ABC islands (Leeward Antilles): Difference between revisions

The '''ABC islands''' is the physical group of '''[[Aruba]], [[Bonaire]], and [[Curaçao]]''', the three westernmost islands of the [[Leeward Antilles]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]]. These have a shared political history and a status of Dutch underlying ownership, since the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814]] ceded them back to the [[Netherlands]], as [[Curaçao and Dependencies]] from 1815. They are a short distance north of [[Falcón|Falcón State]], [[Venezuela]].<ref>{{cite book|publisher = Lonely Planet|last=Miller|first=Debra|year=2005|title=Caribbean Islands ([[Lonely Planet]])|edition= 4th|page=723|isbn=978-1-74104-055-5}}</ref> Aruba and Curaçao are autonomous, self-governing [[constituent state|constituent countries]] of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]], while Bonaire is a [[Caribbean Netherlands|special municipality]] of the [[Netherlands]]. Territories of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]], the countries, and its special municipalities, are outside the [[European Union]]; citizens have Dutch nationality and the former colonial power benefits from preferential trade, mineral and natural resource rights, particularly offshore.