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The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies, and was dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status.
The flag of the Netherlands Antilles was white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center, one-third of the flag's hoist, superimposed on a vertical red stripe of the same width, also centered; six white, five-pointed stars are arranged in a pentagon pattern in the center of the blue band, their points up. It was adopted on 19 November 1959.
Bonaire is an island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is Kralendijk, located near the ocean on the lee side of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands located 80 km off the coast of Venezuela. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, the ABC islands lie outside Hurricane Alley. The islands have an arid climate that attracts visitors seeking warm, sunny weather year round. Bonaire is a popular snorkeling and scuba diving destination because of its multiple shore diving sites and easy access to the island's fringing reefs.
The Netherlands Antilles national football team was the national team of the former Netherlands Antilles and was controlled by the Nederlands Antilliaanse Voetbal Unie. The NAVU consisted of Curaçao and Bonaire. Aruba split in 1986 and has its own team.
Same-sex marriages are not performed in Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, which are constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands were, however, obliged after several court rulings to register any marriage registered in the Kingdom, but they do not have to give same-sex marriages the same legal effect as opposite-sex marriages. As marriage in the European territory of the Netherlands, as well as in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba is open to any two people, marriages performed there have to be registered in the islands.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
Country Code: +599
International Call Prefix: 00
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with the large majority of its territory in Western Europe and with several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean Sea.
General elections in the Netherlands Antilles took place on 22 January 2010. Voters elected the 22 members of the Estates, or parliament, of the Netherlands Antilles. It has been the country's last general election, as the Netherlands Antilles have ceased to exist as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. At the time of the elections, the Netherlands Antilles consisted of the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten.
The Caribbean Netherlands are the three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, although the term "Caribbean Netherlands" is sometimes used to refer to all of the islands in the Dutch Caribbean. In legislation, the three islands are also known as the BES islands. The islands are currently classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, EU law does not automatically apply.
A status referendum was held on the island of Sint Maarten in October 1994. The referendum was the result of a discussion about the future of the Netherlands Antilles, following the secession of Aruba in 1986. While most politicians, including the government of the Netherlands Antilles and the island government campaigned in favour of secession of Sint Maarten to make it form a country of its own within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the option of retaining and restructuring the Netherlands Antilles came out in favour. This resulted in the rise of the Party for the Restructured Antilles.
A status referendum was held on the island of Sint Maarten on 22 June 2000.
A status referendum was held on the island of Curaçao on 8 April 2005. The option of becoming an autonomous area within the Kingdom of the Netherlands was approved by 68% of voters.
A status referendum was held on the island of Saba on 5 November 2004.
A status referendum was held on the island of Sint Eustatius on 8 April 2005.
The Identity card BES is a uniform identity card for residents in the Caribbean Netherlands introduced upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. The cards are machine-readable and have the size of a credit card. The front contains the words Identiteitskaart followed by the island names Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The card also contains the coat of arms of the island of issue.
.sx is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet for Sint Maarten.
The Dutch Caribbean are the territories, colonies, and countries, both former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands that are located in the Lesser Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea.
An island council was the governing body of an island territory, an administrative level of the Netherlands Antilles until its dissolution.
References
- ↑ Kley, Brigitte. "Results Referendum". Bonaire Talk. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
- ↑ Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles), 10 September 2004: Status Direct Democracy (in German)
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