ABSTRACT

On the tenth day of the tenth month of 2010, the Netherlands Antilles – consisting of four and a half islands – were formally dissolved; in their place, two territories, Curaçao and Sint Maartin, graduated to autonomy status, joining another, already autonomous territory (Aruba); while the remaining three – Bonaire, Saba, and St Eustatius – were realigned as ‘special municipalities’ of the Netherlands. None of the five erstwhile colonies opted for independence, although that option was manifestly available (see Oostindie, this volume). We should not be surprised.