The Netherlands Antilles is over there!

The Netherlands Antilles, located in the Caribbean Sea, is an overseas territory of the Netherlands. It consists of two groups of islands, north and south, which are more than 800 kilometers apart. Include Cura? ao and bonnaire on the northern coast of South America, as well as San yust Hess and Saba in the northern part of Lesser Antilles and San Martin in the southern part. It covers an area of about 800 square kilometers and has a population of about 210.4 million (in 2002).

Specific introduction:

Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Netherlands Antilles)

Dutch islands in the West Indies. Located in the Caribbean, it is an overseas territory of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands, north and south, which are more than 800 kilometers apart. Include Cura? ao and bonnaire on the northern coast of South America, as well as San yust Hess and Saba in the northern part of Lesser Antilles and San Martin in the southern part. It covers an area of about 800 square kilometers and has a population of about 210.4 million (in 2002). 80% of them are mulatto and a few are white. The official languages are Dutch and Papiamentu, and Spanish and English are also spoken. 82% of the residents believe in Catholicism, and 10% of the residents believe in Christianity. The capital is William Stade. Located in the tropics, the annual average temperature is 26-30℃, and the annual precipitation is less than 000mm in the southern three islands and more than 1 1,000mm in the northern three islands. 1634 was occupied by the Netherlands, and 1954 implemented internal autonomy. The economy is dominated by oil industry and tourism. Cura? ao has a large refinery with Dutch and American capital, refining crude oil imported from Venezuela. But also petrochemical, brewing, tobacco, ship repair and other industries. Agriculture only grows sisal and oranges. And raise sheep. Petroleum products account for about 95% of the total export value. Imported food and industrial products.

The whole territory consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean, north and south, which are more than 800 kilometers apart. The northern three groups of islands are located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, at the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. Nanzu Island is located in the southern Caribbean, only 6 1 km from the northern coast of Venezuela, and it is the main island of the Netherlands Antilles. The northern islands have a tropical rainforest climate. The southern islands have a savanna climate.

Spanish colonists landed on Cura? ao in 1499 and occupied three southern islands (including Aruba) in 1527. 1634, Nansan Island became a Dutch colony. The three northern islands were first discovered by Columbus in 1493. 17 century was occupied by the Netherlands, and then changed hands many times. Finally, 18 16 was determined as Dutch territory. 17 At the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2008, Cura? ao, the main island in the south, was the trade center of the Caribbean. 65438+became the center of slave trade in the Caribbean at the beginning of the 9th century. During World War II, the United States stationed troops on Cura? ao and Aruba in the name of protecting the oil on the island. From 65438 to 0954, the islands practiced internal autonomy and became an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

According to the Constitution, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles unite on the basis of equality to protect the interests of the two countries and provide mutual assistance. The Netherlands Antilles enjoys complete autonomy in internal affairs; The Governor represents and is appointed by the King of the Netherlands; The Antilles government appointed a plenipotentiary minister to represent Antilles in the Dutch cabinet; The Netherlands is responsible for the foreign and defense affairs of the Antilles. Parliament is unicameral, and the government consists of the Governor and the Council of Ministers. The chairman of the Council of Ministers is the Prime Minister of the Government. The government was established in April 1990: Governor J.M. Shah and Prime Minister M.L. Peters.

The main political parties in Antilles are: National People's Party, Democratic Party of Saint Martin, Labor Liberation Front and bonnaire Progressive Alliance.

Netherlands Antilles is an important overseas financial center. More than 30,000 companies are registered here. The industry is relatively underdeveloped, with oil refining as the main industry for a long time. 1In the early 1980s, tourism replaced the oil refining industry and became the most important economic sector. The beaches on Sint Maarten and bonnaire Island are tourist attractions. Tourists mainly come from America and Europe. The main export targets are the United States, Britain and Guadeloupe. The main importers are Venezuela, the United States and the Netherlands. Antillean currency name: Netherlands Antillean guilder. Exchange rate: 1.79 guilder 1 USD (1993). Foreign aid mainly depends on the Netherlands. At the end of 1980s, the Dutch economic aid decreased, and the government was forced to take austerity measures, while stepping up the development of economic diversification. The fishing industry in Sint Maarten has developed rapidly, but the output cannot meet the internal demand. Agriculture mainly produces aloe, sorghum, beans, vegetables and tropical fruits. There are 8000 hectares of arable land. There is no railway in China, but all the islands have a good all-weather road network. There are international airports on Cura? ao, Sint Maarten and bonnaire. There are flights to the United States, Aruba, Venezuela, Suriname and Caribbean countries. The main port is Cura? ao.

The education system is the same as that in the Netherlands. The government's expenditure on education accounts for about 1/3 of the budgeted expenditure, and the educational facilities are good. Basically illiterate. The daily newspapers mainly include Friends of Cura? ao (Dutch), Izvestia (Dutch), Izvestia (Papiamentu) and Izvestia (Papiamentu). The main news agency is Dutch news agency. * * * There are 15 radio stations. There are mainly Caribbean radio stations built in 1955, which broadcast in Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiamentu; Cura? ao Broadcasting Association, founded in 1933, broadcasts in Papiamentu; There is also World Radio, which broadcasts in four languages to South America, Central America, North America and the Caribbean. There are five TV stations. There are mainly leeward islands Broadcasting Corporation TV, Antilles TV and Cura? ao TV. Created by Liu Hongping.

From July 1 2007, the Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean will be dissolved, two of them will become independent Dutch countries, and the other three islands are likely to become special administrative regions of the Netherlands. It is reported that Balkenende and the local leaders of the Netherlands Antilles reached an agreement on the 26th after a two-day round table meeting in Cura? ao. According to the agreement, from July 1 day, 2007, Cura? ao and Sint Maarten (the northern part of which is owned by France) among the five islands in the Netherlands Antilles will become independent countries under the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the government will enjoy a high degree of autonomy. The other three islands will be called "Kingdom Islands", and their specific status is to be determined, but they are similar to special administrative regions. In recent years, the people of the Netherlands Antilles demanded to get rid of the government of the Netherlands Antilles through a referendum, and the Dutch government was forced to start consultations on this issue in 2004. After the round table, Balkenende said that the signing of the agreement has taken a historic step.

Aruba, the largest island in the Netherlands Antilles, gained independence in 1986 and was upgraded to a dependency of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.