ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the controversy over same-sex marriage in the Dutch Caribbean played a formative role in shaping the political relationship between the Netherlands and the Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (BES) islands from 2007 until 2012. It argues that the integration of the BES islands as 'special municipalities' or 'public entities' followed an improvised course, and that the implementation of Dutch legislation on same-sex marriage did not originate from a proscribed policy of total legal assimilation. The accelerated enforcement of the laws deviated from plans to preserve a degree of legislative autonomy in the BES islands and, more importantly, to include soon-to-be public entities in negotiations concerning their political futures. The chapter examines that the history of Dutch colonialism in the Caribbean has entered into discussions on sexual freedoms, and how interpretations of this history by Dutch and Antillean politicians has rendered incommensurable the goals of sexual progressivism and anti-imperialism.
