Netherlands Antilles
The Caiquete people were the first residents of the
islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Shortly after the
arrival of Spaniard Alonso de Ojeda in 1499, they were
made slaves and taken to the island of Hispaniola - the
present Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The same fate
surpassed the Caribbean people of the Barlovento
Islands, which Columbus encountered in 1493.
Since they did not contain natural resources, the
conquistadors were not particularly interested in these
islands until the Barlovento Islands and especially St.
Maarten gained strategic importance as a gateway to the
Caribbean and for the extraction of salt. From the
beginning of the war against Spain and Portugal, the
Netherlands kept their ports closed and the Antilles had
to find other sources of salt.
The extensive shipping of the Netherlands was
punished by the Spaniards, who in 1606 banned it. The
Dutch responded by creating a West Indian Company with
the purpose of creating, directing and defending the
colonies. The piracy against Spanish ships became an
important source of revenue from then on.
Along with the extraction of salt and Brazil wood,
the slave trade became the most important business. In
1634, the company's shareholders assembled in Amsterdam
decided to invade Curaçao. The invasion did not
encounter Spanish resistance, and from then on Curaçao
became an important international center for this trade.
After three decades of conflict, in 1648 the
Westphalian Treaty gave the Dutch supremacy over these
small islands in the Caribbean. The expansion of
agriculture caused the original population to be
displaced in favor of the slaves - especially in Curaçao
and Bonaire. The indigenous population became a minority
in the islands. As in the rest of the Caribbean, slave
revolts were frequent and in the 18th century they
culminated in a massacre perpetrated by the troops of
the colonial power.
During the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century,
a large part of the islands were occupied by the English
for two periods, without changing the fate of the
residents for that reason. Although the slave trade was
banned in 1814, the slave system in the Dutch colonies
was first abolished in 1863. The slaves became "free"
but without significantly changing their situation. Many
emigrated to the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela
and Cuba. Visit
Countryaah
for detailed information about Central America and
Caribbean.
1920 Oil tree
After the release of the slaves and with the
slightest interest in the islands, the Dutch parliament
in 1876 proposed to sell them to Venezuela, but the
negotiations dragged on. At the beginning of the 20th
century, the burgeoning development of the oil industry
made it profitable to build refineries on the islands
located near Maracaibo Lake. This new economic activity
began in 1920 and revolutionized the colony. Agriculture
was abandoned and the labor shortage attracted thousands
of emigrants from Venezuela, Suriname and the British
Antilles.
But this situation has changed drastically in recent
decades, where automation has led to a drastic reduction
in the need for labor. With a 20% unemployment rate, a
labor demonstration on May 30, 1969, was attacked by
police. It came to tumultuous scenes stifled by the
intervention of 300 Dutch Marines and some North
American Marines who happened to be on a warship lying
at anchor in the bay. One of the results of the riots
was the dissolution of Parliament.
The islands have an active inner political life after
the founding of the first local political parties in
1937, but it was not until 1948 that they gained state
title, when the new Dutch constitution renamed what had
previously been "Curaçao and dependent areas" to: " The
Netherlands Antilles ». The issue of independence has
since been central to local political life. In 1954, a
new statute gave the islands autonomy in their internal
affairs.
1977 Aruba initiates detachment process
In 1971, the People's Election Movement was
established in Aruba. It stated that the islands have
nothing in common. Nor does the term Antilles
as it covers all the islands in the area. Each island
should therefore have the freedom to formulate its own
constitution and to even choose to become an independent
republic. In an advisory referendum in 1977, the people
of Aruba decided to disassociate themselves from the
rest.
The Netherlands argued that preserving the federation
provided greater economic perspectives and political
stability. This disagreement, as well as the wide
variation in opinion among the various parties on the
islands, delayed the negotiations for independence. The
delay polarized voter positions, and in 1979 the Antiyas
Nobo Movement achieved a decisive electoral victory in
Curaçao with 7 out of 12 seats. In coalition with the
People's Election Movement from Aruba and Bonaire's
Patriotic Union, they formed the islands' first
center-left government. But while Antiyas Nobo preferred
a federative solution with extended autonomy to each
island, the People's Election Movement demanded full
independence for Aruba.
In 1980, the government agreed on independence from
1990, but on the condition that each of the islands
should hold a referendum on the issue as soon as
possible. Aruba adopted independence and finally
withdrew from the federation in January 1986 (see
Aruba).
Total dependence on oil interests
The Netherlands Antilles had been transformed into
modern factories over the century and were subject to
total dependence on the international oil giants. Exxon
and the English-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell monopolized the
entire refining and processing of the oil products. They
also controlled the production of artificial fertilizers
and, as owners of the oil port terminals, controlled the
transport and trade. These two powerful companies also
have trade and financial links with about 2,500 branches
of other multinational companies registered in the
islands. Thus, they had control over 85% of total
imports, 99% of exports and 50% of total revenue.
Despite some industrial and industrial development,
the fragility of the economy was clearly demonstrated in
late 1984, when the multinational corporations announced
plans to withdraw from the islands. This led to panic in
the population and among the political leaders of the
archipelago. The crisis was partially resolved in
October 1985 when the local government bought the
Curaçao refinery and immediately leased it to the
Venezuelan state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA
The agreement did not affect Exxon's Aruba plant, which
ceased to function.
Aruba's detachment process in 1984 paved the way for
a center-right colony led by María Liberia Peters of the
People's National Party. But the coalition was unable to
muster the necessary internal cohesion and, in January
1986, Dominico "Don" Martina of the Antiyas Nobo
Movement was able to take over the Prime Minister's post
again. In 1988 it was again taken over by Peters.
In 1990, the government renewed the contract with
Venezuela and introduced a series of financial emergency
measures to cover the deficit created by Aruba's
secession. In the 1990 election, Peter's party got 7
seats against Martinas 2 and she was re-elected prime
minister. The election for local councils in the islands
in 1991 was marked by the Democratic Party's electoral
defeat. It had been in power for 40 years at St. Maarten,
however, was characterized by internal divisions,
economic irregularities in its administration and the
fear of a reduction in tourism flow.
In 1993, the Netherlands requested separate points
for a constitutional reform. The result was that Curaçao
received a special status, St. Maarten gained autonomy
while Bonaire, Saba and Saint Eustatius remained linked
to the Netherlands. It was further decided that the
Strasbourg Treaty should not be applied. Otherwise, it
envisaged the complete empowerment of the islands by the
colonial power in 1999. In a 1994 referendum, the people
voted in favor of preserving the federation. That same
year, Miguel Pourier was appointed prime minister. In
1996, the structural adjustment programs led to internal
tensions in the government and the resignation of Labor
Minister Jeffrey Corion. In the November 1999 elections,
Pourier was re-elected.
The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 led to a
sharp decline in the flow of tourists. The local
government took a number of steps, however, which could
not slow down the decline, and the hotels announced that
they would close out of season completely. The Dutch
government subsequently granted DKK 6.2 million. US $ in
support of tourism sector.
At the January 2002 parliamentary elections, the
Labor Liberation Front of May 30 gained 23% of the vote,
while Prime Minister Pourier's party got 20%. In July
2003, Ben Komproe assumed the post of Prime Minister
from Etienne Ys. But already in August, it went on to
Mirna Louisa-Godett.
In March 2004, the government began its study of a
number of public health proposals drawn up by a
technical team. The purpose was to solve a number of
problems in this area. The restructuring plan would mean
an annual saving of DKK 25 million. Antilles Floriner,
and at the same time a significant reduction in user
fees for medical visits.
The prime minister resigned in 2004 and again
transferred the post to Etienne Ys.
Since 2000, US - Venezuela relations have become
worse. Especially when in 2002 the US supported the
military coup against Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. In the
Netherlands Antilles, in 2006, a number of analysts
stated that by a "preventive" attack by the United
States against Venezuela, the Antilles would be used as
a base for the North American military operations, which
meant that the Antilles could become targets for
preventive attacks by Venezuela. However, the Antilles
were not attacked, and the analysts did not reflect that
Venezuela, unlike the United States, has no tradition of
militarily attacking other countries.
Finance Minister Alex Rosaria started negotiations
with Jamaica in January 2007 on a double taxation
agreement. Acc. Rosaria, such an agreement would be
beneficial for trade and investment in both countries.
The Netherlands Antilles cease to exist in October
2010. Curaçao and St. Maarten becomes independent
countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The
same status as Aruba has had since 1986. Bonaire becomes
a special municipality within the Netherlands itself,
attached to the county of North Holland. The new
countries already decided in 2008 that they would use US
$ as currency rather than Euro. The Netherlands has
recommended to the EU that the new countries, together
with Aruba, be granted EU status by the Outermost
regions. |