Sint Eustatius
| Island Territory of Sint Eustatius
Eilandgebied Sint Eustatius
Teritorio Insular di Sint Eustatius |
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 Map showing location of Sint Eustatius relative to Saba and Sint Maarten/Saint Martin
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| Capital | Oranjestad |
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| Largest city | Oranjestad | |||||
| Official language(s) | Dutch, English | |||||
| Government | See Politics of the Netherlands Antilles | |||||
| - | Sint Eustatius Administrator | H.C.I. Gittens | ||||
| - | Governor of N.A. | Frits Goedgedrag | ||||
| Constitutional monarchy | part of the Netherlands Antilles | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 21 km2 8.1 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | 2006 census | 3100 | ||||
| - | Density | 147.6/km2 (ranked as part of N. A.) 56.93/sq mi |
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| Currency | Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) |
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| Time zone | -4 (UTC-4) | |||||
| Internet TLD | .an | |||||
| Calling code | 599 | |||||
Sint Eustatius (English: Saint Eustatius /ˌseɪnt juːˈsteɪʃəs/), also known affectionately to the locals as Statia[1] /ˈsteɪʃə/ or Statius, is one of the islands that make up the Netherlands Antilles; it is in the northern, Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands.
Sint Eustatius is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Island chain, lying immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis and to the southeast of Saba, at . The island is named after the legendary Christian martyr Saint Eustace. The regional capital is Oranjestad.
Sint Eustatius has a land area of 21 km² (8.1 sq. miles). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 2,292 inhabitants, equating to a population density of 109 inhabitants per square kilometre. In 2004, the population was estimated at 2,498 inhabitants. The official languages are Dutch and English; the local dialect is a form of Netherlands Antilles Creole. Travel to the island by air is through F.D. Roosevelt Airport.
Sint Eustatius is slated to become a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010.
The University of Sint Eustatius, School of Medicine is located on the island with students coming predominantly from the United States and Canada, but also from many other international locations. The students of the university of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine provide an important source of revenue for the island and local economy, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars every semester for food, accommodations and more.
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History
The island was seen by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and claimed by many different nations over the course of the next 150 years. In 1636, it was colonized by the chamber of Zeeland, and as of 1678, the islands of Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba fell under direct command of the Dutch West India Company, with a commander stationed on Sint Eustatius to govern all three. At the time, the island was of some importance for sugar cultivation.
In the 18th century, Sint Estatius's geographical placement – at the fulcrum between the Leeward and Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, in the middle of Danish (Virgin Islands), English (Jamaica, St. Kitts, Barbados, Antigua), French (Ste. Lucie, Martinique, Guadeloupe) and Spanish (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola) territories – its large harborage, neutrality and status from 1756[1] as a free port with no customs dutues were all factors in it becoming a major point of transhipment of goods, and a locus for trade in contraband.[1] The island was known as The Golden Rock and its economy flourished by ignoring the trade embargoes between the great powers.
Edmund Burke said of the island in 1781:
It has no produce, no fortifications for its defense, nor martial spirit nor military regulations ... Its utility was its defense. The universality of its use, the neutrality of its nature was its security and its safeguard. Its proprietors had, in the spirit of commerce, made it an emporium for all the world. ... Its wealthy was prodigious, arising from its industry and the nature of its commerce.[1]
"First Salute"
Since the island sold arms and ammunition to anyone willing to pay, it was one of the few places from which the rebellious Thirteen colonies could obtain weaponry. This good relationship between Sint Eustatius and the United States resulted in the noted "First Salute" of 16 November 1776, when Commander Johannes de Graaff of Sint Eustatius decided to return the salute fire of the visiting American brigantine Andrew Doria by firing the cannons of Fort Oranje, the first international acknowledgment of the independence of the United States. The gesture provided the title for Barbara W. Tuchman's 1988 book The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution.
The British took the incident seriously, and protested against the continuous trade between the United States and Sint Eustatius. In 1778, Lord Stormont claimed in Parliament that, "if Sint Eustatius had sunk into the sea three years before, the United Kingdom would already have dealt with George Washington". The trade between Sint Eustatius and the United States was the main reason for the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, which was disastrous for the Dutch economy.
As a result of the war, Sint Eustatius was taken by British Admiral George Brydges Rodney on 3 February 1781. Commander De Graaff, who at the time did not know about the declaration of war, saw that he was facing superior forces, and surrendered the island after firing two rounds as a show of resistance for the honor of Dutch Admiral Lodowijk van Bylandt, who commanded ships of the Dutch Navy which were in the harbor.[1] Ten months later, the island was conquered by the French, allies of the Dutch in this war. The Dutch regained command over the island in 1784.
At its peak, Sint Eustatius may have had a population of about 10,000 people, but over time it was eclipsed by other Dutch ports, such as those on the islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, and the population gradually declined.
Jewish population
The island was home to a Jewish settlement, mainly merchants and plantation owners. Within a day of the island being surrendered to the British in 1781, part of the Jewish community – all the men and governor de Graaff – were forcibly deported to England.[2] The Honen Dalim Synagogue, built in 1739 and burned by Admiral Rodney in 1781, stood in ruins until 2001, when its walls were restored as part of the Historic Core Restoration Project. Now funds are being sought from private donors to construct a modern roof on the ancient ruins. There are no images showing what the synagogue looked like when it was in use, therefore a proper 'restoration' of the structure to its former condition is not possible.
Geography
Geographically, the island is saddle-shaped, with the 602 meter-high dormant volcano Quill, (from Dutch kuil, meaning 'pit' - because of its crater) to the southeast and the smaller pair Signal Hill/Little Mountain (or Bergje) and Boven Mountain to the northwest. The Quill crater is a popular tourist attraction on the island. The bulk of the island's population lives in the "dip" between the two areas, which crosses the center of the island.
The Great Hurricane of 1780 caused cataclysmic damage and the loss of over 4,000 lives on Sint Eustatius.
The national parks of Sint Eustatius, comprising the Quill, the Botanical Garden, and the Marine Park, are all under the control of the non profit foundation STENAPA.[3]
Notes
External links
- Sint Eustatius travel guide from Wikitravel
- Sint Eustatius Tourist Office's homepage
- The website of STENAPA, the National Parks of Sint Eustatius
- Sint Eustatius info in Lonely Planet website
- Sint Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research
- Colorful stories from St. Eustatius' eventful history. Saba invasion
- Colorful stories from St. Eustatius' eventful history. Bermuda connection
- "Retribution: Admiral Rodney and the Jews of St. Eustatius", by Louis Arthur Norton
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