From 1848 Curacao was the administrative centre of Dutch possessions in the Caribbean. It was renamed Netherlands Antilles in 1948 and became a self-governing country within the Netherlands in 1954 which it still is today. It consists of two islands, one uninhabited, lying to the north of the city of Caracas in Venezuela.

The first stamps were issues of Curacao and Dependencies from 1873. These were superseded by stamps of the Netherlands Antilles in 1948.