The ABC islands is the physical group of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, the three westernmost islands of the Leeward Antilles in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. These islands 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 The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

, as Curaçao and Dependencies from 1815. They are a short distance north of the Falcón State,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the

, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.

History

Arawakan people such as the Caquetio are indigenous to the ABC islands. According to the disputed letters of

Amerigo Vespucci Amerigo Vespucci ( , ; 9 March 1454 – 22 February 1512) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Florence for whom "Naming of the Americas, America" is named. Vespucci participated in at least two voyages of the A ...

, the first European to explore the ABC islands was one of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

' captains,

Alonso de Ojeda Alonso de Ojeda (; c. 1466 – c. 1515) was a Spanish explorer, governor and conquistador. He is famous for having named Venezuela, which he explored during his first two expeditions, for having been the first European to visit Guyana, Curaçao ...

, who landed on Curaçao in 1499. He is said to have called the islands ''Las islas de los Gigantes'' or ''Islands of the Giants'' due to the native inhabitants, the Caiquetio Indians. The first known European exploration was by Amerigo Vespucci, whose cartographer Juan de la Cosa first described the islands. By 1527 the Spanish had formed a government and established

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

on the islands. In 1634, the

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 to the Spanish) and the islands were then administered by the Netherlands. The

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

established a major port on Curaçao and began importing West-African slaves to the island and to nearby Bonaire. On Aruba however, slavery was not as widespread due to island being considered too dry by the Dutch and Spanish for large plantations. The abolition of the slave trade in 1863 had a devastating impact on the plantation-driven economies of Curaçao and Bonaire. The ABC islands gained newfound economic importance when oil was discovered in

during the early 20th century, the islands became sites of major oil refineries. Oil refining on the islands aided heavily in the allied war effort during

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1815 until 1954 the three islands were known as the Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. This colony at various times also included Netherlands Suriname and Sint Eustatius and Dependencies. In 1954, the ABC islands were grouped together and became part of the

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

, which gave the islands political autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Although within The Netherlands Antilles, political power was largely dominated and held by Curaçao. In 1986, Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles after a 30 year political battle for separation, becoming a separate country within the kingdom. Upon the

dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean— Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—became ...

on 10 October 2010, Curaçao gained a similar status to Aruba. Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands proper, although it maintains its status of an

overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

of the

Geography and climate

The ABC islands are part of the Leeward Antilles, which is the westernmost area of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

. 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 North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

along with the other Caribbean islands, but are on

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

's geographical plate and continental shelf as with

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. 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,

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh'' and ''BWk'', with some notable rain but an excess of

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...

over

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. Surfaces on these islands hold little moisture and evaporate the little rainfall they receive. In addition, Aruba–Curaçao–Bonaire cactus scrub is the most common vegetation on these islands. Furthermore, the ABC islands are very dry as they lie north of the

Intertropical Convergence Zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ , or ICZ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the t ...

. Only in their short rainy season from October to December or January are they exposed to showers or storms formed from the northeast

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

. The rainy season is powerfully influenced by the Southern Oscillation resulting in very high variability. During strong

El Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

years like 1911/1912, 1930/1931, 1982/1983, and 1997/1998, annual (fiscal year) rainfall can be less than , and even under in Curação in 1911/1912. As much as fell during strong

La Niña LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

northern hemisphere winters: 1933/1934, 1970/1971, 1988/1989, 1999/2000, 2010/2011, and 2020/2021, with the highest monthly totals being over . Temperatures in the ABC islands are uniformly hot, averaging around year-round, with comfortable humidity and minima rarely falling below even on the mildest mornings, although afternoons rarely top .

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 flamingos and four species of

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

. Aruba set aside 20% of its land for a National Park to protect and conserve its wildlife, known as Arikok National Park. The island is widely known for its beaches and low amounts of rainfall (even less rainfall than Curaçao and Bonaire).

Demographics

People of African descent make up the majorities of Curaçao and Bonaire's populations, while people of

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

and European descent make up the majority of Aruba's population. Inhabitants of other descent and various nationalities are also present on each island. The islands have received substantial immigration in recent decades, namely from South America, other Caribbean islands,

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and North America. Significant numbers of Venezuelan refugees also reside on the ABC islands.

Language

Multilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

is prevalent in the ABC Islands, with most inhabitants speaking multiple languages. Dutch has been the official language of the islands for most of their history since European contact, it is the language of education and government. However Dutch is not the common language on any of the ABC Islands.

Papiamentu Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; ) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao (ABC islands (Leeward Antilles), ABC Islands). The language, spelled ...

(Papiamento on Aruba), a Portuguese creole language, is the most widely spoken language on all 3 ABC islands. There are 2 main dialects of the language, Papiamentu (Curaçao, Bonaire) and Papiamento (Aruba). Unlike many other creole languages, Papiamento/u has and is not decreasing in usage. It has been made an official language on Aruba since 2003 and later official on in Curaçao and Bonaire since 2007. Papiamento/u is based on Portuguese/ Spanish with significant influences from Dutch, English, French,

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

and

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

languages. Spanish and English are also widely known and spoken on the ABC islands. Spanish due to historical ties and proximity to Latin-America, and English due to North-American tourism. Other languages brought over by immigrants such as Chinese, Portuguese, French, Italian,

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

and others are also spoken by smaller communities of speakers on the islands.

Politics

Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous countries of the

, which have their own parliament and prime minister. Bonaire is a "special municipality" of the Netherlands proper, and subject to Dutch 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 passports and can vote in 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 The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

of the European Union.

References

External links

Government of Aruba

Government of Bonaire

Government of Curaçao

Map of the region

Map of the islands
{{Caribbean topic, List of islands of Leeward Antilles Archipelagoes of the Netherlands Islands of Aruba