Netherlands Antilles
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Flag of the Netherlands Antilles
White, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed
on a vertical red band, also centered; five white,
five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center
of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main
islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.
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Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade,
the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863.
Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early
20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the
newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin
is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and
is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its
northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe (France).
- CIA World Factbook.
Netherlands Antilles - Fotw
The colours red, white and blue refer to the Dutch flag,
the five stars symbolise the five islands.
www.fotw.us/flags/an.html
Netherlands Antilles - wikipedia.org
The Netherlands Antilles is to be disbanded on December 15, 2008.
Two new associated states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands would be formed, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Antilles
Netherlands Antilles - U.S. Department of State
In 1845 the Dutch Windward islands united with Curaçao, Bonaire, and Aruba in a political unit. The abolition of slavery hurt the islands' economy until the 20th century, when oil was discovered off the shores of Venezuela and a refinery was established on Curaçao. In addition, during the same period, an offshore financial sector was created to serve Dutch business interests. Since 1945, the federation of the Netherlands Antilles--Curacao, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten--have been autonomous in internal affairs. Aruba was part of this federation until January 1, 1986, when it gained status apart within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
About 85% of Curacao's population is of African derivation. The remaining 15% is made up of various races and nationalities, including Dutch, Portuguese, North Americans, natives from other Caribbean islands, Latin Americans, Sephardic Jews, Lebanese, and Asians. Roman Catholicism predominates, but several other religions are represented, which include Anglican, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Mormon, Baptist, Islam, and Hindu. The Jewish community is the oldest in the Western Hemisphere, dating back to 1634. While faltering economic conditions caused the Netherlands Antilles to experience high rates of migration by citizens to Holland from 1998-2002, this trend has largely been reversed in recent years.
www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/22528.htm
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Flag of the Netherlands Antilles