'William Town') is the capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

[2] The historic centre of the city consists of four quarters: the Punda and Otrobanda, which are separated by the Sint Anna Bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the Schottegat, as well as the Scharloo and Pietermaai Smal quarters, which are across from each other on the smaller Waaigat harbour.

The city centre, with its unique architecture and harbour entry, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[4] In 1674, the Curaçao synagogue was built by Sephardic Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam and Recife, Brazil who had settled in the city as traders.

[8] On 13 May 1861, a decision was made to demolish the city walls, and build residential houses in the gap separating Willemstad from Pietermaai.

[11] In 2017, the PDVSA was hit by punitive sanctions of the United States Government,[12] and attempts have been made to seize the refinery.

[19] Owing to its location near the Venezuelan oilfields, its political stability and its natural deep water harbour, Willemstad became the site of an important seaport and refinery.

The refinery, at one point the largest in the world, was originally built and owned by Royal Dutch Shell in 1915.

Major League Baseball players Jair Jurrjens, Wladimir Balentien, Jurickson Profar, Andruw Jones, Ozzie Albies, Kenley Jansen, Jonathan Schoop and Andrelton Simmons are from Willemstad.

Enith Brigitha, a bronze medalist swimmer who represented the Netherlands in the Summer Olympics was born in Willemsted.

Willemstad is served by Curaçao International Airport, located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the city, which is annually used by about two million passengers.

Although it is still in use, these days most road traffic now uses the Queen Juliana Bridge built in 1967 (rebuilt 1974) which arches high over the bay further inland.