Willemstad

Willemstad, city, port, and capital of the Netherlands Antilles, West Indies, on southern Curaçao. It is a free port and has excellent harbour facilities. The principal industry is the refining and trans-shipment of petroleum, chiefly from Venezuela. The tourist trade is also important. Among places of interest are Fort Amsterdam, the governor's palace, the town hall, Wilhelmina Park, an 18th-century Protestant church, and the Jewish cemetery (dating from 1650). The historic inner city and harbour were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

The city was settled by the Spanish in 1527 and taken by the Dutch in 1634. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a centre of the slave trade. Its later importance dates from 1916, when a petroleum refinery was established here. Population 130,000 (1993 estimate).