Netherland Antilles going away?

[andrewjackson]

The Netherland Antilles may be disappearing as a political entity. It was supposed to happen this December but that has been delayed.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands currently consists of the state of the Netherlands, the state of Aruba, and the state of the Netherlands Antilles. Each of those has its own legislative and executive branches but the monarch of the Kingdom appoints the governor as the head of state of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

The Netherland Antilles is composed of St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, Bonaire, Saba, and Curaçao. Aruba was once part of the NA but in 1986 it became an associated state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The islands of the NA have decided to break up. Some of them wanted more independence and some wanted closer relations with European Netherlands. And in either case they didn't get along with each other. The current plan is for St. Maarten and Curaçao to also become associated states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands while St. Eustatius, Bonaire, and Saba would become Municipalities with the Kingdom. They would function sort of like cities with mayors and local councils but would be bound by the same laws as the cities within European Netherlands. They have been invited to become part of the province of North Holland.

It's sort of like if when Hawaii became a state the islands of Kauai and Maui had decided to become counties of California rather than part of the State of Hawaii.

So when all is said and done these would be the states of the Kingdom of the Netherlands:

Netherlands (including the islands of St. Eustatius, Bonaire, and Saba)
Aruba
St. Maarten
Curaçao