Curaçao (pronounced [kura'são]) is an island in the southern part of the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela. A islet is the big & virtually all thickly settled of the ternary and then-supposed ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Netherlands Antilles, a self-sovereign section of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Curaçao's capital is Willemstad.

Curtheçao has a acreage of 444 square km (171 mi²). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles nosecount, a people was 130,627 denizen, which means a people density of 294 dweller by the square kilometer. Around 2004 a people was approximated at 133,644 habitant.

History
The building 'Rooi Katootje' A original habitant were Arawak Indians. A foremost Europeans to discover were the Spaniards, who decimated a Arawak. A island was occupied per Dutch in 1634, who brought slaves from Africa. A Dutch abolished slavery inside 1863. Because of its history, the island nowadays has a diverse ethnic background. Willemstad features compound architecture & has a american hemisphere's oldest synagogues within continuous use, founded in 1651. This, along by owning the wide range of more historic buildings within & in a area of Willemstad, which resemble a recognizable Dutch houses, earned the capital a place in UNESCO's world heritage list. Landhouses (previous plantation estates) come scattered tons all over a isl& & occasionally of the babies keep close at hand been restored and may be visited.

Geography

Curaçao is celebrated for its coral reefs which make it an first-class spot for scuba diving. A beaches on the south side contain several popular diving spots. An unusual feature of Curtheçao diving is that a sea floor drops off steeply inside two or three 100 feet of a shore, & the reef potty well exist as reached forswearing a boat. This dropoff is locally referred to as a "blue edge." Hard currents & deficiency of beaches produce a bumpy northern coast unsafe for swim & diving, however experient divers for instance dive there from either boats while conditions permit. Curaçao's greatest point is the 375-metre (1,230-ft) Christoffelberg in the northwestern part of the island. This lies in the restrained wildlife park, Curaçao Christoffelpark, & may be explored by car, bike or even even horse or in foot.

Many trails stand been placed out. Curacao has much of pages in which 1 might walk. There are and then known as Salinjas which are then salt a lake streams, lakes, and wells throughout in which flamingos fly out to rest & feed.

South-east of a coast of Curaçao lies the little, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ('Little Curaçao').

Language
A languages widely spoken in Curaçao come Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish and English. One languages, Papiamento is a native language of virtually all denizen, by using Dutch existence the official state language taught within schools. Papiamento occurs as Creole language (mostly Portuguese with a little of Spanish & Dutch) that has developed across centuries of call for between a different peoples live Curaçao.

A title 'Curaçao' is from either a Portuguese word for 'heart'. A Papiamento word for Curaçao is Korsou. A title "Curaçao" has get associated by using the particular shade of blue, & is for instance utilized as an adjective, because of the deep-blue liqueur named "Blue Curaçao".

Flag

A flag of Curaçao has a blue background by using a yellow stripe touching a bottom & 2 white, 5-pointed stars touching the top. a blue symbolises a blue sea & sky (a top & bottom blue sections, severally) divided by a yellow stroke representing a brightly sun which bathes the island. Them stars represent Curaçao & Klein Curaçao, however likewise 'Love & Happiness'. A 5 points in every star symbolise a 5 continents from either which Curaçao's humans are.

Based on data from [http://fotw.net/flags/an-cu.html Flags of the World], a horizontal stripes keep around ratios 5:1:2. A stars keep around diameters 1/6 & 2/9 of the flag height. A centre of a little 1 is 1/6 a flag height from either either a left & top edges, & a centre of the larger is 1/3 from the left & top edges. A blue is Pantone 280, and a yellowness, Pantone 102.

Politics
Curaçao gained limited self-self-determinatiin on January 1, 1954. In the 2000s a political status of a isl& hwhen been under discussion, as for a more islands of the Netherlands Antilles, on the relationship by owning the Netherlands and between the islands of the Antilles. Within the referendum held in April 8 2005, together with Sint Eustatius, a residents voted for the separate status outside the Netherlands Antilles, rather Aruba, rejecting a choices for even fully independence, becoming section of the Netherlands, or retaining the status quo.

Economy
A independent industries of the island come tourism and oil refining. Off-shore banking activities too contribute to the local economy.

Food
Local food is known as Krioyo & occurs as mixture of regional cookery styles better in comparison Creole, Cajun & South Western (note that 'Krioyo' sounds a equivalent when 'criollo', a Spanish word for 'Creole'). A select few dishes come: Stoba (the meat stew) from either 'karni' (beef) or even 'kabritu' (goat), Jambo (cactus soup), Sopi Mondongo (pigs bowel soup), Funchi (indian meal prepared) & much of fish & more seafood. A island too has much of Chinese eating house so known as "snacks" which help local dishes. A Dutch kitchen is primarily served home & non inside eating house.

Sweetly dishes come typically super sweetly. At weddings the kind of Kos Dushi (literally 'sweetly items') come served: coconut sweets, Koi Lechi (condensed milk & sugar sweet) & Tintelaria (insignificant sweets).

Celebrities from Curaçao
Famed population from either Curaçao include: Andruw Jones, a Major League Baseball player

Literature from Curaçao
Novelists from either Curaçao use processed an telling contribution to Caribbean & Dutch literature. Better known come Cola Debrot, Frank Martinus Arion, Boeli van Leeuwen and Tip Marugg.

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