Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. Aruba is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten; the citizens of these countries are all Dutch nationals.
Aruba has been closely linked with the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the other Dutch Caribbean islands since 1634, when Dutch settlers established in the Caribbean. Specific areas such as those relating to nationality, defense and extradition are controlled by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Who speaks it? Dutch is spoken not only in the Netherlands, but it is also the official language of Flanders, the neighbouring northern provinces of Belgium. Worldwide, Dutch is a national language in Suriname (South America), Aruba and the Dutch Antilles (Caribbean).
6 Beautiful Dutch Caribbean Islands
- Sint Eustatius.
- Saba.
- Bonaire.
- Sint Maarten.
- Curacao.
- Aruba.
The Dutch Caribbean is the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, i.e. the countries Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten and the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (together also referred to as the BES-islands, three individual public entities within the country the Netherlands).
Puerto Rico, Culebra, St Thomas, St John and St Croix are US Territories, The Caymans, Anguilla, Saba, St Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Tobago, and Trinidad are former British Colonies, but are part of the common wealth.
Three former colonial territories in the West Indies islands around the Caribbean Sea—Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten—remain as constituent countries represented within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The East Indies were targeted by the Japanese for their rich oil resources which would become a vital asset during the war. The campaign and subsequent three and a half year Japanese occupation was also a major factor in the end of Dutch colonial rule in the region.
In a nutshell: the Dutch gave up Indonesia because they were forced to by the Indonesian fight for independence and the American's threat to withhold Marshall Plan aid if they did not. Is Indonesia a Dutch overseas territory?
Exit, voice and loyalty in the Netherlands
Native Dutch are emigrating from the Netherlands in surprisingly large numbers. This column shows that most Dutch emigrants are choosing to exit due to dissatisfaction with the quality of the public domain, particularly high population density.In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power by 1610. The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation in 1942–45 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement.
Exploration of these regions by European powers first began in the late 15th century and early 16th century led by the Portuguese explorers. The Portuguese described the entire region they discovered as the Indies.
Bali was colonized by Hindu invaders in the 9th century and unlike most of the rest of Indonesia the island refused to bow to Islam when it arrived several centuries later. Bali is the only Hindu island in Indonesia and contains one of the largest concentration of Hindu people outside of India.
Specifically the phrase High Dutch referred to people from the mountainous area of what is now southern Germany. Low Dutch referred to people from the flatlands in what is now the Netherlands. Within the Holy Roman Empire, the word Netherlands was used to describe people from the low-lying (nether) region (land).
Jamaica was an English colony from 1655 (when it was captured by the English from Spain) or 1670 (when Spain formally ceded Jamaica to the English), and a British Colony from 1707 until 1962, when it became independent. Jamaica became a Crown colony in 1866.
Discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World, Dominica was the first island that was sighted during the trip. However, Columbus did not find a barren island: the island was in fact populated and had been for centuries.
The Dutch Caribbean dependency the Netherlands Antilles has ceased to exist with a change of the five islands' constitutional status. Curacao and St Maarten have become autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, joining Aruba, which gained the status in 1986.
The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country in the Caribbean Sea. It consisted of two island groups, the ABC islands Curaçao, Bonaire and (until 1986) Aruba just north of Venezuela, and the SSS islands east of the Virgin Islands.
Jamaica was an English colony from 1655 (when it was captured by the English from Spain) or 1670 (when Spain formally ceded Jamaica to the English), and a British Colony from 1707 until 1962, when it became independent. Jamaica became a Crown colony in 1866.
CARIBBEAN. The region takes its name from the indigenous people called in English Carib, from Spanish caribe, which comes from a word in the Arawakan language group (probably Taino) meaning human being.
