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. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans (Antillianen) in the Netherlands.
The Constitution of the Netherlands Antilles was proclaimed on 29 March 1955 by Order-in-Council for the Kingdom. Its proclamation was specifically mandated by article 59(4) of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had been enacted on 15 December 1954. Together with the Island Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles, the Constitution describes the foundation of the government of the Netherlands Antilles.
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 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 by the United States dollar on 1 January 2011 on Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. On Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the Netherlands Antillean guilder was proposed to be replaced by a new currency, the Caribbean guilder, but this was stalled indefinitely by negotiations over the establishment of a separate central bank for Curaçao. In November 2020, the Central Bank announced the introduction of the replacement guilder, to be implemented in the first half of 2021.
Scouting Nederland is the national Scout organisation of the Netherlands with approximately 110,000 members (53,324 male and 54,663 female, 87,000 youth members, as of 2010.
Scouting Antiano is the national Scouting organization of the former Netherlands Antilles. It serves 1,600 members in 25 Scout groups, 21 Scout groups on Curaçao, two on Sint Maarten, two on Bonaire, none on Saba and Sint Eustatius. Since 2016, Scouting Antiano is a full member World Organization of the Scout Movement. Until then, it was an associate member of the Interamerican Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
The Scout and Guide movement in the Dutch Caribbean is served by
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba serves the three Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the three Caribbean special municipalities of the Netherlands. The court primarily hears disputes in first instance and on appeal of these six islands, and is on the same level as similar courts in the Netherlands. Since 2012, the court has also been authorized to hear inquiry procedures originated on Curaçao, of a type that would be heard in the Netherlands by the Enterprise Chamber in Amsterdam.
Koninkrijksdag is the commemoration of the signing of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 15 December 1954 in Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten. When 15 December falls on a Sunday, the commemoration takes place on Monday 16 December. Kingdom Day is, unlike Koningsdag, not an official national holiday, but government buildings are instructed to fly the flag of the Netherlands.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with 98% of its territory and population in Western Europe and with several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the former nation of the Netherlands Antilles.
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 Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or 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 common visa exists since the end of 2010 for the territories of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands which form together the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. The visa is not valid for the European part of the Netherlands, which is part of the Schengen Area.
The Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies was a Dutch colony from 1634 until 1828 and from 1845 until 1936. Between 1936 and 1948, the area was officially known as the Territory of Curaçao, and after 1948 as the Netherlands Antilles. With the proclamation of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 15 December 1954, the Netherlands Antilles attained equal status with the Netherlands proper and Suriname in the overarching Kingdom of the Netherlands.
An island council was the governing body of an island territory, an administrative level of the Netherlands Antilles until its dissolution.
Dominico Felipe "Don" Martina is a Curaçaoan politician. He served two terms as Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles. His first term lasted from November 1979 to October 1984 and his second term from January 1986 to July 1988.
Jaime Mercelino Saleh is a Dutch Antillean politician and former judge. He was a judge on the Joint Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles from 1974 to 1990 and was its president from 1979. Saleh subsequently served as Governor of the Netherlands Antilles between 1990 and 2002.
