Bandabou (also: Band'abou) is a district of the island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. It is one of the three districts, and encompasses the north-western part of the island. The district stretches from Grote Berg to

Westpunt Westpunt is the name of the westernmost point of the island of Curaçao, a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. A flag marks the most westerly point of the island off Cliff Villa Peninsula one kilometre north of the town ...

. Bandabou is

Papiamentu Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

and translates to "lower side".

History

In 1634, Curaçao was conquered by the

Dutch West Indies Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

and the city of

Punda Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles pri ...

was founded. In order to feed the population,

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s were established on the island. The plantations were small scale due to the infertile ground, and produced yams, mangos, oranges, or raised

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

. In 1795, the population of Bandabou was estimated at 4,000 to 5,000 people most which were slaves. After the emancipation of slavery, small hamlets were founded in Bandabou. The Roman Catholic church started to built churches in order to educate and convert the slave population, which resulted in several small villages. The current division of the island dates from 1930 when

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...

was extended to include most of the suburbs. Much of the nature in Bandabou has remained unspoilt, and the district does not experience mass tourism. The population of Bandabou often feels neglected with poor infrastructure, and a lack of economic opportunities.

Villages

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

* Flip *

Lagún Lagún is a village in the Bandabou district of Curaçao. It is located in the north-western part of the country, 30 km northwest of the capital Willemstad. Lagún is a fishing village. Playa Lagun is located south of the village. The Tula Mus ...

* Pannekoek *

Sint Willibrordus Sint Willibrordus is a village in Bandabou on the western half of Curaçao, northwest of the Bullen Bay and about 25 km from the capital Willemstad. The village has been called this since the dedication of the church in 1888; until then, the town ...

* Soto *

Tera Corá Tera Corá (also Tera Kòrá) is a town in the Bandabou District of Curaçao. It is located near the middle of the island. Grote Berg and Siberië are part of Tera Corá. The name is Papiamentu for "red earth" which is caused by the presence of ba ...

* Tera Pretu *

References

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History

Villages

See also

References