The island of Curacao, the largest of the Netherlands Antilles, is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea 40 miles off the coast of Venezuela. It has an area of 173 sq. mi. (472 sq. km.) and a population of 150,000. Capital: Willemstad. The chief industries are the refining of crude oil imported from Venezuela and Colombia, and tourism. Petroleum products, salt, phosphates and cattle are exported. ,Curacao was discovered by Spanish navigator Alonso de Ojeda in 1499 and was settled by Spain in 1527. The Dutch West India Company took the island from Spain in 1634 and administered it until 1787, when it was surrendered to the crown. The Dutch held it thereafter except for two periods during the Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1809 and 1807-1816, when it was occupied by the British. During World War II, Curacao refined 60 percent of the oil used by the Allies; the refineries were protected by U.S. forces after Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940.,, Rulers:,,, ,Dutch,, Monetary System:,,, ,1 Gulden = 100 Cents,,