Exploring the World Series: Caribbean - Willemstad, Capital of Curaçao
The earliest inhabitants of Curaçao were the Arawak Indians. In 1499, a Spanish expedition became the first Europeans to visit the island. From the 17th to 19th centuries, it was successively occupied by the Dutch, British, and French, with Dutch rule reestablished in 1815. Slavery was abolished in 1863. In 1954, Curaçao became part of the Netherlands Antilles, and Willemstad became its capital. In 2010, Curaçao became an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The capital, Willemstad, consists of two historic districts: Punda (founded in 1634) and Otrobanda (founded in 1707), connected by a long floating bridge. With over 765 colorful colonial-era buildings preserving 17th–18th-century Dutch architectural styles, the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Image 1: UNESCO plaque and the world’s oldest commercial building—Penha House
Image 2: Curaçao’s iconic emblem
Images 3–4: Vibrant waterfront townhouses in Willemstad’s harbor
Image 5: The Penha Building (1708), the harbor’s closest townhouse to downtown, served as a trading hub. Its curved gables, arched windows, and white stucco accents on yellow walls exemplify 18th-century Curaçao Baroque.
Image 7: Fort Amsterdam at St. Anna Bay’s entrance, built in 1634 by the Dutch West India Company as a defensive and administrative center, featuring walls, cannons, government offices, and a fort church.
Image 8: Willemstad is split by St. Anna Bay: Punda (east, walled since 1634) and Otrobanda (west, expanded in 1707 for overcrowding), linked by Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge (1888). The waterfront’s Baroque townhouses evoke Amsterdam’s canal houses.
Image 9: View of Otrobanda from Queen Emma Bridge
Image 10: A massive cruise ship in Curaçao’s harbor
Image 11: Floating market formed by Venezuelan boat vendors
Images 12–15: Punda’s pastel-painted homes, distinct from Spanish Caribbean architecture—tall, narrow, with steep roofs—resemble a box of crayons.
Image 16: The 1867 Progressive Synagogue, now the Public Prosecutor’s Office
Image 17: Otrobanda’s Kurá Hulanda Museum ("Dutch Courtyard"), dedicated to the Atlantic slave trade’s dark history.
Images 18–20: Sunset views