CURACAO

LARGEST OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, Curaçao (kur-ah-SOW) lies 38 miles (61 km) off the coast of Venezuela. Small hills throughout the island offer a variety of scenery, but vegetation is sparse because of slight rain­fall. Willemstad, the capital, is a bright mosaic of narrow streets lined with 18th-century Dutch-Caribbean houses topped with red tile roofs. Each house is painted a pastel shade, which lends a storybook Dutch charm. Curaçao shares much of its history with the other Dutch islands. Discovered in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda, a lieutenant of Christopher Co­lumbus, the island was named for the tribe of Caiquetios, an Arawak-speaking group which lived here. A more popular legend claims that Curaçao’s name was derived from the Spanish word curación, meaning “cure,” when several malarial sailors miraculously recovered from scurvy after an extended visit to the island.

The initial Spanish colonizers were displaced early in the 17th century by Dutch settlers, who made the islands flourishing centers of trade. One of the first governors was Peter Stuyvesant, later governor of another island colony: New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. The Nether­lands Antilles changed hands several times in the early 19th century, but by 1815 the Dutch were here to stay.

Except for a brisk slave trade that ended in 1863, the 19th century was less than prosperous for Curaçao and its sister islands. Then the discovery in 1914 of oil in Venezuela made their position astride the trade routes important. Curacao’s eco­nomic mainstays today are banking, tourism and refinery facilities. It also has several large local in-dustries, including a brewery that produces beer from distilled sea water; Senior & Co. Curaçao Li-queur; a battery manufacturer; the largest non-military drydock in the hemisphere; and cigarette, soap and paint factories.

Autonomous within the Kingdom of the Nether-lands since 1954, the Netherlands Antilles are ad-ministered by a governor appointed by the Queen and a legislative and executive council for each is-land. One of the languages spoken on Curacao is Papiamentu, a colorful blend of Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish and English with African dialects.

SHOPPING
Because of the low import duty on most goods, Curaçao is an excellent shopping center; prices are often lower than in the products’ coun­tries of origin. Such international luxury goods as Brazilian and Argentine leather goods, Portu­guese embroidery and lace, Spanish shawls, Irish

linen, French parfume, Oriental silk and ivory, Japanese and German Cameras, Swiss watches, Italina jewelry, Delft porcelain and fine crystal can be found.