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Netherlands West Indies

Netherlands Antilles
Nederlandse Antillen  (Dutch)
Antia Hulandes  (Papiamento)
Former constituent country of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands
1954–2010
Flag Coat of arms
Motto
Latin: Libertate unanimus
"Unified by freedom"
Anthem
Het Wilhelmus (1954–1964)
Tera di Solo y suave biento (1964–2000)
Anthem without a title (2000–2010)
Capital Willemstad
Languages Dutch
English
Papiamento
Demonym Netherlands Antillean
Government Constitutional monarchy
Queen
 •  1954–1980 Juliana
 •  1980–2010 Beatrix
Governor
 •  1951–1956 Teun Struycken
 •  1962–1970 Cola Debrot
 •  1983–1990 René Römer
 •  2002–2010 Frits Goedgedrag
Prime Minister
 •  1954–1968 Efraïn Jonckheer
 •  1973–1977 Juancho Evertsz
 •  2006–2010 Emily de Jongh-Elhage
Legislature Estates of the Netherlands Antilles
History
 •  Established 15 December 1954
 •  Secession of Aruba 1 January 1986
 •  Dissolved 10 October 2010
Area
 •  2010 999 km² (386 sq mi)
Population
 •  2010 est. 304,759 
     Density 305.1 /km²  (790.1 /sq mi)
Currency Netherlands Antillean guilder
Internet TLD .an
Calling code +599
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Curaçao and Dependencies
Aruba
Curaçao
Sint Maarten
Caribbean Netherlands

The Netherlands Antilles (Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen [ˈneːdərˌlɑntsə ɑnˈtɪlə(n)]; Papiamentu: Antia Hulandes) was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies, and was dissolved in 2010. The former Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country at the same time. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status.

The islands of the Netherlands Antilles are all part of the Lesser Antilles island chain. Within this group, the country was spread over two smaller island groups: a northern group (part of the Leeward Islands) and a western group (part of Leeward Antilles). No part of the country was in the southern Windward Islands.

This island sub-group was located in the eastern Caribbean Sea, to the east of Puerto Rico. There were three islands, collectively known as the "SSS islands":


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