Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles A group of Caribbean islands (including Aruba until 1986), which came under Dutch authority in 1678. Political life began to emerge during the late 1930s, and after World War II demands for greater autonomy from the Netherlands began to grow. In 1954, they were granted full self-government in internal affairs, while being declared an integral part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the same time. The five constituent islands are represented in a common federal parliament, though each island remained autonomous in its own internal matters. In the late 1980s the constitutional set-up seemed extremely fragile, with the established political parties advocating a breakup of the Antilles. However, these proposals were popularly rejected in a referendum in October 1994, when an overwhelming majority approved of the status quo. In 1999, it surrendered its currency in favour of the euro.