The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba consists of six islands in two widely separated groups located in the Caribbean Sea. All six islands are well-known to North Americans and Europeans as tourist destinations. Although internally self-governing, all are officially subdivisions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles consists of Curacao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. Aruba obtained full internal governmental autonomy when it separated from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986.

Curaçao, Bonaire, and neighboring Aruba are located in the southern Caribbean, near the northwestern coast of Venezuela, outside the Caribbean hurricane zone. Sint Maarten occupies the southern part of the island called St. Martin in English—the other part of the island is St. Martin, a French territory. Saint Maarten and its tiny neighbors, Saba and Sint Eustatius, are located in the eastern Caribbean, due east of Puerto Rico...