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.
.