ChallengingBordersKehoe

Building Types of Willemstad, Curaçao

In this section you will see the three main building types and styles of Willemstad, reflecting the European origins of the two dominant colonial cultures: Dutch Protestant and Iberian Jewish, as well as local idiosyncrasies. Notably, the indigenous inhabitants, a band of the Arawak, were exterminated or displaced by the colonizing Spanish and Dutch, and thus leave no trace on this colonial city.

Willemstad and other colonial port cities, like Capetown, Calcutta, and Canton, are cultural melting pots. Colonial architecture represents a complicated imitation of the styles and forms of its inhabitants’ origins, as well as elements specific to its cultural mix, location, and history.

This page has paths: