ABC islands (Leeward Antilles)

Coordinates: 12°16′N 69°05′W / 12.27°N 69.08°W / 12.27; -69.08
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

12°16′N 69°05′W / 12.27°N 69.08°W / 12.27; -69.08

ABC islands
  • ABC-Eilanden (
    Papiamento)
Location of ABC islands (Leeward Antilles) (dark green)
Location of ABC islands (Leeward Antilles) (dark green)
Capitals
3 capitals
Languages
3 languages
Islands
Countries/territory
Area
• Total
912 km2 (352 sq mi)
Population
• 2014 estimate
275,650
• Density
298/km2 (771.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)estimate
• Total
$15.977 billion
• Per capita
$47,683
GDP (nominal)estimate
• Total
$18.852 billion
• Per capita
$47,113
HDI0.833
very high
Currency
3 currencies

The ABC islands is the physical group of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. These have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 ceded them back to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815. They are a short distance north of the Falcón State, Venezuela.[1] Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the European Union; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.

History

Catholicism
on the islands.

In 1634, the Netherlands fought Spain over control of the islands. The Dutch won, (although Spain won them back before abandoning them due to them being of little value[citation needed]) and the islands were then administered by the Netherlands. The Dutch West India Company developed the areas, establishing a major port on Curaçao. The abolition of the slave trade in 1863 had a devastating impact on their economies, although the economy revived when oil was discovered in Venezuela during the early 20th century, and the islands became major oil refineries.

From 1815 until 1954 the three islands were known as the

overseas territory of the European Union
.

Geography and climate

See also: Geography of Aruba
Flag of Aruba
Flag of Bonaire
Flag of Curaçao

The ABC islands are part of the Leeward Antilles, which is the westernmost area of the Lesser Antilles. They lie immediately to the north of Falcón State, Venezuela. Due to their political history, they are sometimes considered to be part of North America along with the other Caribbean islands, but are on South America’s geographical plate and continental shelf as with Trinidad and Tobago.

ABC does not indicate the geographical order to each other; from west to east the islands are Aruba, Curaçao, and Bonaire. Aruba is a flat island, much coastal land being exposed to tidal storm surges. Bonaire and Curaçao are surrounded by reefs, and so are much more sheltered from this. Bonaire’s and Curaçao’s reefs are popular tourist destinations.

The ABC islands have an atypical hot desert climate seen in hot pockets of Australia,

La Niña
northern hemisphere winters: 1933/1934, 1970/1971, 1988/1989, 1999/2000, 2010/2011, and 2020/2021, with the highest monthly totals being over 350 millimetres or 14 inches.

Temperatures in the ABC islands are uniformly hot, averaging around 28 to 37 °C (82.4 to 98.6 °F) year-round, with comfortable humidity and minima rarely falling below 25 °C or 77 °F even on the mildest mornings, although afternoons rarely top 38 °C or 100 °F.

Environment

Bonaire is known for being a "diving paradise", with ecotourism playing a large part in its economy. The islands have a huge variety of wildlife, including flamingoes and four species of sea turtle.[4]

Demographics

mestizos
make up the majority of Aruba's population. There has been substantial immigration from North America and Europe to the islands and to a lesser extent from South America due to a very complex immigration process.

Language

Dutch, English, German, French, and Italian.[7]

Politics

Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which have their own parliament and prime minister. Bonaire is a "special municipality" of the Netherlands proper, and subject to Netherlands law.

Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao are constitutional parts of the European Union, meaning that all three islands are special member state territories. Citizens of these islands hold European passport and can vote on European parliament elections. In addition, the islands get European development funds and students on the islands can also apply for Erasmus program from the islands. However, the islands are not in the

Schengen area
of the European Union.

See also

  • BES islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba)
  • Dutch Empire
  • SSS islands (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten)

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-74104-055-5
    .
  2. ISBN 9781588432599
    .
  3. ^ Konetzke, Richard (1963). Entdecker und Eroberer Amerikas ; von Christoph Kolumbus bis Hernán Cortés. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Bücherei. pp. 54–55.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-58843-572-9
    . Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  5. ^ Dewar, Robert E. and Wallis, James R; ‘Geographical patterning in interannual rainfall variability in the tropics and near tropics: An L-moments approach’; in Journal of Climate, 12; pp. 3457–3466
  6. ^ Narin, Attila (29 September 2003). "Papiamentu is the local language of the ABC Islands – Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao". narin.com. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Aruba Language". arubavisit.info. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.

External links

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