Netherlands Antilles: A Bold Journey‪.‬

The Netherlands Antilles consists of a group of five islands in the Caribbean Sea. Two, Curacao and Bonaire, are situated near the coast of Venezuela, and the other three, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba, are situated near the United States Virgin Islands. Together with Aruba and the Netherlands, they form the Dutch Kingdom. The Netherlands Antilles was a former colony, and the traditional Antillean culture is based on acculturation of African and European elements. Now, the parliamentary democracy is fully autonomous in internal affairs, operating at two governmental levels: the central government and the island governments. The Netherlands Antilles has a small economy based on tourism, petroleum trans-shipment, and off-shore finance. Different levels of financial well-being have always been a part of the island's social and economic system. One will see characteristics of a modern well-to-do country as well as a poor one in terms of development.