native name
conventional long name	Country of Curaçao
common name	Curaçao
image coat	Coat of arms of Curaçao.svg
demonym	Curaçaoan
national anthem	Himno di Kòrsou Anthem of Curaçao
official languages	Papiamentu 81.2%, Dutch 8% (official)
government type	Constitutional monarchy
leader title1	Monarch
leader name1	Queen Beatrix
leader title2	Governor
leader name2	Frits Goedgedrag
leader title3	Prime Minister
leader name3	Gerrit Schotte
legislature	Estates of Curaçao
sovereignty type	Autonomy
sovereignty note	within the Kingdom of the Netherlands
established event1	Date
established date1	10 October 2010
capital	Willemstad
largest city	Willemstad
area magnitude	1_E8
land area rank	195th
area km2	444
area sq mi	171.4
population census	142,180
population census year	2010
population estimate rank	183rd
population density km2	319
population density sq mi	821
population density rank	39th
gdp ppp	US$ 2.914 million
gdp ppp per capita	US$ 20,567 (2009)
gdp ppp rank	40th
utc offset	-4
time zone	-4
currency	Netherlands Antillean guilder
currency code	ANG
drives on	right
Hdi rank	7th (ranked as Kingdom of the Netherlands
hdi index	0.890
cctld	.an to be discontinued; .cw assigned but not yet activated
calling code	+599-9 }}

Curaçao (; , ; Papiamentu: ''Kòrsou'') is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao (Dutch: ''Land Curaçao'', Papiamentu: ''Pais Kòrsou''), which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"), is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad.

Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. It has a land area of . As of 1 January 2009, it had a population of 141,766.

Prior to 10 October 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, Curaçao was administered as the Island Territory of Curaçao (Dutch: ''Eilandgebied Curaçao'', Papiamentu: ''Teritorio Insular di Kòrsou''), one of five island territories of the former Netherlands Antilles. The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code CUW and the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code CW has been assigned to Curaçao, but the .cw Internet ccTLD is not yet in use.

Origin of the name

The origin of the name Curaçao is debated. The explanation gathering more consensus among the Portuguese and the Spanish is that the word derives from the Portuguese word for the state of becoming cured (''curação''). The reason for this is that sailors travelling for months in the sea would often contract scurvy. It appears that in one of such long travels, a group of Portuguese sailors landed for the first time in Curação and were cured from scurvy, probably after eating fruit with vitamin C. The island was known from then on as ''Ilha da Curação'' (''Island of Healing''). Another explanation is that it is derived from the Portuguese word for ''heart'' (''coração''), referring to the island as a centre in trade. Spanish traders took the name over as ''Curaçao'', which was followed by the Dutch. Another explanation is that Curaçao was the name the indigenous peoples of Curaçao had used to label themselves (Joubert and Van Buurt, 1994). This theory is supported by early Spanish accounts, which refer to the indigenous peoples as "Indios Curaçaos".

After 1525 the island appeared on Spanish maps as "Curaçote", "Curasaote", and "Curasaore". By the 17th century the island was known on maps as "Curaçao" or "Curazao".

On a map created by Hieronymus Cock in 1562 in Antwerp, the island was referred to as Quracao.

The name "Curaçao" has become associated with a shade of blue, because of the deep-blue version of the liqueur named Curaçao (also known as Blue Curaçao). Today, locally, the island is known as "Dushi Korsou" (Sweet Curaçao).

History

The original inhabitants of Curaçao were Arawak Amerindians. The first Europeans to see the island were members of a Spanish expedition under the leadership of Alonso de Ojeda in 1499. The Spaniards exported most of the indigenous population to other colonies where workers were needed. The island was occupied by the Dutch in 1634. The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of Willemstad on the banks of an inlet called the 'Schottegat'. Curaçao had been ignored by colonists because it lacked many things that colonists were interested in, such as gold deposits. However, the natural harbour of Willemstad proved quickly to be an ideal spot for trade. Commerce and shipping — and piracy—became Curaçao's most important economic activities. In addition, the Dutch West India Company made Curaçao a centre for the Atlantic slave trade in 1662. Dutch merchants brought slaves from Africa under a contract with Spain called Asiento. Under this agreement, large numbers of slaves were sold and shipped to various destinations in South America and the Caribbean. The slave trade made the island affluent, and led to the construction of impressive colonial buildings. Curaçao features architecture that blends Dutch and Spanish colonial styles. The wide range of historic buildings in and around Willemstad earned the capital a place on UNESCO's world heritage list. Landhouses (former plantation estates) and West African style "kas di pal'i maishi" (former slave dwellings) are scattered all over the island and some of them have been restored and can be visited.

In 1795 a major slave revolt took place under the lead of the Negroes Tula Rigaud, Louis Mercier, Bastian Karpata and Pedro Wakao. Up to 4000 Negro slaves on the Northwest section of the island revolted. Over a thousand of the slaves were involved in heavy gunfights and the Dutch feared for their lives. After a month the rebellion was crushed.

Curaçao's proximity to South America translated into a long-standing influence from the nearby Latin American coast. This is reflected in the architectural similarities between the 19th century parts of Willemstad and the nearby Venezuelan city of Coro in Falcón State, the latter also being a UNESCO world heritage site. In the 19th century, Curaçaoans such as Manuel Piar and Luis Brión were prominently engaged in the wars of independence of Venezuela and Colombia. Political refugees from the mainland (like Bolivar himself) regrouped in Curaçao and children from affluent Venezuelan families were educated on the island.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island changed hands among the British, the French, and the Dutch several times. Stable Dutch rule returned in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars, when the island was incorporated into the colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863. The end of slavery caused economic hardship, prompting many inhabitants of Curaçao to emigrate to other islands, such as to Cuba to work in sugar cane plantations. Other former slaves had no place to go and remained working for the plantation owner in the so called Paga Tera system. This was an instituted order in which the Negro leases a piece of land and in exchange the Negro must give up most of his harvest to the former slave master. The Negroes were once again forced to work in mass production as in the former days otherwise they would not have enough for themselves after the lord's cut. This lasted till the beginning of the 20th century.

When in 1914 oil was discovered in the Maracaibo Basin town of Mene Grande, the fortunes of the island were dramatically altered. Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch Government had built an extensive oil refinery installation on the former site of the slave-trade market at Asiento, thereby establishing an abundant source of employment for the local population and fuelling a wave of immigration from surrounding nations. Curaçao was an ideal site for the refinery as it was away from the social and civil unrest of the South American mainland, but near enough to the Maracaibo Basin oil fields. It had an excellent natural harbor that could accommodate large oil tankers. The company brought affluence to the island. Large scale housing was provided and Willemstad developed an extensive infrastructure. However, discrepancies appeared among the social groups of Curaçao. The discontent and the antagonisms between Curaçao social groups culminated in rioting and protest on May 30, 1969. The civil unrest fuelled a social movement that resulted in the local Afro-Caribbean population attaining more influence over the political process (Anderson and Dynes 1975). The island developed a tourist industry and offered low corporate taxes to encourage many companies to set up holdings in order to avoid rigorous schemes elsewhere. In the mid 1980s Royal Dutch Shell sold the refinery for a symbolic amount to a local government consortium. The ageing refinery has been the subject of lawsuits in recent years, which charge that its emissions, including sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, far exceed safety standards. The government consortium currently leases the refinery to the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

In recent years, the island had attempted to capitalize on its peculiar history and heritage to expand its tourism industry. In 1984 the Island Council of Curaçao inaugurated the National Flag and the official anthem of the island. This was done on July 2, which was the date when in 1954 the first elected island council was instituted. Since then, the movement to separate the island from the Antillean federation has steadily become stronger.

Due to an economic slump in recent years, emigration to the Netherlands has been high. Attempts by Dutch politicians to stem this flow of emigration have exacerbated already tense Dutch-Curaçao relations. Immigration from surrounding Caribbean islands, Latin American countries and the Netherlands has taken place.

Geography

Like Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao is a transcontinental island that is geographically part of South America but is also considered to be part of West Indies and one of the Leeward Antilles. Curaçao and the other ABC Islands are in terms of climate, geology, flora and fauna more akin to nearby Paraguaná Peninsula, Guajira Peninsula, Isla Margarita, Araya and the nearby Venezuelan areas of the Coro region and Falcón State. The flora of Curaçao differs from the typical tropical island vegetation. Xeric scrublands are common, with various forms of cacti, thorny shrubs, evergreens, and the island's national tree, divi-divis. Curaçao's highest point is the 375 metre (1,230 ft) Christoffelberg ("Mount Christoffel") in the north-western part of the island. This lies in the reserved wildlife park, Curaçao Christoffelpark, and can be explored by car, bike, horse or on foot. Several trails have been laid out. Curaçao has many places where one can hike. There are Saliñas, salt marshes where flamingos fly out to rest and feed. 24km (15 miles) off the coast of Curaçao, to the south-east, lies the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao").

Beaches

Curaçao is known for its coral reefs, used for scuba diving. The beaches on the south side contain many popular diving spots. An unusual feature of Curaçao diving is that the sea floor drops steeply within a few hundred feet of the shore, and the reef can easily be reached without a boat. This drop-off is known as the "blue edge." Strong currents and lack of beaches make the rocky northern coast dangerous for swimming and diving, but experienced divers sometimes dive there from boats when conditions permit. The southern coast is very different and offers remarkably calm waters. The coastline of Curaçao features many bays and inlets, many of them suitable for mooring.

Some of the coral reefs are affected by tourism. Porto Marie Beach is experimenting with artificial coral reefs in order to improve the reef's condition. Hundreds of artificial coral blocks that have been placed are now home to a large array of tropical fish.

The most well-known beaches of Curaçao are: {| |valign=top|

Baya Beach

Blue Bay ''(Blauwbaai)''

Daaibooi

Grote Knip ''(Playa Abou)''

Kleine Knip ''(Kenepa Chiki)''

Playa Forti

Playa Gipy

Playa Jeremi

|valign=top|

Playa Kalki

Playa Kanoa

Playa Lagun

Playa Porto Marie

Playa Santa Cruz

Santa Barbara Beach

Seaquarium Beach

Westpunt

|}

Climate

Curaçao has a semiarid climate with a dry season from January to September and a wet season from October to December. The temperatures are relatively constant with small differences throughout the year. The trade winds bring cooling during the day and the same trade winds bring warming during the night. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of and the warmest month is September with an average temperature of . The year's average maximum temperature is . The year's average minimum temperature is . Curaçao lies outside the hurricane belt, but is still occasionally affected by hurricanes, as for example Omar in 2008. A landfall of a hurricane in Curaçao has not occurred since the National Hurricane Center started tracking hurricanes. Curaçao has, however, been directly affected by pre-hurricane tropical storms several times; the latest which did so were Cesar in 1996, Joan-Miriam in 1988, and Tomas in 2010. The latter brushed Curaçao as a tropical storm in early November, dropping up to 265 mm (10.4 in) of precipitation on the territory and triggering widespread flooding. This made Tomas one of the wettest events in the history of Curaçao, as well as one of the most devastating; cumulatively, damage across the island was preliminarily estimated at NAƒ60 million (US$28 million), and 2 fatalities were confirmed.

Politics

Curaçao gained self-government on 1 January 1954 as an island territory of the Netherlands Antilles. Despite this, the islanders did not fully participate in the political process until after the social movements of the late '60s. In the 2000s the political status of the island has been under discussion again, as for the other islands of the Netherlands Antilles, regarding the relationship with the Netherlands and between the islands of the Antilles.

In a referendum held on 8 April 2005, the residents voted for a separate status outside the Netherlands Antilles, like Aruba, rejecting the options for full independence, becoming part of the Netherlands, or retaining the status quo. In 2006, Emily de Jongh-Elhage, a resident of Curaçao, was elected as the new prime minister of the Netherlands Antilles, and not Curaçao.

On 1 July 2007, the island of Curaçao was due to become a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 28 November 2006, the island council rejected a clarification memorandum on the process. On 9 July 2007 the new island council of Curaçao ratified the agreement previously rejected in November 2006. On 15 December 2008, Curaçao was scheduled to become a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (like Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles that time). A non-binding referendum on this plan took place in Curaçao on 15 May 2009, in which 52 percent of the voters supported these plans.

Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles was effected on 10 October 2010. Curaçao is now a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with the Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and foreign policy. The Kingdom will also oversee the island's finances under a debt-relief arrangement agreed on between the two.

Education

Historically, education on Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire had been predominantly in Spanish up until the late 19th century. There were also efforts to introduce bilingual popular education in Dutch and Papiamentu in the late 19th century (van Putte 1999). Dutch was made the sole language of instruction in the educational system in the early 20th century to facilitate education for the offspring of expatriate employees of Royal Dutch Shell (Romer, 1999). Papiamentu was tentatively re-introduced in the school curriculum during the mid-1980s. Recent political debate has centered on the issue of Papiamentu becoming the sole language of instruction. Proponents of making Papiamentu the sole language of instruction argue that it will help to preserve the language and will improve the quality of primary and secondary school education. Proponents of Dutch-language instruction argue that students who study in Dutch will be better prepared for the free university education offered to Curaçao residents in the Netherlands.

Public education is based on the Dutch educational system and besides the public schools, private and parochial schools are also available. Since the introduction of a new public education law in 1992, compulsory primary education starts at age six and continues six years, secondary lasts for another five.

The main institute of higher learning is the University of Curaçao, enrolling 2100 students.

Economy

Although a few plantations were established on the island by the Dutch, the first profitable industry established on Curaçao was salt mining. The mineral was a lucrative export at the time and became one of the major factors responsible for drawing the island into international commerce. Curaçao also became a centre for slave trade during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the 19th century, phosphate mining also became significant. All the while, Curaçao's fine deep water ports and ideal location in the Caribbean were crucial in making it a significant centre of commerce.

Curaçao has one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean, with a GDP per capita of US$ 20,500 (2009 est.) and a well-developed infrastructure. The main industries of the island include oil refining, tourism and financial services. Shipping, international trade and other activities related to the port of Willemstad (like the Free Zone) make a contribution to the economy. To achieve the government's aims to make its economy more diverse, significant efforts are being made to attract more foreign investments. This policy is called the 'Open Arms' policy with one of its main features to focus heavily on information technology companies. For its size, the island has a considerably diverse economy which does not rely mostly on tourism alone as is the case on many other Caribbean islands.

Beginning in January 2014, the Lynx rocketplane is expected to be flying suborbital space tourism flights and scientific research missions from a new spaceport on Curaçao.

Curaçao has business ties with the United States, Venezuela and the European Union. It has an Association Agreement with the European Union which allows companies which do business in and via Curaçao to export many products to European markets, free of import duties and quotas. It is also a participant in the US Caribbean Basin Initiative allowing it to have preferential access to the US market.

Prostitution is tolerated. A large open-air brothel called "Le Mirage" or "Campo Alegre" operates near the airport since the 1940s. As prostitution exists in most parts of the world, Curaçao has implemented a different approach on handling prostitution. By monitoring, containing and regulating it, the workers in these establishments are given a safe environment and access to medical practitioners. Despite this, it should be noted that the U.S. State Department stated,"Curaçao, Aruba, and Saint Maarten are destination islands for women trafficked for the sex trade from Peru, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, according to local observers." Officials in the government frequently underestimate the extent of human trafficking problems.

Demographics

Ethnicities

Because of its history, the island's population comes from many ethnic backgrounds. There is an Afro-Caribbean majority of mixed African and European descent, and also sizeable minorities of Dutch, Latin American, French, South Asian, East Asian, Portuguese and Levantine people. The Sephardic Jews who arrived from the Netherlands and then-Dutch Brazil since the 17th century have had a significant influence on the culture and economy of the island. The years before and after World War II also saw an influx of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe, many of whom were Romanian Jews.

In the early 19th century, many Portuguese and Lebanese migrated to Curaçao attracted by the financial possibilities of the island. East and South Asian migrants arrived during the economic boom of the early 20th century. There are also many recent immigrants from neighbouring countries, most notably the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Anglophone Caribbean and Colombia. In recent years the influx of Dutch pensioners has increased significantly, dubbed locally as ''pensionados''.

Religion

According to the 2001 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Curaçao are Roman Catholic (85%). This includes a shift towards the Charismatic Renewal or Charismatic movement since the mid-seventies. Other major denominations are the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Methodist Church. Alongside these Christian denominations, some inhabitants practice ''Montamentu'', and other diaspora African religions. Like elsewhere in Latin America, Pentecostalism is on the rise. There are practising Muslims as well as Hindus.

Though small in size, Curaçao's Jewish community has a significant impact on history. Curaçao is home to the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas, dating to 1651. The Curaçao synagogue is the oldest synagogue of the Americas in continuous use, since its completion in 1732 on the site of a previous synagogue. The Jewish Community of Curaçao also played a key role in supporting early Jewish congregations in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries, including in New York City and the Touro Synagogue.

Culture

Curaçao is a polyglot society. The languages widely spoken are Papiamentu, Dutch, English, and Spanish. Most people on the island (85 percent) speak Papiamentu. Many people can speak all four of these languages. Spanish and English both have a long historical presence on the island alongside Dutch and Papiamentu. Spanish remained an important language throughout the 18th and 19th centuries as well due to the close economic ties with nearby Venezuela and Colombia. The use of English dates back to the early 19th century, when Curaçao became a British colony. In fact, after the restoration of Dutch rule in 1815, colonial officers already noted wide use of English among the island (van Putte 1999). Recent immigration from the Anglophone Caribbean and the Netherlands Antillean islands of (St. Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten)—where the primary language is English—as well as the ascendancy of English as a world language, has intensified the use of English on Curaçao. For much of colonial history, Dutch was never as widely spoken as English or Spanish and remained exclusively a language for administration and legal matters; popular use of Dutch increased towards the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century (van Putte 1999).

Curaçao is one of just a handful of social language planning instances where creole language became a medium to acquire basic literacy with introduction of Papiamentu as a language of primary school education in 1993.

Literature

Despite the island's relatively small population, the diversity of languages and cultural influences on Curaçao have generated a remarkable literary tradition, primarily in Dutch and Papiamentu. The oral traditions of the Arawak indigenous peoples are lost. West African slaves brought the tales of Anansi, thus forming the basis of Papiamentu literature. The first published work in Papiamentu was a poem by Joseph Sickman Corsen entitled ''Atardi'', published in the ''La Cruz'' newspaper in 1905. Throughout Curaçaoan literature, narrative techniques and metaphors best characterized as magic realism tend to predominate. Novelists and poets from Curaçao have made an impressive contribution to Caribbean and Dutch literature. Best known are Cola Debrot, Frank Martinus Arion, Pierre Lauffer, Elis Juliana,Guillermo Rosario, Boeli van Leeuwen and Tip Marugg.

Cuisine

Local food is called ''Kriyoyo'' (pronounced the same as ''criollo'', the Spanish word for "Creole") and boasts a blend of flavours and techniques best compared to Caribbean cuisine and Latin American cuisine. Dishes common in Curaçao are found in Aruba and Bonaire as well. Popular dishes include: stobá (a stew made with various ingredients such as papaya, beef or goat), Guiambo (soup made from okra and seafood), kadushi (cactus soup), sopi mondongo (intestine soup), funchi (cornmeal paste similar to fufu, ugali and polenta) and a lot of fish and other seafood. The ubiquitous side dish is fried plantain. Local bread rolls are made according to a Portuguese recipe. All around the island, there are snèk's which serve local dishes as well as alcoholic drinks in a manner akin to the English public house. The ubiquitous breakfast dish is pastechi: fried pastry with fillings of cheese, tuna, ham, or ground meat. Around the holiday season special dishes are consumed, such as the hallaca and pekelé, made out of salt cod. At weddings and other special occasions a variety of kos dushi are served: kokada (coconut sweets), ko'i lechi (condensed milk and sugar sweet) and tentalaria (peanut sweets). The Curaçao liqueur was developed here, when a local experimented with the rinds of the local citrus fruit known as laraha. Surinamese, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian and Dutch culinary influences also abound. The island also has many Chinese restaurants that serve mainly Indonesian dishes such as satay, nasi goreng and lumpia (which are all Indonesian names for the dishes). Dutch specialties such as croquettes and oliebollen are widely served in homes and restaurants.

Sports

Since 2001, the Pabao Little League baseball team from Willemstad, Curaçao has made it all the way to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The team features players from ages 11 and 12 who get a chance to represent the Caribbean region. In 2004 the team from Willemstad, Curaçao won the title game against the United States champion from Thousand Oaks, California. The following year the team from Curaçao made it right back to the championship game but were defeated by Ewa Beach, Hawaii after Michael Memea hit a walk-off home run to win the title game for Hawaii. In 2007 the team lost to Japan in the International Championship game.

In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Curaçaoans played for the Netherlands team. Shairon Martis, born in Willemstad, provided the highlight of the tournament for the Dutch team by throwing a seven-inning no-hitter against Panama (the game was stopped due to the mercy rule). In addition, Major League player and All Star Andruw Jones and Tirone Maria, currently playing in Aruba, are Curaçaoans.

The prevailing trade winds and warm water make Curaçao a very good location for windsurfing, although the nearby islands of Aruba and Bonaire are far better known in the sport. One factor is that the deep water around Curaçao makes it difficult to lay marks for major windsurfing events, thus hindering the island's success as a windsurfing destination. Similarly, the warm clear water around the island makes Curaçao a Mecca for diving.

Notable residents

Famous people from Curaçao include:

In arts and culture

Kizzy Getrouw, a singer songwriter and television personality based in the United States

Peter Hartman, CEO of KLM

Ingrid Hoffman, American television personality and restaurateur, chef on Food Network

Robby Müller, cinematographer, closely associated with Wim Wenders and Jim Jarmusch

Pernell Saturnino, a graduated percussionist of Berklee College of Music

In politics and government

Luis Brión, admiral in the Venezuelan War of Independence

Daniel De Leon, a socialist leader

Moises Frumencio da Costa Gomez, first Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles

George Maduro, a war hero and namesake of Madurodam in The Hague

Manuel Carlos Piar, general and competitor of Bolivar during the Venezuelan War of Independence

Tula, leader of the 1795 slave revolt

In sports

Baseball

Players in Major League Baseball

Wladimir Balentien, outfielder recently playing for the Cincinnati Reds now in Tokyo Yakult Swallows

Roger Bernadina, outfielder playing for the Washington Nationals

Kenley Jansen, pitcher currently playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers

Andruw Jones, outfielder currently playing for the New York Yankees

Jair Jurrjens, pitcher currently playing for the Atlanta Braves

Shairon Martis, pitcher, playing for the Washington Nationals

Hensley Meulens, former player and current hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants

Randall Simon, former first baseman

Football

Vurnon Anita, a football player in Ajax Amsterdam

Timothy Cathalina, football player currently playing for Tranmere Rovers F.C.

Tyrone Maria, footballer who currently plays as a Attacker for SV Bubali in Aruba

Other sports

Marc De Maar, A professional cyclist who rides for Quickstep

Shad Gaspard, WWE Pro Wrestler

Marshall Godschalk, Olympic rower

Churandy Martina, gold medallist 100m at the Pan American Games 2007 / 2010

Jean-Julien Rojer, professional tennis player

See also

Caribbean Sea

Curaçao (liqueur)

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Leeward Antilles

Rodents of Curaçao

Notes

References

External links

Curaçao-gov.an – official website of the government of Curaçao

Rinkes Curaçao – Rinkes website about (the architecture of) Curaçao

Curaçao vacation rentals – Enjoy Curaçao vacation rentals. Bungalows, villas and apartments for rent on Curaçao.

Curaçao pictures - photoblog from bRaNdSboRg.CoM

The Curaçao Island - Information and guide on tourism in Curaçao

Category:Dutch-speaking countries Category:Kingdom of the Netherlands Category:Islands of the Netherlands Antilles Category:States and territories established in 2010 Category:Netherlands Antilles articles correct after Dissolution Category:Caribbean countries Category:Dependent territories in North America

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name	Peter Stuyvesant
order	7th
office	Director-General of New Netherland
term start	1647
term end	1664
predecessor	Willem Kieft
successor	''Office abolished''
birth date	1612
birth place	Peperga, Dutch Republic
death date	August 1672 (aged c. 60)
death place	New York, Province of New York }}

Peter Stuyvesant (c. 1612 – August 1672), served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York. He was a major figure in the early history of New York City.

Stuyvesant's accomplishments as director-general included a great expansion for the settlement of New Amsterdam beyond the southern tip of Manhattan. Among the projects built by Stuyvesant's administration were the protective wall on Wall Street, the canal that became Broad Street, and Broadway.

Although conventionally referred to in English today as "Peter Stuyvesant", Stuyvesant's given name was actually "Pieter" or "Petrus"; "Peter" is not found in historical records.

Life and career

Stuyvesant was born in Peperga, Friesland in the Netherlands, to Balthazar Johannes Stuyvesant, a minister, and Margaretha Hardenstein in 1612. He grew up in Scherpenzeel. He studied languages and philosophy in Franeker, and joined the West India Company about 1635, and was director of the Dutch West India Company's colony of Curaçao from 1642 to 1644.

In April 1644, he attacked the Spanish-held island of Saint Martin and lost the lower part of his right leg to a cannon ball. He returned to the Netherlands, where his right leg was amputated and replaced with a wooden peg. Supposedly, Stuyvesant was given the nickname "Old Silver Leg" because he used a stick of wood driven full of silver bands as a prosthetic limb.

In May of 1645 he was selected by the Dutch West India Company to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of the New Netherland colony. He arrived in New Amsterdam on May 11, 1647. In September 1647, he appointed an advisory council of Nine Men as representatives of the colonists.

He married Judith Bayard (c. 1610-1687) in 1645. She was born in Breda, the sister of Samuel Bayard of Amsterdam, who was married to Anna Stuyvesant, his sister. She nursed him back to health following the loss of his right lower leg at Saint Martin and subsequent return to the Netherlands to re-cuperate. Petrus and Judith had a son, Nicolaes Willem Stuyvesant (1648–1698), who married Maria Beeckman, the daughter of Willem Beeckman.

Stuyvesant became involved in a dispute with Theophilus Eaton, the governor of New Haven Colony, over the border of the two colonies. In 1648, a conflict started between him and Brant Aertzsz van Slechtenhorst, the commissary of the patroonship Rensselaerwijck. Stuyvesant claimed he had power over Rensselaerwijck despite special privileges granted to Kiliaen van Rensselaer in the patroonship regulations of 1629.

In 1649, Stuyvesant marched to Fort Orange with a military escort and ordered houses to be razed to permit a better defense of the fort in case of an attack from the Native Americans. When Van Slechtenhorst refused, Stuyvesant sent a group of soldiers to enforce his orders. The controversy that followed resulted in the founding of Beverwijck.

In September 1650, a meeting of the commissioners on boundaries took place in Hartford, Connecticut. The border was arranged to the dissatisfaction of the Nine Men, who declared that "the governor had ceded away enough territory to found fifty colonies each fifty miles square." Stuyvesant then threatened to dissolve the council. A new plan of municipal government was arranged in the Netherlands, and the name "New Amsterdam" was officially declared on 2 February 1653. Stuyvesant made a speech for the occasion, saying that his authority would remain undiminished.

In 1651, he designed and built the New Amsterdam Hall of Mirrors, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, and charged one Dutch gulden for entry.

Petrus was now ordered to the Netherlands, but the order was soon revoked under pressure from the States of Holland and the city of Amsterdam. Stuyvesant prepared against an attack by ordering the citizens to dig a ditch from the North River to the East River and to erect a fortification.

In 1653, a convention of two deputies from each village in New Netherland demanded reforms, and Stuyvesant commanded that assembly to disperse, saying: "We derive our authority from God and the company, not from a few ignorant subjects."

In 1655, he sailed into the Delaware River with a fleet of seven vessels and about 700 men and took possession of the colony of New Sweden, which was renamed "New Amstel." In his absence, New Amsterdam was attacked by Native Americans, during the "Peach War".

In 1657 Stuyvesant, who did not tolerate full religious freedom in the colony, and especially the presence of Quakers, ordered the public torture of Robert Hodgson, a 23-year-old Quaker convert who had become an influential preacher. Stuyvesant then made an ordinance, punishable by fine and imprisonment, against anyone found guilty of harboring Quakers. That action led to a protest from the citizens of Flushing, Queens, which came to be known as the Flushing Remonstrance, considered by some a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion was also tested when Peter Stuyvesant refused to allow Jews from Northern Brazil to settle permanently in New Amsterdam (without passports) and join the existing community of Jews (with passports from Amsterdam). Stuyvesant's decision was rescinded after pressure from the directors of the Dutch West India Company; as a result, Stuyvesant allowed Jewish immigrants to stay in the colony as long as their community was self-supporting, but – with the support of the company – forbade them to build a synagogue, forcing them to worship in a private house. This followed earlier efforts to have Jews required "in a friendly way to depart" the colony. As he wrote to the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch West India Company in 1654 he hoped that "the deceitful race, – such hateful enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ, – be not allowed to further infect and trouble this new colony."

In 1664, Charles II of England ceded to his brother, James II of England, a large tract of land that included New Netherland. Four English ships bearing 450 men, commanded by Richard Nicolls, seized the Dutch colony. On 30 August 1664, George Cartwright sent the governor a letter demanding surrender. He promised "life, estate, and liberty to all who would submit to the king's authority." Stuyvesant signed a treaty at his Bouwerij house on 9 September 1664. Nicolls was declared governor, and the city was renamed New York City. Stuyvesant obtained civil rights and freedom of religion in the Articles of Capitulation. The Dutch settlers mainly belonged to the Dutch Reformed church, a strict Calvinist denomination. The English were Anglican, theologically closer to the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1665, Stuyvesant went to the Netherlands to report on his term as governor. On his return, he spent the remainder of his life on his farm of sixty-two acres outside the city, called the Great Bouwerie, beyond which stretched the woods and swamps of the village of Haarlem. A pear tree that he reputedly brought from the Netherlands in 1647 remained at the corner of Thirteenth Street and Third Avenue until 1867, bearing fruit almost to the last. The house was destroyed by fire in 1777. He also built an executive mansion of stone called Whitehall. He died in August of 1672 and his body was entombed in the east wall of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, which sits on the site of Stuyvesant’s family chapel.

Legacy

Stuyvesant and his family were large land owners in the northeastern portion of New Amsterdam, and the Stuyvesant name is currently associated with the Stuyvesant Town housing complex as well as Stuyvesant Square, a park in the area. His farm, called the "Bouwerij" – the seventeenth-century Dutch word for ''farm'' – was the source for the name of the Manhattan street The Bowery, and the chapel facing Bouwerie's long approach road (now Stuyvesant Street) became St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery. The contemporary neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn includes Stuyvesant Heights and retains its name. Also named after him are the hamlets of Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Falls in Columbia County, New York, where descendants of the early Dutch settlers still live and where the Dutch Reformed Church remains an important part of the community, as well as shopping centers, yacht clubs and other buildings and facilities throughout the area where the Dutch colony once was. More modestly, Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands was also named after Stuyvesant during the Dutch West India Company's administration of that Territory.

Stuyvesant was a great believer in education. In 1660 he was quoted as saying that "Nothing is of greater importance than the early instruction of youth." In 1661, New Amsterdam had one grammar school, two free elementary schools, and had licensed 28 masters of school. To honor Stuyvesant's dedication to education and New Amsterdam's legal-cultural tradition of toleration under Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan was named after him.

The last direct descendant of Pieter Stuyvesant to bear his surname was Augustus van Horne Stuyvesant, Jr., who died a bachelor in 1953 at the age of 83 in his mansion at 2 East 79th Street. Rutherford Stuyvesant, the 19th century New York developer, and his descendants are also descended from Pieter Stuyvesant, however Rutherford Stuyvesant changed his name from Stuyvesant Rutherford in 1863 to satisfy the terms of a will.

In popular culture

Peter Stuyvesant is the major antagonist in the 1938 Kurt Weill-Maxwell Anderson musical ''Knickerbocker Holiday'', in which he sings the song ''September Song''. In the stage production he was portrayed by Walter Huston; in the much-altered 1944 film version he was portrayed by Charles Coburn in his only singing role.

In ''Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization'', Peter Stuyvesant is one of the leaders of the Dutch colonies. Adriaen van der Donck is the other possible Dutch leader. In ''Sid Meier's Colonization'' computer game, Stuyvesant can be elected to the Continental Congress, allowing the player to build Custom Houses which automate trade with the mother country.

Stuyvesant was a key figure in the Belgian comic strip ''Suske en Wiske'' in episode 269, "De Stugge Stuyvesant".

The old time radio show ''Duffy's Tavern'' had an episode which used a newly discovered diary of Stuyvesant as a plot device.

A cigarette brand by Imperial Tobacco is named ''Peter Stuyvesant''. These cigarettes are popular in Australia, Greece, New Zealand, Zambia and South Africa.

In Charles Bukowski's 1978 novel ''Women'', the main character, Henry Chinaski, vomits on Peter Stuyvesant's burial vault cover before a poetry reading at St. Mark's Church.

See also

Adriaen van der Donck

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

Jaap Jacobs (2005), New Netherland: A Dutch Colony in Seventeenth-Century America. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN90 04 12906 5.

Matthew Frye Jacobson (1998), Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race.

External links

Appleton's Biography edited by Stanley L. Klos

Alonzo Potter Family website

Category:1610s births Category:1672 deaths Category:American amputees Category:American colonial people Category:Bayard family Category:Dutch colonial governors and administrators Category:Dutch politicians Category:History of New York City Category:People from Friesland Category:People of New Netherland * Category:Dutch amputees Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American folklore Category:Dutch Reformed Christians from the United States

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