islands in the West Indies, constituting a part of the kingdom of the Netherlands & comprising two of the Leeward Islands & part of another & three islands off the coast of Venezuela: 308 sq mi (798 sq km); pop. 189,000; cap. Willemstad
See Netherlands Antilles in American Heritage Dictionary 4
Formerly Dutch West Indies
An autonomous territory of the Netherlands consisting of several islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Curaçao and Bonaire off the coast of Venezuela and Saba, St. Eustatius, and the southern portion of St. Martin in the northern Windward Islands. Willemstad, on Curaçao, is the capital. Population: 224,000.