Netherlands Antilles

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Updates: 

On review, I find that the capital of Saba is "The Bottom", not just "Bottom".

Clive Carpenter communicated that the Netherlands Antilles is considering a major change. According to the official Netherlands government  website, the Working Group on Netherlands Antilles Administrative and Financial Relations recommended on 2004-10-08 that Curaçao and St Maarten become self-governing countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (a status similar to that of Aruba), and that Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius become 'Kingdom islands'.

Country overview: 

In 1900, Curaçao was a Dutch colony, comprising the present-day Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. In 1948 its name was changed to the Netherlands Antilles. On 1954-12-29, Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles both changed their status from colonies to integral parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Aruba split from Netherlands Antilles on 1986-01-01 to become a separate colony. The name Netherlands West Indies has been applied sometimes to the Netherlands Antilles alone, and sometimes to Surinam as well.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Nederlandske Antiller
2. Dutch: Nederlandse Antillen
3. English: Curaçao (obsolete)
4. French: Antilles fp néerlandaises
5. German: Niederländischen Antillen p
6. Icelandic: Hollensku Antilleyjarnar
7. Italian: Antille fp olandesi
8. Norwegian: Nederlandske Antiller
9. Portuguese: Antilhas fp Holandesas
10. Spanish: Antillas Holandesas, Antillas fp Neerlandesas
11. Turkish: Hollanda Antilleri

Origin of name: 

Possessions of the Netherlands in the Antilles Islands, which were named for a legendary western island of Antillia.

Primary subdivisions: 

Netherlands Antilles is divided into five eilandgebieden (island regions).

Territorial extent: 

Each of the island regions is primarily composed of an island of the same name, except Sint Maarten, which is the southern part of an island shared with Guadeloupe. Bonaire and Curaçao also have much smaller neighboring islands, named Klein Bonaire and Klein Curaçao respectively. Within the Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire and Curaçao together constitute the Benedenwindse Eilanden (Windward Islands), and the other three, the Bovenwindse Eilanden (Leeward Islands).

Origins of names: 

Sint Maarten: island discovered by Columbus on 1493-11-11, Saint Martin's Day

Change history: 

1. 1951: Netherlands Antilles organized into the insular communities of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and the Windward Islands.
2. 1977: Windward Islands split into Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten.
3. 1986-01-01: Aruba became a separate country.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Curaçao: Curazao (Spanish)
2. Sint Eustatius: San Eustaquio (Spanish), Santo Eustáquio (Portuguese), Statia (informal)
3. Sint Maarten: Saint Martin (French), San Martín (Spanish)