CuraCao, Alcoholic Beverages

Related Category: Alcoholic Beverages

Visited by Alonso de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, CuraCao was not settled by the Spanish until 1527. The Dutch captured it in 1634 and remained in possession except for a brief period of British rule during the Napoleonic Wars. In the 18th cent. CuraCao was a base for a flourishing Dutch entrepOt trade. Economic prosperity declined after the abolition of slavery in 1863 but revived with the introduction of the petroleum industry in the early 20th cent. CuraCao was the scene of severe racial strife and rioting in 1969.