In 1636, Dutch expansion in the New World was in full swing. Over the past decade or so, colonies had been set up in New Amsterdam (now New York), as well as Caribbean islands like Sint Maarten and Curacao. But fueled by the desire to monopolize trans-Atlantic trade routes (in contrast to the goals of other European powers like Spain, who preferred to deal in precious metals and wholesale conquest), more bases were needed. Specifically, one was needed that had a large sheltered anchorage, strategically located between Europe, Africa, and European colonial holdings in the Caribbean and North America. To that end, they landed here on Sint Eustatius.

While the tiny island (Sint Eustatius is only 8 square miles) had been inhabited in the past by the Arawaks and Caribs, and then by small bands of English and French settlers, all left due to a lack of water, as there are no natural rivers on the island. So when the Dutch arrived, it was empty. Colonization was initiated by the Dutch West India Company, and Fort Oranje was constructed in the same position of prior French defenses, overlooking the Caribbean (more sheltered) side of the island.

To learn about this early history, I seek out the Sint Eustatius Historical Foundation Museum. The museum boasts a lovely collection of old maps of the island and other historic documents like ship manifests. It also has some decent signage walking visitors through the colonial history of the island.

Photos are not allowed inside the museum, which is built into the 18th century home of a wealthy merchant family. Two rooms are furnished in period (probably not original to the house) style, offering a small taste of Dutch colonial life.

While Sint Eustatius, called Statia by the locals, had some small success with plantations (sugar, tobacco, and indigo, specifically), it was the island’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade that made its fortunes, turning it into the most profitable – by far – Dutch new world possession by the mid-18th century. Some of those slaves remained here, working the local plantations, and helping to load and unload merchant ships. Most were destined for larger plantation colonies elsewhere.

Some of those who stayed had to spend all day hauling goods between Oranjestad’s Lower and Upper Towns. The Bay Path, also called the Slave Path, is the steep route they used. Today, it is the easiest route for pedestrians to take between the main portion of the town at the top of the hill and the waterfront, a paved but steep path. I walk from the museum down to the Old Gin House, a historic building along what was once the main docks of the island and now a restaurant and hotel, and my hike back up definitely burns. (Slaves didn’t get the advantage of a great meal and cocktails between.)

We aren’t going to get too deep into the Dutch slave trade here. But please click here to read all about it from an incredible museum in Curacao.

During the golden age of Sint Eustatius in the 18th century (it was so good that the island was called the Golden Rock), these docks would have been crowded with ships. Two main things led to the popularity of Statia with merchants. One was the sheltered basically-whole-length-of-the-island anchorage, one used today by oil tankers, who unload here for the same reason: sheltered deep water docking.

The second was Dutch neutrality. With the exception of a few years for the War of Austrian Succession, the Dutch largely stayed out of the wars that plagued Europe – and therefore European colonies – during the period. So Sint Eustatius was a free trade port, open to everyone on all sides of whatever conflict was raging.

The anchorage was watched over by Fort Oranje, and a system of smaller forts and batteries up and down the coast. Of these, only Fort de Windt seems to be in existence today (other than Fort Oranje itself, which we will talk about in a bit), sitting at the end of a narrow semi-paved road on the southwestern tip of the island.

As the wealth of the island grew, so did its population, up to about 8,000 (higher than the 3,500 today even). Those inhabitants needed religious buildings, and two survive today in ruin: the Dutch reform church and the Honen Dalim synagogue.

A few prior iterations of the Dutch reform church existed before the current was built in 1755. As best as I can tell from the faded signage, it was damaged by a hurricane in 1852 and left in its current state.

The attached cemetery, however, is still in use, with graves ranging from colonial times (like that of Admiral Jan de Windt, for whom the fort we saw earlier is named) to within the past couple of years.

The synagogue predates the church. There was a Jewish community on Sint Eustatius since the earliest days of Dutch colonization, as Jews played a central part in the merchant class. By the early 18th century, there were enough to warrant a synagogue, and Honen Dalim was built in 1739 using yellow bricks that were ballast stones on Dutch merchant ships.

The Jewish community here – as in most places – had a rough go of things. During one of several times Statia was conquered (this time by the English) in 1781, the English Admiral George Rodney stripped all Jews living here of their possessions, and sent 30 men (without their families) to St. Kitts.

By the 1830s, pretty much all of the Jews here had left, mostly for the United States, and the synagogue was left disused, although a current campaign apparently exists to restore it.

As promised, we now return to Fort Oranje. While few buildings are open, most of the fort is able to be wandered, and one can take in the views up and down the coastline from the cannon emplacements.

And it is here that what is probably the most famous moment in Sint Eustatius’ history occurred, and the main reason you might have heard of this tiny island.

On November 16, 1776, as the American Revolution was just beginning, the American brig Andrea Doria was here at Sint Eustatius, probably because it was the best place to get weapons for the war effort. The ship offered a cannon salute to the fort, and Governor de Graaff ordered a salute returned. Now known as the “First Salute,” this is the very first instance of a sovereign recognition of the fledgling United States, as this was an honor reserved for independent nations.

No less than four plaques (three in the fort and one outside) honor this historic event, and it is almost certain that another will join this year for the 250th anniversary of it. The most famous sits on a flagpole inside Fort Oranje and was presented by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939, an event so meaningful to the population here that they named the airport for him.

With the abolition of slavery in 1863 ending plantation life, and the independence of many former colonies in the New World ending trade hegemonies and the corresponding need for Sint Eustatius as a free port, the island’s golden age officially ended. But what a history was left behind in such a small place!

It is hard to fathom that it was this tiny island that was the centerpiece of the Dutch New World trading empire. It is insane to think that this place that few seem to have heard of was so important. And it is overwhelming to learn that it was here in Sint Eustatius that the United States was first recognized.

But it was all these things, and more. It’s a history that is absolutely worth coming to see.

Thank you to Talk of the Town Inn and Suites for hosting my stay on Sint Eustatius, and to Winair for providing air travel to and from Sint Maarten.

Like it? Pin it!