Dutch Antilles

The Dutch Antilles refer to a group of Caribbean islands that were formerly part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. They include Curaçao, Bonaire, and Sint Eustatius (called the BES islands), which are special municipalities directly governed by the Netherlands, and Aruba, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, which form the Kingdom’s constituent countries. Historically, these islands shared political and economic ties with the Netherlands, but some have gained varying degrees of independence or separate status. Today, the term is used to describe this collection of islands under Dutch jurisdiction, each with distinct histories and governance structures.