Curaçao

Cu·ra·çao

C5841700 (ko͝or′ə-sou′, kyo͝or′-, ko͝or′ə-sou′, kyo͝or′-) An island territory of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea off the northwest coast of Venezuela. Originally inhabited by the Arawak, it was settled by the Spanish in 1527. The Dutch gained control in 1634, although the British held the island during the Napoleonic Wars (1807-1815). Oil refining and tourism are the major industries.

cu·ra·çao

C0809700 (kyo͝or′ə-sō′, -sou′, ko͝or′-) also cu·ra·çoa (-sō′ə)n. A liqueur flavored with the peel of the sour orange.

[After Curaçao.]

Curaçao

(ˌkjʊərəˈsəʊ) n1. (Placename) an island in the Caribbean, formerly a part of the Netherlands Antilles until their dissolution in 2010, now a constituent country of the Netherlands. Capital: Willemstad. Pop: 146 836 (2013 est). Area: 444 sq km (171 sq miles)2. (Brewing) (also without capital) an orange-flavoured liqueur originally made there

Cu•ra•çao

(ˈkʊər əˌsaʊ, -ˌsoʊ, ˈkyʊər-; ˌkʊər əˈsaʊ, -ˈsoʊ, ˌkyʊər-)

n. 1. the main island of the Netherlands Antilles, off the NW coast of Venezuela. 159,072; 173 sq. mi. (448 sq. km). Cap.: Willemstad. 2. former name of Netherlands Antilles. 3. (l.c.) Also, cu•ra•çao (ˌkyʊər əˈsoʊ, -ˈsoʊ ə) a liqueur flavored with the peel of the bitter orange.

Thesaurus

Noun

Curacao - a popular island resort in the Netherlands AntillesNetherlands Antilles - a group of islands in the Lesser Antilles just to the north of Venezuela that are administered by The Netherlands

2.curacao - flavored with sour orange peelcuracoaorange liqueur - liqueur flavored with orange

Curaçao

(kyo͝o`rəsō, ko͞oräsou`), island (2015 est. pop. 158,000), 178 sq mi (461 sq km), an autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the Lesser Antilles off the coast of Venezuela. Curaçao is semiarid; most of the plant life is of desert character. Oil refining is the principal industry, and the island has one of the world's largest refineries, receiving oil from the enormous reserves at nearby Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. There are also phosphate deposits. Other major industries include tourism (Curaçao is a free port and has a number of resorts and casinos) and ship repairing. Curaçao's ship-repair dry dock is one of the largest in the Americas. The head of state is the monarch of the Netherlands, represented by a governor-general. The head of government is the prime minister, who is elected by the unicameral parliament (Staten). The parliament's 21 members are popularly elected to four-year terms.

History

Visited by Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, Curaçao was colonized by the Spanish in 1527. The Dutch captured it in 1634 and remained in possession except for a brief period of British rule during the Napoleonic Wars. In the 18th cent. Curaçao was a base for a flourishing Dutch entrepôt trade. Economic prosperity declined after the abolition of slavery in 1863 but revived with the introduction of the petroleum industry in the early 20th cent., and the island was the largest and most populous in the former Netherlands AntillesNetherlands Antilles,
former autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of several islands in the West Indies. Earlier known as the Dutch West Indies and Netherlands West Indies, the island country consisted of Bonaire and Curaçao, both lying off
..... Click the link for more information. . Curaçao was the scene of severe racial strife and rioting in 1969. Prior to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, Curaçao voted to become an autonomous country within the Netherlands.

Curaçao

an island of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, off the northern coast of South America. Curaçao belongs to the Netherlands. Area, 472 sq km. Population, 150,000 (1972), mostly Negroes. Willemstad is the main city and also the capital of the Netherlands Antilles.

The island’s topography is hilly (elevations to 372 m). The shores in the west and south are surrounded by coral reefs and have convenient harbors. The climate is subequatorial, with up to 500 mm of precipitation per year. Vegetation is xerophilous shrubs. There are large oil refineries based on Venezuelan oil; petroleum products are exported. Curaçao was discovered in 1499 by the Spanish navigator A. de Ojeda.