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Many buildings in Willemstad stand as witnesses to history. Built by the Dutch, the Penha (pronounced PEN-ya) building recently celebrated 300 years of existence. It sits at the intersection of three pivotal roads, with a store on the ground floor and living quarters on the upper floors — and today, it still guards the entrance to Willemstad's harbor.
Guarding against invaders, the Dutch constructed Fort Amsterdam at St. Anna Bay. Today the fort looks much as it did in 1635 — yellow walls, white trim, red-tile roof — but serves as the governor's mansion. Visitors stroll the courtyard and view the 1763 Fort Church and 1857 Council of Ministers building.
In the prosperous 18th century, Dutch settlers established landhuizen — plantations of corn, sugarcane, and indigo — with palatial homes. The booming island attracted merchants from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, Jews flocked to the tolerant Dutch island, establishing the first synagogue of the New World in 1732, Mikvé Israel-Emanuel.
Architecture of the period gives Curaçao its unmistakable European Baroque style, done in Caribbean colors of guava, mango, and avocado.
 When the Netherlands abolished slavery in 1854, Curaçao's economy collapsed. The landhuizen fell into ruin, but 55 have been restored, many as charming inns, restaurants, museums, and galleries. Landhuis Chobolobo, leading distillery of famous curacao liqueur, offers delicious tours.
Venezuela struck oil in 1914, and Curaçao flourished once again, as the Royal Dutch Shell Company built a refinery here.
Today, members of 65 ethnic groups spice this melting pot. Their music and cuisine fuse African, Spanish, Latin, and North American flavors. Art and architecture reflect Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and Caribbean ingredients. Papiamento, the local creole, adds Dutch, Spanish, English, French, and African words to a rich base of Portuguese.
Simón Bolívar
Great Liberator of South America leaves a Curaçao island legacy
 Simón Bolívar, great liberator of five South American countries, wasn't always welcome in his own hometown, Caracas. When Venezuela declared its independence in 1812, Spain retaliated with a heavy hand. Bolívar, a revolutionary leader, and his two sisters fled to nearby Curaçao, where a sympathetic Jewish merchant provided them with housing.
The sisters lived in what is now the Octagon Museum, which has an exhibit on Bolívar. His home, no longer standing, overlooked the Willemstad harbor, where he worked on his manifesto for a war of independence, which he announced later that year in Cartagena, Colombia. Bolívar - the George Washington of South America - eventually drove Spain from the New World and secured independence for Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. But after a lifetime of fighting colonial rule, El Libertador died penniless in 1830.
Bon Biní...
I ora nos ta leu foi kas
Nos tur ta rekorda
Korsou su solo i playanan
Orguyo di nos tur
Laga nos gloria kreador
Tur tempu i sin fin
K'e la hasi nos digno
Di ta yu di Korsou.
And when we are far from home
We do always remember
Curaçao, its sun and beaches
The pride of us all
Let us honour our Creator
All times and without end
That He has made us worthy
To be children of Curaçao.
Y cuando estamos lejos del hogar
Siempre pensamos
En el sol y las playas de Curazao
Nuestro orgullo
Gloria a nuestro Creador
Por siempre y eternamente
Porque nos ha hecho dignos
Hijos de Curazao.
This is an excerpt from Curaçao's national anthem.
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In 1634, the Dutch West India Company found the perfect deep-water port at Curaçao. On strategic shipping lanes between Africa and the Americas, the island prospered through commerce in slaves and goods. The powerful Kurá Hulanda Museum, a shady oasis of cobblestone streets and gardens, sits right where the slave auction used to swirl, testifying to that sordid trade.
