanda which exudes
a definite creole feeling. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As
districts spread out from the center of the city, the plots grew larger
allowing for more family activities in the 'yard'. The alley between the
rows of buildings was used to deliver and remove goods. In the alley today
you might find a street fair taking place. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The districts of Scharloo,
Waaigat, and Pietermaai, circa 1996. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
island of Curacao has 8 forts, more than 90 'landhuizen' plantation houses
and hundreds of wooden and stone built 'kunuku' houses (formerly slave
houses), all of which have historical importance. The main thrust of renovation
taking place today is in Willemstad itself. There are currently 765 monuments
or buildings qualifying as having 'monument' status and therefore are meaningful
to the preservation of the city. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carnival 1997. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When
you visit Curacao and the city of Willemstad, be sure to time your visit
with one of the many exciting cultural events that take place each year.
One of the best would probably be 'Carnival' which, like Mardi Gras and
Carnival in other parts of the Caribbean, are sure to leave lasting impressions
on it's paricipants. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Curacao.
A nice place to work and to play. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |