The Benelux Union or Benelux is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portmanteau formed from joining the first few letters of each country's name and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union. It is now used more generally to refer to the geographic, economic, and cultural grouping of the three countries.
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.
Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC islands, 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 all 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.
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.
St. Johns is a settlement in Saba, the Caribbean Netherlands. It is located between The Bottom and Windwardside. It is the smallest of Saba's four villages, with a population of 186. The village was the birthplace of Cornelia Jones, the first woman to hold public office in the Windward Islands. It is the current location of Saba's primary and secondary schools. It is also one of the island's seismic monitoring sites.
Zion's Hill, also known by its former name Hell's Gate, is a town on the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba. Locally, it is divided into Upper Hell's Gate and Lower Hell's Gate.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a unitary monarchy with its largest subdivision, the eponymous Netherlands, predominantly located in Western Europe and with several smaller island territories located in the Caribbean.
The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) is the coast guard of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Dutch Caribbean. The unit is a joint effort between all constituent countries within the Kingdom. Prior to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, it was known as the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Coast Guard and was a division of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
The Caribbean Netherlands is a geographic region of the Netherlands located outside of Europe, in the Caribbean, consisting of three so-called special municipalities. These are the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, as they are also known in legislation, or the BES islands for short. The islands are officially classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas territories of the European Union; as such, European Union law does not automatically apply to them.
The Dutch Caribbean are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.
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.
Prostitution in the Dutch Caribbean is legal and regulated. At least 500 foreign women are reportedly working in prostitution throughout the islands. Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Curaçao are sex tourism destinations.
The Ministry of Justice and Security of the Netherlands oversees the heads the Public Prosecution Service. The Public Prosecutor typically leads the investigation in a criminal matter, and the Public Prosecution Service ensures that the sentence given by the judges are properly executed. In addition. the service monitors any fines and penalties, the imprisonment process, and any required community service.
Island council elections were held in the Caribbean Netherlands on 2 March 2011 to elect the members of the island councils of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. They were the first island council elections since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010.
Island council elections were held in the Caribbean Netherlands on 18 March 2015 to elect the members of the island councils of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius. The elections were held on the same day as the provincial and water board elections in the European Netherlands. The election was won by the Movement of Bonaire People in Bonaire, the Windward Islands People's Movement in Saba, and the Progressive Labour Party in Sint Eustatius.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by the States General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Bonaire was part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire on 16 April 2020. On 28 April, all cases recovered. On 14 July, two new cases were discovered. On 13 August, all cases recovered.
Island council elections were held in the Netherlands Antilles on 20 April 2007 to elect the members of the island councils of its five island territories. They were the last regular island council elections before the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010.
Association football is a popular sport on the Caribbean island of Saba.
