Pietermaai

Pietermaai is a neighbourhood and former suburb of Willemstad, on Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island in the Dutch Caribbean. Pietermaai was founded in 1675, and has been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.

==History== Willemstad, the capital of Curaçao, was constructed as a walled city. It soon developed into one of the major centres of the Atlantic slave trade which triggered a rapid population growth. In the late 17th century, there were over 200 houses within the city walls. In 1675, it was decided to construct the town of Pietermaai outside of the enclosed city. It was to be separated from the city by an area of about 500 metres in which construction was not allowed so as not to obstruct the cannons in Fort Amsterdam. The town was named after captain Pieter de Meij.