Netherlands Antilles

To English-speaking historians, the author of this book, a Dutchman who for many years now finds his base at the University of Florida, became well known when his The Dutch in the Caribbean and on the Wild Coast, 158~I680 was published in 1972. At that time Professor Goslinga, who prior to his academic career in the United States, lived for an extended period in Cura~ao, Netherlands Antilles, had already acquired a solid reputation among Dutch Caribbeanists by his manifold publications on social, political and maritime aspects of Dutch West Indian history. By his training, interests and present position, Dr. Goslinga would seem to me to be singularly well-equipped to write a comprehensive history - geared to an English-speaking university public - of what was once known as the Netherlands West Indies. The present book is the product of this professional equipment and of his long teaching experience. It should go a long way in filling the old and wide gap in historical information on this part of the former Dutch empire, and I hope an equally wide but younger audience will appreciate it.

The paper provides a brief review of economic developments and policies in the Netherlands Antilles. The government’s current adjustment initiative provides a much needed opportunity for restoring growth prospects for the Netherlands Antilles. The paper has looked into issues pertaining to the development and prospects of the Antillean offshore sector. The picture emerging is one of a sector that, after initial spectacular growth, has encountered a number of obstacles. Nevertheless, it has been able to continue to register positive, albeit more moderate, growth.

Education in the Commonwealth Caribbean and Netherlands Antilles provides a contemporary survey of education development and key educational issues in the region. The chapters cover: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Saint Eustatius and Saint Maarteen), Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The book includes discussions of the impact of local, regional and global occurrences, including social, political and geographical events, on education systems and schooling in the region. As a whole, the book provides a comprehensive reference resource for contemporary education policies in the Caribbean, and explores some of the problems these countries face during the process of development. It is an essential reference for researchers, scholars, international agencies and policy-makers at all levels.