Like the unrest in Turks and Caicos islands, the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles has been little mentioned in the press.

By Martin Lewis*

Indeed, an internet search under that name would lead one to believe it still exists, given the continuing stories on its sports teams, economy, maritime boundaries, and tourism prospects. Yet the Netherlands Antilles was officially disbanded six months ago, on October 10, 2010. The six Dutch Caribbean islands now have independent relations with the Netherlands: three as “special municipalities,” and three as “constituent countries.”

Awkward islands
The Netherlands Antilles was always a geographically and culturally awkward place. Its core originally consisted of the three “ABC” islands - Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao - lying off the Venezuelan coast. Having maintained close relations with the mainland, these islands developed a Portuguese-based language called Papiamentu (in Aruba, Papiamento).

The remaining Dutch Antilles - Saba, Saint Eustatius (“Statia”), and Sint Maarten - lie far to the northeast in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. Here the basic language is a Creole form of English. The northern islands are much smaller; Saba covers five square miles (13 square km) and is home to fewer than 2,000 people, whereas Curaçao covers 171 square miles (444 square km) and is home to more than 142,000.

Sint Maarten is the giant of the northern Dutch possessions, with 37,000 people on 13 square miles (34 square km), yet it covers only half of the island on which it is located; the rest falls under the French.

Bitter relations
During the Cold War, the Netherlands planned to release the islands into a single new country. Such plans were complicated by the historical enmity between Aruba and Curaçao, the most populous of the islands. Aruba had long agitated for separation from the Dutch Antilles, a status that it gained in 1986, with a provision that it would advance to full independence a decade later.

But most Arubans soured on the notion of separation as they witnessed the political and economic turmoil after Suriname's independence. In 1994, the Dutch government agreed that Aruba could remain an autonomous area under Dutch sovereignty, its official status becoming that of a “constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.”

Although the animosity between Aruba and Curaçao was the biggest obstacle to Dutch Antillian unity, the other islands also had their own disagreements over separation / integration. In referendums held between 2000 and 2005, only Saint Eustatius voted to remain in the Netherlands Antilles.

New status
In the end, Curaçao and Sint Maarten opted to follow Aruba, becoming fully autonomous “constituent countries” within the Kingdom, while Bonaire, Saba and Saint Eustatius chose closer ties with the Dutch homeland and became “special municipalities” of the Netherlands.

As such, Bonaire, Saba, and Saint Eustatius have seemingly become integral parts of the Netherlands, gaining voting rights in both Dutch and European elections. Yet their status remains exceptional.

Dollar, not euro
They will not receive the same levels of social security as the Netherlands proper, and they do not have to adopt all Dutch laws - notably that allowing same-sex marriage. In the most striking symbolic departure from European practice, when they dropped the Antillean guilder in January 2011, they adopted the US dollar instead of the euro.

The official use of American currency in the three Dutch municipalities has generated some controversy. The heavy dependence on tourism played a role in the decision, as did the strength of the euro. The underlying economic issues, as well as the local cultural flavor, are nicely captured by the comments posted on a St. Maarten website by a dollar defender:

"Obviously u all aint livin on Sint Maarten to see what the euro is doin the french side of the island. Mussa 40% of businesses on da french side close down because of da value of da euro. Tay even got da citizen of the french side comin over on da dutch side to shop."

No politics in sport
Although geopolitically defunct, the Netherlands Antilles evidently still functions as a unit in sports. A recent headline reads, “Peru confident of beating Netherlands Antilles in Davis Cup.” The Netherlands Antilles’ Olympic Committee (NAOC) acknowledges no organizational change in its discussions of the activities of would-be Olympians from the islands.

The geography section of the NAOC website, unfortunately, has not been updated for some time. It simply states that, “The Netherlands Antilles are now in the middle of restructuring the country. This means that from 2007 each island will have an individual relation with the Netherlands.”

* Martin Lewis is Professor of Geography at Stanford University

Source: GeoCurrents

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