Curaçao ( KEWR-əss-oh, -ow, -OH, -OW, Dutch: [kyraːˈsʌu, kur-] (listen); Papiamento: Kòrsou [ˈkɔrsɔu̯]) is a Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of the Venezuelan coast. It is a constituent country (Dutch: land ) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Together with Aruba and Bonaire it forms the ABC islands. Collectively, Curaçao and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.
The country was formerly part of the Curaçao and Dependencies colony in 1815–1954 and later the Netherlands Antilles in 1954– 2010, as " Island Territory of Curaçao" (Dutch: Eilandgebied Curaçao, Papiamento: Teritorio Insular di Kòrsou) and is now formally called the Country of Curaçao (Dutch: Land Curaçao, Papiamento: Pais Kòrsou). It includes the main island of Curaçao and the much smaller, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao (" Little Curaçao"). Curaçao has a population of 158,665 ( January 2019 est.) and an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi); its capital is Willemstad.
Etymology
The most accepted explanation is that Curaçao was the name by which the indigenous peoples of the island identified themselves, their autonym. Early Spanish accounts support this theory, as they refer to the indigenous peoples as Indios Curaçaos.From 1525, the island was featured on Spanish maps as Curaçote, Curasaote, Curasaore and even Curacaute. By the 17th century, it appeared on most maps as Curaçao or Curazao.
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