The Dutch In Latin America, ca 1955

there's a little bit of Holland in the West Indies only eight air hours from the coast of Florida the Dutch have lived next door to North America since long before the 13 states hoisted the Stars and Stripes and so it's high time to call on our neighbors the Netherlands kingdom swings east and west around the world but during the last war the people here trod the only free Netherlands oil on the globe a heterogeneous population lives in harmony under the Netherlands flag in cosmopolitan cities built by a determined people this is a Dutch city Dutch in government and atmosphere its people Dutch in loyalty yet they hail from all corners of the globe [Music] the Netherlands West Indies are in the Caribbean Saba st. Eustatius and st. Martin and further down Aruba curaçao and bonaire strategic keys to the Panama Canal and on the mainland of South America Dutch Guiana better known as Suriname the Royal Dutch Airlines several times a week fly between Curacao Suriname and Miami if you will hop aboard you can take the same air route that Princess Juliana followed on her first trip to these Netherlands territories passing over st. Eustatius the Juliana recalled that Holland was the first foreign power to recognize the United States for the cannons of this old fort in 1776 roared a salute to the brand-new Stars and Stripes she saw volcanic craters when the plane circled over Sabah all six of the Dutch Caribbean islands are coral islands and their total area is about a quarter of that of Rhode Island the plane descended first on Paramaribo the capital of Dutch Guiana here some of the people are from Holland or had fathers who sailed from there the ancestors of others crossed the ocean from Africa Portugal India China or the East Indies the kerchiefs on which the princess stepped will be treasured for a lifetime the list of races to be found in Suriname is a long one the Japanese have brought their own culture from the Netherlands East Indies on the other side of the globe [Music] these are Emma Grey's from British India who contrasts sharply with the Indians of the new world the Caribes who once ruled these shores but in Suriname a diversified people 180,000 altogether lived side by side in peaceful cooperation the entire Netherlands kingdom may be a Commonwealth of Nations tomorrow but Suriname is a community of races today [Music] the native Indians live much the same way as their ancestors wearing as little as possible and subsisting on fish game and small garden patches living along the inland rivers our 18,000 bush Negroes the descendants of slaves who ran away into the forests before the Emancipation of 1863 they have taken on the ways of their forefathers reverting back to the primitive gods of Africa and becoming familiar with every nook and cranny of the dangerous jungle rivers and streams for Dutch in American engineers their knowledge was indispensable when newer and stranger crafts had to be guided along the tropical rivers [Music] Dutch Guiana enter the field of modern industry when a certain valuable clay was discovered along the Suriname and cortico rivers this precious mud was bauxite airplanes pots pans and wire in the raw the ore of aluminium thousands of suriname is employed in the bauxite mines could be proud of their contribution to the victory of World War two [Music] Dutch and American plants together hasten the tedious processing of bauxite into aluminum thus were the air forces that the United Nations equipped to fly leaving Suriname we visit Curacao where the Dutch anchored three hundred and fifty years ago here a multicolored populace who speaks a checkered history the people have a language all their own poppy amento a mixture of Dutch Spanish English French Portuguese and Indian Dutch influence is strong in Curacao we see it in the charming 17th century architecture we see it in the windmills turning in the fields the sons of Dutch farmers brought to Curacao the agricultural knowledge of their own country and thereby benefited the crops of a new land but there's room for more than one influence in a progressive country American bulldozers helped cure asan's to carve out the roads of a difficult terrain and on up-to-date highways the citizens may speed in modern automobiles vilom stock Purcell's capital is a thriving cosmopolitan city of some 60,000 persons its harbour has been for centuries one of the most valuable and busy ports in the Caribbean its shipyards and repair shops indispensable in World War two in fact the fine natural harbours of both Curacao and Aruba account in large measure for the importance of these two islands 50 miles away is Venezuela rich in oil but poor in harbours and so oil from Venezuela is transported to Curacao and Aruba where it is refined for export all over the world oil to pass the test and laboratories like these once fed the war machines of the United Nations now in peace more of the oil from these islands may turn the wheels of Industry a large number of the Islanders are trained in the skills that are needed in the cracking and distilling process oil has supported them well through the years comfortable homes have been provided for employees and there are good schools for their children the largest refinery in the world is on Oba American British Dutch and Mexican oil companies own the plants that produce gasoline fuel oil gas oil and diesel oil from the crude petroleum of Venezuela the crude oil is brought to Curacao and Aruba in small shallow tankers and later leaves these harbours / ports all over the world the inhabitants of the islands long ago adjusted themselves to the busy comings and goings of this black gold oil these islands in their ideal location offered a splendid opportunity the port's plants installations and homes you see today have resulted from the efforts of an enterprising people our neighbors the Dutch in Latin America