ABC islands
Encyclopedia
The ABC islands are Aruba
, Bonaire and Curaçao
. They are the three western-most island
s of the Leeward Antilles
in the Caribbean
, north of Falcón State, Venezuela
. From west to east they are, in order: Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
All three islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
, although they remain outside the European Union
. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands
.
' captains, Alonso de Ojeda
, who landed on Curaçao in May of 1499. He is said to have called the islands Las islas de los Gigantes or Islands of the Giants due to the native inhabitants, the Caiquetio Indians. Officially they were discovered by Amerigo Vespucci
, whose cartographer Juan de la Cosa first described the islands. The first Spanish colonists
, unable to find any gold or silver, kidnapped most of the natives to work on plantation on Hispaniola. By 1527 the Spanish had formed a government and established Catholicism
on the islands.
In 1634 the Netherlands
fought Spain over control of the islands. They won, and the islands became administered by the Netherlands. The Dutch West India Company
developed the areas, establishing a major port on Curaçao. The abolition of the slave trade in 1863 had a devastating impact on their economies, although the economy revived when oil was discovered in Venezuela
during the early 1900's, and the islands became major oil refineries.
The islands became part of the Netherlands Antilles
in 1954, granting them political autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1986 Aruba withdrew from the Netherlands Antilles, becoming a separate country within the kingdom. Upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, Curaçao gained a similar status to Aruba. Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands proper, although it currently maintains its status of an overseas territory of the European Union
.
The ABC islands are part of the Leeward Antilles
, which is the westernmost area of the Lesser Antilles
. They lie immediately to the north of Falcón State, Venezuela
. Due to their political history, they are sometimes considered to be part of North America
along with the other Caribbean islands, although they lie on South America
's geographical plate.
ABC does not indicate the geographical order to each other, from west to east the islands are Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
Aruba
is a flat island, exposed to the ocean currents. Bonaire and Curaçao are surrounded by reefs, and so are much more sheltered from the weather. Both Bonaire and Curaçao's reefs form popular tourist destinations.
es and 4 species of sea turtle
.
.
has been the official language of the islands for most of their history, and English
became an official language of the Netherlands Antilles in 2007. A unique creole
language has developed there known as Papiamento
. Unlike other creole languages, Papiamento is not decreasing in usage, but was made an official language on 7 March 2007. Papiamento's origins are debated, a dispute arising on whether it originates from Portuguese
or Spanish
. Today it is heavily influenced by Spanish and English
.
, which have their own parliament and prime minister. Bonaire is a "special municipality" of the Netherlands proper, and subject to Netherlands law.
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, Bonaire and Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. They are the three western-most island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s of the Leeward Antilles
Leeward Antilles
The Leeward Antilles are a chain of islands in the Caribbean – specifically, the southerly islands of the Lesser Antilles along the southeastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan coast of the South American mainland...
in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, north of Falcón State, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. From west to east they are, in order: Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
All three islands are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
, although they remain outside the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
History
Some think that the ABC islands were first discovered by one of Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
' captains, Alonso de Ojeda
Alonso de Ojeda
Alonso de Ojeda was a Spanish navigator, governor and conquistador. His name is sometimes spelled Alonzo and Oxeda.-Early life:...
, who landed on Curaçao in May of 1499. He is said to have called the islands Las islas de los Gigantes or Islands of the Giants due to the native inhabitants, the Caiquetio Indians. Officially they were discovered by Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer. The Americas are generally believed to have derived their name from the feminized Latin version of his first name.-Expeditions:...
, whose cartographer Juan de la Cosa first described the islands. The first Spanish colonists
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, unable to find any gold or silver, kidnapped most of the natives to work on plantation on Hispaniola. By 1527 the Spanish had formed a government and established Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
on the islands.
In 1634 the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
fought Spain over control of the islands. They won, and the islands became administered by the Netherlands. The Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
developed the areas, establishing a major port on Curaçao. The abolition of the slave trade in 1863 had a devastating impact on their economies, although the economy revived when oil was discovered in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
during the early 1900's, and the islands became major oil refineries.
The islands became part of the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
in 1954, granting them political autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1986 Aruba withdrew from the Netherlands Antilles, becoming a separate country within the kingdom. Upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, Curaçao gained a similar status to Aruba. Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands proper, although it currently maintains its status of an overseas territory of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Geography
Leeward Antilles
The Leeward Antilles are a chain of islands in the Caribbean – specifically, the southerly islands of the Lesser Antilles along the southeastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan coast of the South American mainland...
, which is the westernmost area of the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
. They lie immediately to the north of Falcón State, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Due to their political history, they are sometimes considered to be part of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
along with the other Caribbean islands, although they lie on South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
's geographical plate.
ABC does not indicate the geographical order to each other, from west to east the islands are Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.
Aruba
Geography of Aruba
Aruba is a small Caribbean island about the size of Washington, D.C., located 25 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 68 km northwest of Curaçao, the largest island of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Aruba’s terrain is mostly flat with a few hills. There is little in the way of vegetation or...
is a flat island, exposed to the ocean currents. Bonaire and Curaçao are surrounded by reefs, and so are much more sheltered from the weather. Both Bonaire and Curaçao's reefs form popular tourist destinations.
Environment
Bonaire is known for being a "Diving Paradise", with ecotourism playing a large part in its economy. The islands have a huge variety of wildlife, famously including flamingoFlamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es and 4 species of sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
.
Demographics
Mestizos and Afro-Caribbeans make up a large proportion of the islands populations. Recently there has been substantial immigration from Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Language
DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
has been the official language of the islands for most of their history, and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
became an official language of the Netherlands Antilles in 2007. A unique creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
language has developed there known as Papiamento
Papiamento
Papiamento is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands, having the official status on the islands of Aruba and Curaçao. The language is also recognized on Bonaire by the Dutch government....
. Unlike other creole languages, Papiamento is not decreasing in usage, but was made an official language on 7 March 2007. Papiamento's origins are debated, a dispute arising on whether it originates from Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
or Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Today it is heavily influenced by Spanish and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Politics
Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous countries of the Kingdom of the NetherlandsKingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
, which have their own parliament and prime minister. Bonaire is a "special municipality" of the Netherlands proper, and subject to Netherlands law.
