Curacao

Program(s)

Curacao is a transcontinental island off the coast of Venezuela in the southern Caribbean Sea. Its capital is Willemstad and it is a constituent country of the Netherlands. The island has a semi-arid climate with a wet season and a dry season, and is known for its coral reefs and scuba diving. Curacao offers a unique scuba diving experience due to the fact that the sea floor drops off steeply near the shore (a phenomenon known as the “blue edge”), so a boat is not needed for diving and reef exploration.

 

Although the original inhabitants of the island were Arawak Amerindians and the Spanish were the first European visitors, the island was occupied by the Dutch in 1634. The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of Willemstad and made Curacao a center for the Atlantic slave trade. Today, Curacao is a polyglot society, almost all citizens speaking Papiamentu, Dutch, English, and Spanish. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic.