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. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although 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. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The 87-square-kilometre (34 sq mi) island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but the Dutch part is more populated than the French part. The division dates to 1648. The northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Even though the island is an overseas possession of two European Union member states, only the French part of the island is part of the EU.
Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the active volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands, also known as the Caribbean Netherlands.
The Netherlands Antillean guilder is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The guilder was replaced on 1 January 2011 on the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius by the United States dollar.
The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten is the central bank for the Netherlands Antillean guilder and administers the monetary policy of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The bank dates to 1828 making it the oldest surviving central bank in the Americas.
Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 56% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg. Collectively, Sint Maarten and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.
Fort-de-France Bay is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Martinique. It is named after Martinique's capital, Fort-de-France, the chief town on the bay.
Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, near the Sint Maarten town of Philipsburg.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the former nation of the Netherlands Antilles.
Area code 721 is the telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. The area code was assigned in 2011 after membership of the country in the NANP became effective. International dialing to the country requires the use of country code 1.
The Caribbean guilder is a planned currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, two constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, officially slated for introduction in 2024. The Caribbean guilder is set to replace the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) at par and be pegged to the U.S. dollar. The currency has an official launch scheduled for the second half of 2024; however, the launch has reportedly been pushed to 31 March 2025, pending confirmation from the ministry of finance. It is divided into 100 cents.
Road Salt Pond, also known as Road Bay Pond or simply Road Pond, is a wetland in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the territory's Important Bird Areas (IBAs).
West End Pond is a wetland in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the territory's Important Bird Areas (IBAs).
The Merrywing Pond System is a golf course wetland system in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea. It forms one of the territory's Important Bird Areas (IBAs).
Forest Bay Pond is a small wetland in Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea. It forms one of the territory's Important Bird Areas (IBAs).
The Lesser Antillean funnel-eared bat is a subspecies of the Mexican funnel-eared bat found to be endemic to the Lesser Antilles islands of the Caribbean.
The Quill/Boven National Park comprises two separated sections of protected land at opposite ends of the island of Sint Eustatius in the Dutch Caribbean. Both parts of the park have been identified by BirdLife International as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) because they support populations of several threatened or restricted-range bird species.
Fresh Pond is a 14 ha water body in the country of Sint Maarten on the island of Saint Martin in the Dutch Caribbean. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports populations of various threatened or restricted-range bird species. Some 2.5 km long by 1 km across, it lies within the capital city of Philipsburg. Because of its low salinity, it supports species which are less common in other parts of the island. The pond is bordered with reeds, mangroves and coconut palms. American coots have been recorded breeding at the site, as well as snowy egrets, pied-billed grebes, common moorhens, great egrets, white-cheeked pintails and ruddy ducks. Other birds for which the IBA was designated include green-throated caribs, Antillean crested hummingbirds, Caribbean elaenias, pearly-eyed thrashers and lesser Antillean bullfinches.
Great Salt Pond is a 188 ha water body in the country of Sint Maarten on the island of Saint Martin in the Dutch Caribbean. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports a large seasonal aggregation of laughing gulls. It borders the capital city of Philipsburg and is the largest pond on the island. It has a high salinity and suffers pollution from landfill and urban runoff.
Pelikan Rock is a small rocky islet, about 1 hectare in area, lying to the south-east of the coast of the island of Saint Martin, and belonging to the country of Sint Maarten in the Dutch Caribbean. It, along with the waters of the surrounding marine park, has been identified as a 328 ha Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports nesting colonies of seabirds, including brown pelicans, laughing gulls, royal terns and, probably, Audubon's shearwaters.
