Sint Eustatius
Flag Coat of arms
Map showing location of St. Eustatius relative to Saba and St. Martin
Capital		Oranjestad 17°29′N 62°59′W / 17.483°N 62.983°W / 17.483; -62.983
Largest city		Oranjestad
Official language(s)		Dutch, English[1]
Government		See Politics of the Netherlands
-	Lt. Governor	Gerald Berkel
Constitutional monarchy		Part of the Netherlands
Area
-	Total	21 km2  8.1 sq mi
Population
-	end-2010[2] census	3,543
-	Density	169/km2  437.7/sq mi
Currency		US dollar (USD)
Time zone		-4 (UTC-4)
Internet TLD		.an,[3] .nl
Calling code		599

Sint Eustatius, also known affectionately to the locals as Statia^[4] /ˈsteɪʃə/ or Statius, is a Caribbean island and a special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands.^[5]

It lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands and immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis and to the southeast of Saba, at 17°30′N 62°58′W / 17.5°N 62.967°W / 17.5; -62.967. The island is named after the legendary Christian martyr Saint Eustace. The regional capital is Oranjestad.

The island has an area of 21 km² (8.1 sq. miles). In the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 3,543 inhabitants, equating to a population density of 169 inhabitants per square kilometre. The official language is Dutch, however English is also recognised as an administrative language.^[1] A local English-based creole is also spoken informally. Travel to the island by air is through F.D. Roosevelt Airport.

Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010.^[6]

History[link]

A historical engraving showing the view from the harbor of Sint Eustatius.

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 of the Dutch West India Company, and as of 1678, the islands of St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba fell under direct command of the Dutch West India Company, with a commander stationed on St. Eustatius to govern all three. At the time, the island was of some importance for cultivation of tobacco and sugar.

In the 18th century, St. Eustatius' geographical placement in the middle of Danish (Virgin Islands), British (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^[4] as a free port with no customs duties were all factors in it becoming a major point of transhipment of goods, and a locus for trade in contraband.^[4] The island was known as The Golden Rock and its economy flourished by ignoring the trade embargoes between the great powers.

17th century Fort Oranje, with the island of Saba visible in the distance.

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 wealth was prodigious, arising from its industry and the nature of its commerce.^[4]

"First Salute"[link]

Johannes de Graaff

The island of St. Eustatius taken by the English fleet in February 1781. The island was pillaged by the troops of Rodney.

Since the island sold arms and ammunition to anyone willing to pay, it was one of the few places from which the rebellious British Thirteen Colonies of North America could obtain weaponry. This good relationship between St. Eustatius and the United States resulted in the noted "First Salute" of 16 November 1776, when Commander Johannes de Graaff of St. Eustatius decided to return the salute fire of the visiting American brig 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 St. 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 St. 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, St. 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 Lodewijk van Bylandt, who commanded ships of the Dutch Navy which were in the harbor.^[4] Ten months later, the island was conquered by the French, allies of the Dutch in this war. The Dutch regained control over the island in 1784.

At its peak, St. 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[link]

The island was home to a Jewish settlement, mainly merchants and plantation owners. Within two days of the island being surrendered to the British in February 1781, part of the Jewish community – all of the men  – together with governor de Graaff, were forcibly deported, being given only 24 hours' notice. The Honen Dalim Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in the Western Hemisphere, built in 1739, and many of the Jewish homes, were burned down by Admiral Rodney.^[7]

The synagogue stood in ruins from 1781 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.

Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles[link]

Unlike the other member islands of the Netherlands Antilles, the people of St Eustatius did not vote to leave. In an 8 April 2005, referendum, 77% of voters voted to remain within the Netherlands Antilles, compared to 21% who voted for closer ties with the Netherlands. However, once the other islands decided to leave, meaning that the Netherlands Antilles would become defunct, the island council opted to become a public body of the Netherlands like Saba and Bonaire.

Geography[link]

View looking southeast along the Atlantic coast, showing the airport runway in the middle distance, Lynch Beach beyond that, then the Quill, St. Eustatius' dormant volcano, and over the water in the distance, the northern end of the island of St. Kitts.

Sint Eustatius photographed from the ISS.

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 St. Eustatius.

The national parks of St. Eustatius, comprising the Quill/Boven park, the Botanical Garden, and the Marine Park, are all under the control of the non profit foundation STENAPA.^[8]

Economy[link]

In the 18th century, "Statia" was the most important Dutch island in the Caribbean and a center of great wealth from trading; the ruins of numerous warehouses are visible in this photo of Oranje Bay.

Sports[link]

The most popular sports on St. Eustatius are: basketball, volleyball, softball and football.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	North America portal
	Caribbean portal
	Netherlands portal

• BES islands
• William Halifax

References[link]

Notes

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sint Eustatius

• Sint Eustatius travel guide from Wikitravel
• St. Eustatius Tourist Office's homepage
• The website of STENAPA, the National Parks of St. Eustatius
• St. Eustatius info in Lonely Planet website
• St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research
• The Farm in St. Eustatius: Not Dead Yet
• 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

v t e Islands of the former Netherlands Antilles1 Aruba2 Bonaire (Klein Bonaire) Curaçao (Klein Curaçao) Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten 1The Netherlands Antilles was dissolved on 10 October 2010 2Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles on 1 January 1986