Curaçao

Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is an island country located in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela and 80 km (50 mi) southeast of Aruba. Curaçao includes the main island of Curaçao, and the much smaller, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao").

The 2023 census recorded a population of nearly 156,000 people in Curaçao. The country has an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi); its capital is Willemstad. Together with Aruba and Bonaire, Curaçao forms part of the ABC islands. Collectively, Curaçao, Aruba, and other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. It is the largest of the ABC islands in terms of both area and population.

The island is known for its indigenous bitter orange-based liqueur, Curaçao, flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha, a citrus fruit grown on the island.

Curaçao was originally inhabited by the Arawak and Caquetío Indigenous Peoples. The first Europeans to explore the island were Spanish, who first reached it in 1499. The island became a Spanish colony after Alonso de Ojeda's 1499 expedition. Though labelled "the Useless Island" due to its poor agricultural yield and lack of precious metals, it later became a strategic cattle ranching area. When the Dutch colonized the island in 1634, they shifted the island's focus to trade and shipping, and later made it a hub of the Atlantic slave trade.