About Curaçao

Curacao, just off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, is the largest and most industrialized island in the Netherlands Antilles, covering 182 square miles.

A self-governing part of the Netherlands, Curacao is a major tourist destination boasting white-sand beaches, crystalline waters and popular casinos.

Curacao has a 320,000 barrel per day oil refinery, Isla, operated by Venezuelan state company PDVSA. It generates heavy oil-shipping traffic. Residents have repeatedly said the refinery causes environmental damage in the area. PDVSA is in talks with Curacao to buy part of the facility.

Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity — and that of neighbouring Aruba — was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields.

Curacao, known for its multi-cultural population, has Dutch, Papiamentu and English as official languages.

The above background information was quoted from: https://www.reuters.com