Curaçao: The island comfortable not quite independent

A multicultural melting pot, the former capital of the Netherlands Antilles still makes its own way.

Gabriela Bernal

8 January 20254 min read

As the year wound down, I embarked on my yearly journey back to Curaçao, my island home in the Caribbean. Where I grew up is almost literally a world away from the hustle of Seoul where I now live and work, yet this largely unknown paradise holds centuries of fascinating history, with a vibrant melting pot of cultures populating its shores. Curaçao is far more than the namesake blue liqueur made from local oranges that you might have spotted on a bar shelf.

The island boasts a highly multicultural population of about 155,000, with 24.6% of residents not born on the island. In addition to the majority African-descended population, the island enjoys Dutch, Colombian, Portuguese, Lebanese, Chinese, American, Indian, Indonesian, and many more communities. Most of those born on the island speak at least two to three languages, with many speaking other languages at home besides the official languages of Papiamento and Dutch. I grew up speaking Spanish at home and learned Dutch and Papiamento at school. The latter is a unique language spoken on the Dutch Caribbean islands and is derived from African languages, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Given that all schooling is conducted in Dutch, most students leave for the Netherlands to attend university after high school, although local universities have been growing in recent years. As for religion, despite centuries of Dutch influence, various norms of previous Spanish rule (1499-1634) remain embedded, with 68.2% of citizens identifying as Roman Catholic. The food eaten on the island also shares many similarities with the cuisine of Latin America, although restaurants serving food from around the world can be easily found throughout Curaçao. Moreover, unlike the Dutch who love their bicycles, most people drive everywhere in Curaçao, with most destinations being no further than 20 minutes away.

Curaçao citizens all have Dutch passports, allowing them free movement in Europe and making it easy to study and settle there.

The history of the six Dutch islands in the Caribbean – Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba, Sint Eustatius – dates back centuries. They were initially colonised by the Dutch in the 1630s and 1640s. As the biggest among the Dutch islands, Curaçao flourished alongside Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) as the centre of the Dutch slave trade from 1670 to 1815. After slavery was abolished in 1863, the Dutch shifted their focus to oil-rich Venezuela, located a mere 65 kilometres off the coast of Curaçao.

When the Dutch failed to get approval to build a refinery closer to the source, they opted for the second-best option and built a refinery on Curaçao in 1918. The venture proved highly costly, however, and Dutch Shell halted its refining operations on the island in 1985, making way for Venezuela’s PdVSA to take over until 2019. Although once a major source of income for the island, the refinery has now stopped operating altogether, increasing Curaçao’s economic reliance on tourism.

The Korsou Oil Refinery in Willemstad, Curacao, which last year reactivated from scratch after five years of closure (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)

The Korsou Oil Refinery in Willemstad, Curaçao, which last year reactivated from scratch after five years of closure (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)

Although issues surrounding racial discrimination by the Netherlands caused major riots in 1969 and this discontent simmered among locals for decades, a push for complete independence hasn’t gained as much traction as outsiders might assume. Since Curaçao was originally considered the capital of the Netherlands Antilles and received direct funding from Amsterdam, Aruba felt undermined for decades and eventually voted for independence in a 1977 referendum. After more careful consideration, however, Aruba ultimately decided against full independence and instead obtained autonomous status within the Dutch kingdom in 1986. Curaçao and Sint Maarten followed suit in 2010, with Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba becoming special municipalities of the Netherlands.

There are various reasons why most people prefer to remain a part of the Dutch Kingdom. Given the dry land, agriculture is difficult on the island and practically everything must be imported from abroad. A lot comes from Latin America, but also from Europe, especially the Netherlands.

Curaçao citizens all have Dutch passports, allowing them free movement in Europe and making it easy to study and settle there, which is an economically attractive option to many. Besides, maintaining links with the Dutch allows for continued military protection. This has become increasingly important in recent years due to the high influx of Venezuelan refugees seeking to enter the island by sea, and with regional tensions nearby.

And mostly, Curaçao does enjoy a high degree of autonomy within the current system. Besides the governor (who represents the Dutch King), we have our own prime minister (leader of the government), many political parties, a parliament, our own local elections and political processes as well as political representation in the Hague.

A recent survey from 2020 revealed that only 7% of Curaçao citizens thought independence was a good idea, with a majority believing we can’t solve our own problems alone. As such, any serious calls for independence are unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Although much more could be done to better prepare the country for greater independence, the will to do so – at least of the majority – seems absent. Compared to other islands in the Caribbean, people living in Curaçao enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Although taxes are relatively high, the welfare system is well developed, the quality of education is strong, there is an abundance of options for good food, shops, and entertainment, and the pace of life is calm. Being surrounded by pristine beaches is a big bonus. As is the weather, which usually averages around 29 degrees Celsius.

Despite its small size, constant development and ability to attract people from around the world proves its significance far exceeds its geographical footprint.

Being surrounded by pristine beaches is a big bonus (Bent Van Aeken/Unsplash)

About the author

Gabriela Bernal

Dr Gabriela Bernal is a Korean affairs analyst based in Seoul, South Korea, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the European Centre for North Korean Studies.

Topics

The Americas