Groot Kwartier

{{Infobox settlement | name = Groot Kwartier | other_name = Emmastad | settlement_type = Neighbourhood | image_skyline = File:West-Indië. Curaçao. Protestantse kerk te Emmastad, Bestanddeelnr 935-1515.jpg | image_caption = Church in Emmastad (1940s) | pushpin_map = Curaçao | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Curaçao | pushpin_label_position = right | coordinates = {{coord|12.1365|-68.9138|region:CW|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = State | subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Curaçao | subdivision_type2 = City | subdivision_name2 = Willemstad | population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://curacaodata.cbs.cw/census-2011|title=Census 2011|website=Central Bureau of Statistics|access-date=17 April 2021|archive-date=1 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601011149/https://curacaodata.cbs.cw/census-2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> | population_as_of = 2011 | population_total = 2,611 | population_density_km2 = auto | area_total_km2 = 2.42 | area_footnotes = {{sfn|Buurtprofiel Groot Kwartier|2011|p=12}} }}

'''Groot Kwartier''' is a neighbourhood of Willemstad, Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island in the Dutch Caribbean. It is better known as '''Emmastad''', a villa ward built by Royal Dutch Shell for its employees. Emmastad is officially part of Groot Kwartier.{{sfn|Buurtprofiel Groot Kwartier|2011|p=8}}

==History== Groot Kwartier started as a plantation in 1694. The plantation produced bananas, divi-divi and livestock, but was mainly known for its large fresh water supply.{{sfn|Buurtprofiel Groot Kwartier|2011|p=10}} In 1915, the nearby plantation Asiento was bought by Royal Dutch Shell. Initially the grounds were used as a harbour. In 1923, neighbourhoods were built on Groot Kwartier to house employees hired from other Caribbean islands. In 1929, the area owned by Shell was renamed Emmastad.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.curacaomaritime.com/download/media/354|title=Olie als water|website=Curaçao Maritime|pages=1–2|language=nl|access-date=2021-04-26|archive-date=2022-08-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812115124/https://www.curacaomaritime.com/download/media/354|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Between 1945 and 1955, Emmastad was enlarged with residential neighbourhoods for the Dutch employees of Royal Dutch Shell.<ref name="archief">{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaalarchief.cw/collectie/exposities/oliedorpen |title=Ontwikkeling huisvesting op Curaçao door Shell|website=National Archive of Curaçao|access-date=26 April 2021|language=nl}}</ref> The houses constructed during that period were luxurious, free-standing villas.<ref name="archief"/> Emmastad was a segregated and gated community where blacks and coloureds were only allowed entry with a special pass.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://dbnl.nl/tekst/ramd001pape01_01/ramd001pape01_01_0008.php?q=julianadorp#hl1 |title=De papegaai, de stier en de klimmende bougainvillea|author=Anil Ramdas|year=1992|page=120|location=Amsterdam|publisher=De Bezige Bij|isbn=90 234 3282 7}}</ref> In the 1960s, Shell started selling the houses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gobiernu.cw/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Groot_Piscadera.pdf |title=Buurtprofiel Groot Piscadera|last1=Buurtprofiel Groot Piscadera|year=2011|website=Government of Curaçao|language=nl|page=13|access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref> Emmastad is no longer segregated, and has become a popular neighbourhood for the middle class; however, the older parts of Groot Kwartier are poorer.{{sfn|Buurtprofiel Groot Kwartier|2011|p=11}}

==References== <references/>

==Bibliography== *{{cite web|url=https://gobiernu.cw/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Groot_Kwartier.pdf |title=Buurtprofiel Groot Kwartier|last1=Buurtprofiel Groot Kwartier|year=2011|website=Government of Curaçao|language=nl}}

Category:Populated places in Curaçao Category:Willemstad