Talk:Curaçao
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Can someone reinstate the flag and sattelite image which have somehow disappeared from earlier editions. Unfortunately not sure how to do so without loosing other amendments.
There should be no diacritic in the title of the article. See Wikipedia policy: Use English. This is the English, not the French, Wikipedia, and most English-speaking people reading it, including myself, have no idea how to pronounce "ç". For other examples of articles where diacritics technically belong but are removed from article titles to ease reading and searching, see Tokyo (not Tōkyō) and Kyoto (not Kyōto). LordAmeth 17:39, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
There are several references to portuguese language, and terms used in the island reveal a strong portuguese influence- the name of the island itself it is not spanish - , yet no explanation for this important european influence is found on the article.
In my Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Edition Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, "curaçao" is spelled with the cedilla. Merriam-Webster is as good an expert on the English language as I have access to. So if we were voting, I'd say KEEP IT. Gws57 02:28, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
The c cedilla is part of the name, not a phonetic help, and should stay.
I removed historical economy information from under the heading of Economy and reintegrated it into history where it should be. It seems redundant to treat the history of economy under the economy section when it has been sufficiently elaborated under the history section
Should there be a tilde over the A?
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[edit] Desalinization?
I haven't been to Curaçao since the 1970s so I don't know whether any of the following are still true. If true, they might be worth a mention:
- Virtually all fresh water on the island is distilled from seawater at a huge desalinization plant, made economically feasible by the low cost of energy from the refinery.
- The lack of natural fresh water prevents any large scale local agriculture, but there are small, commercial truck gardens (watered by the general desalinized water supply).
Dpbsmith (talk) 15:13, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
It is - this is the way it happens on the neighbouring island of Bonaire. The principle on Curacao is the same only on larger scale: http://www.jongbonaire.org/07d_web.htm
[edit] Picture Incorrectly Identified
The article on Curaçao has a small picture of a house incorrectly identified as “Rooi Katootje” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Curacao_rooi_katootje.jpg). This building is actually called Landhuis Groot Davelaar. The Rooi Catootje landhuis (spelled with a “c,” not a “k”) is located nearby, perhaps an eighth of an mile from Groot Davelaar. Incidentally, Rooi Catootje is open to the public, and is home to the S.A.L. “Mongui” Maduro Library and foundation (http://www.madurolibrary.org/index.htm). I went ahead and changed the caption on the photo to correctly identify it as Groot Davelaar.
[edit] Portuguese influence
Papiamentu sounds very much like Brazilian Portuguese, and this can be traced to the early influence of the Sephardic Jews who were ejected from Portugal in 1495, and settled in Holland and later Brazil. In 1492 the expulsion of Jews from Spain and later Portugal led to a diaspora. Some Jews sought refuge in Holland. Hundreds of their descendants crossed the ocean to settle in the new Dutch colony of Recife in Brazil, where Jewish communal life became possible for the first time in the New World. When Portugal recaptured this colony in 1654, its Jews scattered. Refugees spread through the Dutch Caribbean, beginning fresh Jewish communities. The first group of Jews had arrived in Curacao from Amsterdam in 1651.
The Jewish community was founded in 1659 and in 1732 the synagogue Mikve Israel was consecrated in Willemstad, the oldest synagogue continually in use in the Western Hemisphere. Korsowan 16:20, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- I hope you don't plan on adding that to the article as fact. There is no disputing the influence of the Sephardic Jews on Curacao, but the Portuguese influence on Papiamentu comes primarily from Portuguese slave traders on the African end of the slave trade. Kww 19:36, 26 August 2007 (UTC)
- That sound politically correct to me - I would argue as to how a language is learned - on board ship, or once settled in the new world. The Portuguese and later Dutch slave traders supplied Brazil and the Spanish colonies (I was always interested that the Shell Sports Club on Curacao was called Asiento - contract in English, specifically the contract to trade slaves). Why take slaves to Curacao? - there was nothing for them to do there, no salt flats as in Bonaire and its slave huts, no sugar, except for one small plantation. The island tradition was that it was a trans-shipment area, but then surely it was the Dutch slave traders who used it as such, and papiamentu has little Dutch. Anyway, as I said, it has the sound of Brazilian, not Portuguese - a much more guttural language. - Korsowan 09:42, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
- added: Brazilian and Portuguese are one and the same language, it's the accent and tone that change (pretty much like a New Yorker and a Londoner speak the same English). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.164.0.63 (talk) 08:59, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Hurricane belt
Now that Hurricane Felix has passed over Curacao, do we amend the hurricane belt assertion? How was the experience on Bonaire, KWW? - hopefully not too bad, the buildings are fairly solid... - Korsowan 10:16, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
I am surprised that the map shows that we encountered tropical storm winds ... it didn't even seem like a particularly bad storm. That was our first wind strike since 1831, so no, I don't think either of our islands have popped into the hurricane belt. Kww 15:31, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Changes
I have added the following information,
It is a true and little known fact that the official languages of the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES are Dutch, ENGLISH and PAPIAMENTU. It had been ONLY Dutch before the 1990s, but this is no longer the case.
Another true but little known fact is that the principal language of education had been Spanish prior to the arrival of Royal Dutch Shell. It became Dutch in order to accomodate the influx of Shell Executives and their offspring. Dutch had enjoyed some privilege in the colonial period, but it would be a mistake to conceive of a Dutch-linguistic hegemony from a historical point of view.
Emily de Jongh-El Hage is elected prime minsiter of the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES and NOT CURAÇAO. CURACAO enjoys the status of an island territory under the decentralized state of NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. So one cannot become prime minister of Curaçao. If and when the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES is dissolved, a prime minister of Curaçao will become a possibility.
[edit] Other famous people
Churany Martina 100 meter atleet Tanya Kross International opera singer Randell Simon Big leager
[edit] Sivah
I've done a fair amount of research (okay, a mild amount of Googling)... what the hell is a Sivah? Is this an old joke statement in the article that needs to be culled, or can someone define "Sivah" for me?
Jouster 20:27, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] 'Rooi Katootje' or 'Groot Davelaar'?
I see that the caption to my photo of Rooi Katootje has been changed to 'Groot Davelaar'. But I grew up knowing it as 'Rooi Katootje'. Has the name been changed or what? I changed the caption again to include both names, for those who know it under the other name. DirkvdM 19:59, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The photo is of Landhuis Groot Davelaar, really!
Hello DirkvdM:
I don’t know if you saw my post, above, but I am the person who changed the caption of your father’s photo from Landhuis Rooi Catootje to Landhuis Groot Davelaar. Perhaps your family referred to this building as Landhuis as Rooi Katooje, but this is not correct. Groot Davelaar and Rooi Catootje are two different places. The following websites confirm this:
Websites that reference Landhuis Groot Davelaar:
[www.curacao-travelguide.com/sights/landhuis_davelaar.html] [www.curacao.com/TheCuracaoDifference/UniqueArchitecture/Landhuizen/LandhuisGrootDavelaar.aspx]
Websites that reference Landhuis Rooi Catootje:
[www.madurolibrary.org/html/treas-history/index.html] [www.curacao.com/TheCuracaoDifference/CultureAndHeritage/Museums/MonguiMaduroLibrary.aspx]
[www.curalink.com/arts/artsculture_museums.htm]
Vterinexile 21:01, 20 January 2007 (UTC)vterinexile
[edit] Campo Alegre
I noticed the controversy over the legal status of prostitution on Curacao, and the {fact} tag on the large brothel. Would a link to the brothel's website be an appropriate reference, or would it be considered spam? Kww 23:46, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
- If it's a major industry or attraction in the town, I'd think it's fine (see Milwaukee). Jouster (whisper) 01:36, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Calling Code
I reverted a change to the calling code for Curacao. It used to be required to dial 5999 for Curacao, 5997 for Bonaire, 5995 for Sint Maarten, etc, but that has been unnecessary for several years. It's still allowed, but if you just dial +599<seven digit number>, it works for all the islands. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kww (talk • contribs) 04:32, 17 April 2007 (UTC).
[edit] Origin of Name
According to my soure, "5087 Trivia Questions and Answers", The origin of the island's name comes from the word "cure". It got it when some scury-plagued portugese sailors landed on the island and were cured after partaking in the island's abundant citrus crop. Jason ost
(added) Sorry for not logging in. "Curaçao" comes from the Portuguese "curação" (old Portuguese for "cure") and not "coração" (Heart). That's one of the reasons the "cedilla" stays on the "c": "c" and "ç" have different sounds in Portuguese ("c" as "k" and "ç" as "s"); "curação" reads as "koo-ra-soun" while "curacao" reads as "koo-ra-kao".
[edit] postitution
prostitution is illegal on the island, but tolerated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.26.216.194 (talk) 17:21, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
The 'title' under which these prostitutes get their work permits is that of 'exotic dancer' not prostitute.
This is the same in St. Maarten, where there are almost 10 established brothels. Each 'tour of duty' is three months for each dancer. They have to pay a fee for every night they work in the establishment. It is a big misunderstanding that the establishment is making money directly from prostitution. It is the income from beverages, food, room fees and the daily fee from the exotic dancers themselves. If an exotic dancer has no clients for a day she still owes 'room fee'. —Preceding unsigned comment added by EricLauderdale (talk • contribs) 23:10, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
