Piscadera Bay (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: ''Piscaderabaai'') is a

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

and a neighbourhood in 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, ...

. It is situated at the western side of

Otrobanda Otrobanda is one of the historic quarters of Willemstad, located at the southwest side of the city, in Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island in the Dutch Caribbean. Otrobanda was founded in 1707, and has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site. ...

, in the southern part of

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

, the capital of the southern Caribbean island of

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

. It contains a fort of the same name, the Caribbean Marine Biological Institute, and several hotels. It has a small beach, as well as a vacation village and holiday resort, with tennis courts and casinos.

Sint Anna Bay Sint Anna Bay (Dutch: ''Sint Annabaai'') is a deep channel approximately one mile long and up to 1,000 feet wide, located on the island of Curaçao between the two parts of Willemstad, Punda and Otrobanda. The bay opens into the Caribbean Sea at t ...

is nearby. In the 17th century, maps of Piscadera Bay showed it to be a popular locale for fishing, with over 400 different species noted.

History

Three hills (Veerisberg, Evertzberg and the Seru Pretu) dominate the landscape around the bay. In the late 17th century, plantation Veeris owned by Anton Veeris was established around the bay. The plantations Raphaël and Klein Piscadera followed later. Fort Piscadera was constructed in the 1700s, and rebuilt in 1744. After the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

in 1863, a village developed based on agriculture and fishery. In November 1930, the village was annexed by

. In the 1930s, employees of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

settled in the village as well as Lebanese businessmen. From the 1960s onwards, luxury holiday resorts developed along the coast.

Landmarks

Fort Piscadera

In order to provide protection to Piscadera Bay, a fort was constructed on the cliffs overlooking the bay in 1700s, however it fell into neglect. The fort was restructured in 1744. It was seized by the British army in 1804 for a week in order to bombard

. This attack was unsuccessful and the invading troops were forced to leave the fort. By the 1950s, it had disappeared in the vegetation, and it was decided to restore the fort. The fort is in a dilapidated state in the precincts of the Curaçao Resort.

Research

In 1955, the head of the Petroleum Industry in Curaçao proposed funding for setting up of a scientific institution on the Piscadera Bay as it was found to be a perfect location for research, and then plans were prepared to establish the institution. The research station, known as the Caribbean Marine Biological Institute (CARMABI) was soon established at the open end of the bay to conduct research in the field of

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

—fisheries in particular. Renamed Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation after a merger with National Parks Foundation of the Netherlands Antilles (STINAPA), but still referred to as CARMABI, or CARMABI Foundation, it is "the largest field station in the

Southern Caribbean The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. Saint Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad and Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly ...

Commercial

One of the notable hotels overlooking Piscadera Bay is the Floris Suite Hotel. It contains 72 suites, each with their own patio. The hotel's open-air restaurant, ''Sjalotte'', serves Mediterranean cuisine. The Hilton Curaçao Resort, set in gardens, contains 197 rooms and a

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

-style casino, with three restaurants, its own brewery, and a dive centre. The luxury five-star four-diamond Marriott Beach Resort and Emerald Casino contains 237 rooms and 10 suites, and like the Hilton contains a casino to attract American tourists. The Marriott also has a dive centre and a water bar serving drinks. Other seaside landmarks are a convention and trade center, as well as the recreational area of Koredor.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Commons category, position=left Geography of Curaçao Willemstad Populated places in Curaçao