What are the Netherlands Antilles?
The Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen), previously known as the Netherlands West Indies, are part of the Lesser Antilles and consist of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea that form an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (None of the other Antilles have this term in their name.) The islands’ economy is dependent mostly on tourism and oil, though a large amount of money is made in illegal drug trafficking. History of the Netherlands Antilles, History of the Caribbean Both the Leeward (Christopher Columbus, 1493) and Windward (Alonso de Ojeda, 1499) island groups were discovered and initially settled by the Spanish. In the 17th century, the islands were conquered by the Dutch West India Company and were used as bases for slave trade. Only in 1863 was slavery abolished. In 1954, the islands were promoted from colony to a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island of Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986, when it was granted a “
