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Willemstad (/ ˈ w ɪ l ə m s t ɑː t, ˈ v ɪ l-/ WIL-əm-staht, VIL-, Dutch: [ˈʋɪləmstɑt] ⓘ, Papiamento: [wiləmˈstad]; lit. ' William Town ' ) is the capital and largest city of Curaçao , an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands .
Enslaved people arrived often from Africa and were bought and sold on the docks in Willemstad before continuing on to their ultimate destination. Between 1662 and 1669, Domingo Grillo and Ambrosio Lomelín shipped 24,000 enslaved people, assisted by the Dutch West India Company and the Royal African Company from Jamaica. [1] [2] [3]
Fort Amsterdam is a fort located in Willemstad, Curaçao. It was constructed in 1634 by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) and served not only as a military fort but also as the headquarters of the WIC. Currently it serves as the seat of the government and governor of Curaçao.
Santa Famia church, Willemstad The Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Western hemisphere. Owing to the island's history of colonial times, the majority of the Curaçaoans are of African descent, including many of "Mulatto" descent (mixed African and European descent). [12]
Otrobanda and Rif Fort are in the foreground, while the Queen Emma Bridge is the pontoon bridge in the center, with the colorful buildings of Willemstad in the background. 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.
In 1707, the town of Otrobanda was established on the other side of Sint Anna Bay, and the suburb of Scharloo followed, however Willemstad continued to experience growth. [1] By 1818, the population of Pietermaai had grown to 2,334 people. The population of Willemstad with suburbs was 9,536 people. [5]
In 1997, the historical centre of Willemstad including the Fort Church was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [9] The Fort Church is the most important church of the community, and offers services in Dutch every Sunday morning. [3] The mahogany pulpit and governor's bench date from 1769 and were designed by Pieter de Mey. [2] [1]
The riots left two people dead and much of central Willemstad destroyed, and hundreds of people were arrested. The protesters achieved most of their immediate demands: higher wages for workers and the Netherlands Antillean government's resignation. It was a pivotal moment in the history of Curaçao and of the vestigial Dutch colonial empire.