View source for Sint Eustatius

{{Short description|Dutch Caribbean island}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Sint Eustatius
| settlement_type    = [[Caribbean Netherlands|Special municipality]] of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands|Netherlands]]
| image_flag         = Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg
| flag_size          = 125
| image_shield       = Sint Eustatius wapen.svg
| motto = {{force singular}} {{native name|la|Superba et confidens}}<br />"Proud and confident" (English)
| anthem             = "[[Golden Rock (anthem)|Golden Rock]]"<br />{{center|[[File:Goldenrock.ogg]]}}
| image_skyline      = Sint Eustatius from ISS.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = Satellite image of Sint Eustatius
| image_map          = Sint Eustatius in its region.svg
| map_caption        = {{map caption|location_color=circled in red|region=the [[Caribbean]]|region_color=none}}
| image_map1         = SSS Islands Map.png
| map_caption1       = Map showing the location of St.&nbsp;Eustatius relative to [[Saba (island)|Saba]] and [[Saint Martin (island)|St.&nbsp;Martin]]
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[English language|English]]<ref name=languages>English can be used in relations with the government, see, {{Citation |title=Invoeringswet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0028063/2012-07-28 |language=nl |mode=cs1 |via=Overheid.nl}}</ref>{{*}}[[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| subdivision_type   = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{Flag|Kingdom of the Netherlands}}
| subdivision_type1  = Overseas region
| subdivision_name1  = [[Caribbean Netherlands]]
| established_title  = Incorporated into the&nbsp;Netherlands
| established_date   = 10 October 2010 ([[dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles]])
| government_footnotes = &nbsp;(see [[Politics of the Netherlands]])
| leader_title       = [[Lieutenant governor|Lt.&nbsp;Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Alida Francis]] (Government commissioner)<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 June 2021 |title=Benoeming regeringscommissaris en plaatsvervanger Sint Eustatius |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2021/06/18/benoeming-regeringscommissaris-en-plaatsvervanger-sint-eustatius |access-date=19 December 2021 |website=Rijksoverheid |language=nl |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528224336/https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2021/06/18/benoeming-regeringscommissaris-en-plaatsvervanger-sint-eustatius |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| seat_type          = Capital<br />(and largest city)
| seat               = [[Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius|Oranjestad]]
| coordinates        = {{coord|17|29|N|62|59|W|display=inline}}
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |date=19 May 2015 |title=Waaruit bestaat het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden? |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/caribische-deel-van-het-koninkrijk/vraag-en-antwoord/waaruit-bestaat-het-koninkrijk-der-nederlanden |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Rijksoverheid |language=nl}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 21
| population_footnotes = <ref name="CBS.nl">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2025/21/population-of-the-caribbean-netherlands-up-by-nearly-1-6-thousand-in-2024#:~:text=Population%20of%20the%20Caribbean%20Netherlands%20up%20by%20nearly%201.6%20thousand%20in%202024,-19/05/2025&text=On%201%20January%202025%2C%20the%20population%20of%20Bonaire%20stood%20at,percent)%20than%20one%20year%20previously. |title=Population of the Caribbean Netherlands up by nearly 1.6 thousand in 2024 |date=19 May 2025 }}</ref>
| population_total   = 3,270
| population_as_of   = 1 January 2025
| population_density_km2 = 154
| population_demonym = {{hlist|St. Eustatian|Statian|Dutch}}
| timezone           = [[Atlantic Standard Time|AST]]
| utc_offset         = −4
| area_code_type     = [[Telephone numbers in Sint Eustatius|Calling code]]
| area_code          = [[+599]]
| blank_name_sec1    = Currency
| blank_info_sec1    = {{nowrap|[[United States dollar]]}} ($) ([[ISO 4217|USD]])
| blank_name_sec2    = [[Country code top-level domain|Internet TLD]]
| blank_info_sec2    = {{ubl|[[.nl]]|[[.bq]]{{efn|.bq is designated, but not in use, for the Caribbean Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BQ – Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba |url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:code:3166:BQ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617031837/https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:code:3166:BQ |archive-date=17 June 2016 |access-date=29 August 2014 |website=[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2010 |title=Delegation Record for .BQ |url=https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/bq.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529125032/https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/bq.html |archive-date=29 May 2012 |access-date=30 December 2010 |website=[[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority|IANA]] }}</ref> Like the rest of the Netherlands, .nl is primarily in use.}}}}
| iso_code           = [[ISO 3166-2:BQ|BQ-SE]], [[ISO 3166-2:NL|NL-BQ3]]
| population_density_sq_mi = 405
}}

'''Sint Eustatius''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|j|u:|'|s|t|eɪ|ʃ|ə|s}} {{respell|yoo|STAY|shəs}}, {{IPA|nl|sɪnt øːˈstaː(t)sijʏs|lang|Nl-Sint Eustatius.ogg}}}}<ref>Mangold, Max. ''Duden – Das Aussprachewörterbuch.'' In: ''Der Duden in zwölf Bänden,'' Band 6. 7. Auflage. Berlin: Dudenverlag; Mannheim : Institut für Deutsche Sprache, 2015, Seite 786.</ref> known locally as '''Statia''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|t|eɪ|ʃ|ə}} {{respell|STAY|shə}}}}<ref name="Tuchman 19882">{{Cite book |last=Tuchman |first=Barbara W. |title=The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution |date=1988 |publisher=Ballantine Books |location=New York}}</ref> is an island in the [[Caribbean]]. It is a [[Caribbean Netherlands|special municipality]] (officially "[[Public body (Netherlands)|public body]]") of the [[Netherlands]].<ref name="WOLBES">{{Citation |title=Wet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0028142/2021-07-01 |trans-title=Law on the public bodies of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba |language=nl |mode=cs1 |via=Overheid.nl}}</ref>

The island is in the northern [[Leeward Islands]], southeast of the [[Virgin Islands]]. Sint Eustatius is immediately to the northwest of [[Saint Kitts]] and southeast of [[Saba (island)|Saba]]. The regional capital is [[Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius|Oranjestad]]. The island has an area of {{convert|21|km2|sqmi}}.<ref name="auto2" /> Travelers to the island by air arrive through [[F. D. Roosevelt Airport]].

Formerly part of the [[Netherlands Antilles]], Sint Eustatius [[Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles|became a public body]] of the Netherlands in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2009 |title=Antillen opgeheven op 10-10-2010 |url=http://nos.nl/artikel/95861-antillen-opgeheven-op-10102010.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224143841/http://nos.nl/artikel/95861-antillen-opgeheven-op-10102010.html |archive-date=24 December 2009 |access-date=10 October 2010 |website=NOS Nieuws |language=nl}}</ref> It is part of the [[Dutch Caribbean]], which consists of [[Aruba]], [[Bonaire]], [[Curaçao]], [[Saba (island)|Saba]], Sint Eustatius, and [[Sint Maarten]]. Together with Bonaire and Saba, it forms the BES Islands, also referred to as the [[Caribbean Netherlands]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zaken |first=Ministerie van Algemene |date=2015-05-19 |title=Waaruit bestaat het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden? – Rijksoverheid.nl |url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/caribische-deel-van-het-koninkrijk/vraag-en-antwoord/onderwerpen/caribische-deel-van-het-koninkrijk/vraag-en-antwoord/waaruit-bestaat-het-koninkrijk-der-nederlanden |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=www.rijksoverheid.nl |language=nl-NL }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Sint Eustatius played a major role in the [[American Revolutionary War|American War for Independence]], supplying American insurgents with war material, especially gunpowder. The British captured St. Eustatius, which was a major blow to the U.S. and its European allies. The French navy later in the war recaptured the island.<ref>Jameson, J. Franklin. "St. Eustatius in the American Revolution". ''[[American Historical Review]]'' 8 (1903):683–708. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1834346</ref>

== Etymology ==
The island's name, Sint Eustatius, is Dutch for [[Saint Eustace]] (also spelled Eustachius or Eustathius), a legendary Christian [[martyr]], known in Spanish as ''San Eustaquio'' and in Portuguese as ''Santo Eustáquio'' or ''Santo Eustácio''.

The island's prior Dutch name was ''Nieuw Zeeland'' ('New Zeeland'), named by the [[Zeeland]]ers who settled there in the 1630s.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Attema |first=Y. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9RVsAAAAMAAJ&q=st+eustatius+%22Nieuw+Zeeland+%22 |title=St. Eustatius: A Short History of the Island and Its Monuments |date=1976 |publisher=Walburg Pers |isbn=978-90-6011-153-6 |pages=11 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gB3SAAAAMAAJ&dq=st+eustatius+Nieuw+Zeeland&pg=PA299 |title=De Gids. Nieuwe vaderlandsche letteroefeningen |date=1905 |publisher=Stichting de Gids |location=Amsterdam |pages=299 |language=nl}}</ref> It was renamed Sint Eustatius shortly thereafter.<ref name=":3" />

The [[Arawak]] name for the island was ''Aloi'' "[[Cashew]] Island".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hartog |first=Johannes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BxsAAAAMAAJ&q=st.+eustatius+Aloi+cashew |title=History of St. Eustatius |date=1976 |publisher=Central U.S.A. Bicentennial Committee of the Netherlands Antilles : distributors, De Witt Stores N.V. |language=en}}</ref><ref>"[http://secar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Soffers-et-al.-2013-Archaeological-excavations-at-the-Old-Gin-House-Site.pdf Archaeological Excavations at Old Gin House: Remains of a mid-18th to late 18th century domesticate area on a terrace in Lower Town, St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean.]" (2013). The St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research.</ref>

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:St. Eustatius - Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië-Antilles part 2, middle right.gif|thumb|280px|left|Map of Sint Eustatius from the ''Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië 1914–1917'']]
[[File:Sint Eustatius travel map.png|thumb|280px|left|Another map of Sint Eustatius]]
The earliest inhabitants were Caribs<ref name=":0">Joh. Hartog, ''De Bovenwindse eilanden Sint Maarten – saba – Sint Eustatius''. De Wit N.N. Aruba (1964), pp. 1–3.</ref> believed to have come from the [[Amazon basin]] (South America) and migrated north from [[Venezuela]]<ref name=":0" /> via the [[Lesser Antilles]].<ref name=":0" /> In the early 20th century, settlement traces were discovered at Golden Rock and Orange Bay. Multiple pre-Columbian sites have been found on the island, most notably the site referred to as the "Golden Rock Site".<ref>{{Citation |last=Haviser |first=Jay B. Jr. |title=An Inventory of Prehistoric Sites on St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles |date=1981 |url=http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/19/61/00299/10-4.pdf |access-date=19 November 2021 |mode=cs1}}</ref>

While the island may have been seen by [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1493,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-06-16 |title=About St. Eustatius: History |url=https://www.statiagovernment.com/about-st.-eustatius/history |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=Statia Government |language=en-GB }}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the first recorded sighting was in 1595 by [[Francis Drake]] and [[John Hawkins (naval commander)|John Hawkis]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hartog |first=Johannes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FrlsAAAAMAAJ&q=%22eustatius%22+francis+drake+john+hawkins+1595 |title=St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius |date=1978 |publisher=De Wit Stores |pages=13 |language=en}}</ref> From the first European settlement in the 17th century, until the early 19th century, St. Eustatius changed hands twenty-one times between the Netherlands, Britain, and France.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Netherlands Antilles |url=https://state.gov/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415171043/https://www.state.gov/ |archive-date=15 April 2023 |website=US Department of State |access-date=15 April 2023 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

In 1625, English and French settlers arrived on the island.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Westergaard |first=Waldemar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xadnAAAAMAAJ&dq=st+eustatius+english++1625&pg=PA12 |title=The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule (1671–1754): With a Supplementary Chapter, 1755–1917 |date=1917 |publisher=Macmillan |pages=12 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Aspinall |first=Sir Algernon Edward |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZYZAQAAMAAJ&dq=st+eustatius+english++1625&pg=PA343 |title=The Pocket Guide to the West Indies, British Guiana, British Honduras, Bermuda, the Spanish Main, Surinam, and the Panama Canal |date=1927 |publisher=Sifton, Praed & Company, Limited |pages=343 |language=en |chapter=St. Eustatius & Saba}}</ref> In 1629, the French built a wooden battery at the present-day location of [[Fort Oranje (Sint Eustatius)|Fort Oranje]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Klingelhofer |first=Eric |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v955DwAAQBAJ&dq=st+eustatius+1629+french+fort&pg=PA61 |title=First Forts: Essays on the Archaeology of Proto-colonial Fortifications |date=2010-11-11 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-18732-0 |pages=61 |language=en |chapter=French Fortifications in the New World}}</ref> Both the English and the French left the island within a few years due to lack of drinkable water.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aceto |first=Michael |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGjixKTt9JcC&dq=st+eustatius+first+settlers+english&pg=PA302 |title=The Americas and the Caribbean |date=2008-12-10 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-020840-5 |editor-last=Schneider |editor-first=Edgar W. |language=en |chapter=Eastern Caribbean English-derived language varieties: Phonology}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Panton |first=Kenneth J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdFbCQAAQBAJ&dq=st+eustatius+english+fresh+water&pg=PA452 |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire |date=2015-05-07 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-7524-1 |pages=452 |language=en}}</ref>

===Dutch West India Company===
In 1636, the chamber of Zeeland of the [[Dutch West India Company]] took possession of the island,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hartog |first=Johannes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BxsAAAAMAAJ&q=1636+st+eustatius+zeeland |title=History of St. Eustatius |date=1976 |publisher=Central U.S.A. Bicentennial Committee of the Netherlands Antilles : distributors, De Witt Stores N.V. |pages=21 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> reported to be uninhabited at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Attema |first=Y. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9RVsAAAAMAAJ&q=1636+st+eustatius+uninhabited |title=St. Eustatius: A Short History of the Island and Its Monuments |date=1976 |publisher=Walburg Pers |isbn=978-90-6011-153-6 |pages=16 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Klooster |first=Wim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSciDQAAQBAJ&dq=st+eustatius+1636+dutch+unoccupied&pg=PA62 |title=The Dutch Moment: War, Trade, and Settlement in the Seventeenth-Century Atlantic World |date=2016-10-19 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-0667-7 |pages=16 |language=en}}</ref> In 1678 the islands of St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Saba were under the direct command of the Dutch West India Company, with a commander stationed on St. Eustatius to govern all three.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} At the time, the island was of some importance for the cultivation of [[tobacco]] and [[sugar]].<ref name=":4" /> More important was the role of St. Eustatius in the [[Atlantic slave trade|trans-Atlantic slave trade]] and the intercolonial slave trade.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Inikori |first1=Joseph E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aa78ghyF2fIC&dq=eustatius+slave+trade&pg=PA294 |title=The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Economies, Societies and Peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe |last2=Engerman |first2=Stanley L. |date=1992-04-30 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-1243-7 |pages=292–295 |language=en}}</ref>

===Free port and slave trade===
[[File:StEustatius.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Historical engraving showing the view from out in the Caribbean Sea, approaching the island of Sint Eustatius]]
[[File:Fort Oranje.jpg|thumb|left|280px|17th-century [[Fort Oranje (Sint Eustatius)|Fort Oranje]], with the [[island of Saba]] visible in the distance]]
Sint Eustatius became the most profitable asset of the Dutch West India Company{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} and a transit point for enslaved Africans in the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Emmer |first1=Pieter C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdX7DwAAQBAJ&q=eustatius |title=The Dutch Overseas Empire, 1600–1800 |last2=Gommans |first2=Jos J. L.|author2-link=Jos Gommans |date=2020-10-15 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42837-8 |pages=175–179 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=McGreevy |first=Nora |date=2 June 2021 |title=Remains of Enslaved People Found at Site of 18th-Century Caribbean Plantation |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-18th-century-grave-enslaved-people-caribbean-island-180977870/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The ruins of the [[Waterfort (Sint Eustatius)|Waterfort]] on the southwest coast of the island are reminders of this past. A slave house of two floors was in the Waterfort. Plantations of sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, coffee and indigo were established on the island and worked with labor of enslaved Africans.<ref name=":5" /> In 1774 there were 75 [[Plantations of Sint Eustatius|plantations on the island]]{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} with names such as Gilboa, Kuilzak, Zelandia, Zorg en Rust, Nooit Gedacht, Ruym Sigt and Golden Rock.

In the 18th century, St. Eustatius's geographical placement in the middle of Danish (Virgin Islands), British ([[Jamaica]], St. Kitts, [[Barbados]], [[Antigua]]), French ([[Saint-Domingue|St. Domingue]], [[Saint Lucia|Ste. Lucie]], [[Martinique]], [[Guadeloupe]]) and Spanish ([[Cuba]], [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]], [[Puerto Rico]]) territories—along with its large harborage, [[Neutrality (international relations)|neutrality]] and status from 1756<ref name="Tuchman 19882"/> as a [[free port]] with no [[customs]] duties—were all factors in it becoming a major point of transhipment of African slaves, goods, and a locus for trade in [[contraband]].<ref name="Tuchman 19882" /><ref name="Britannica St Eustatius a2">{{Cite web |title=St Eustatius |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sint-Eustatius |access-date=28 June 2019 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> Transshipment of captured Africans to the British, French, and Spanish islands of the eastern Caribbean was significant enough that the colonists built a two-story slave house at the [[Waterfort (Sint Eustatius)|fortress Amsterdam]] (also known as Waterfort) to serve as a depot of enslaved Africans until around 1740.<ref>Gregory E. O'Malley and Alex Borucki, [https://www.scielo.br/j/tem/a/cZmRvYM8FzJxBHvmPfWcfTw/?lang=en "Patterns in the intercolonial slave trade across the Americas before the nineteenth century,"] Tempo, 23 (May/Aug 2017): 315–338.</ref> The depot housed about 400–450 people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=ENTHOVEN |first=VICTOR |date=2012 |title="That Abominable Nest of Pirates": St. Eustatius and the North Americans, 1680—1780 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23547669 |journal=Early American Studies |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=239–301 |jstor=23547669 |issn=1543-4273}}</ref>

St. Eustatius's economy flourished under the Dutch by ignoring the monopolistic trade restrictions of the British, French and Spanish islands{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}; it became known as the "Golden Rock".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Discover the "Golden Rock": an island teeming with history |url=https://statia-tourism.com/about-statia/history/ |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=Statia Tourism |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Oostindie |first1=Gert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwgSBQAAQBAJ&dq=the+golden+rock+st+eustatius&pg=PA135 |title=Dutch Atlantic Connections, 1680–1800: Linking Empires, Bridging Borders |last2=Roitman |first2=Jessica V. |date=2014-06-20 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-27131-9 |pages=135 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Emmer |first1=Pieter C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0UBEAAAQBAJ&dq=the+golden+rock+st+eustatius&pg=PA177 |title=The Dutch Overseas Empire, 1600–1800 |last2=Gommans |first2=Jos J. L. |date=2020-10-15 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-67994-7 |pages=177 |language=en}}</ref> [[Edmund Burke]] said of the island in 1781:
<blockquote>''It has no produce, no fortifications for its defence, nor martial spirit nor military regulations ... Its utility was its defence. 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.''<ref name="Tuchman 19882"/></blockquote>

==="First Salute"===
{{See also|The First Salute|Statia Day}}

[[File:Johannes de Graeff.jpg|thumb|[[Johannes de Graaff]]]]
The island sold [[weapon|arms]] and [[ammunition]] to anyone willing to pay, and it was therefore one of the few places from which the young United States could obtain military stores. The good relationship between St. Eustatius and the United States resulted in the noted "First Salute". On 16 November 1776, the 14-gun American brig ''[[USS Andrew Doria (1775)|Andrew Doria]]'' commanded by Captain [[Isaiah Robinson]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=[Home page] |url=http://andrewdoria.org/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216192310/http://andrewdoria.org/ |archive-date=16 December 2014 |access-date=3 October 2014 |website=Andrew Doria – The First Salute, Inc.}}</ref><ref name="Britannica St Eustatius a2"/> sailed, flying the [[Continental Colors]] of the fledgling United States, into the anchorage below St. Eustatius's Fort Oranje. Robinson announced his arrival by firing a thirteen gun salute, one gun for each of the thirteen American colonies in rebellion against Britain. Governor [[Johannes de Graeff|Johannes de Graaff]] replied with an eleven-gun salute from the cannons of Fort Oranje (international protocol required two guns fewer to acknowledge a sovereign flag). It was the first international acknowledgment of American independence.<ref group="Note">The first salute to the Colors may have occurred one month earlier. It is debatable if a Colonial merchantman received a formal salute from Fort Frederik on the Danish island of St Croix ([https://books.google.com/books?id=cjdmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22October+1776%22%2B+St+Croix%2BSalute The birth of our Flag] page 13 published 1921) and ([http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/jazz/jb_jazz_virgin_3.html Americas Library]) Translated from the Danish Wikipedia article on Frederiksted "Frederiksted is a town on St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands which were previously the Danish West Indies. .. The town is dominated by the red and white Fort Frederik from the 1750s. The fort has special meaning to both USA and Denmark-Norway. It was from here that the first foreign salute of recognition of USA independence was given in 1776."</ref> The ''Andrew Doria'' had arrived to purchase munitions for the American Revolutionary forces. She was carrying a copy of the Declaration of Independence which was presented to Governor De Graaff. An earlier copy had been captured by the British on its way to Holland. It was wrapped in documents that the British believed to be a strange cipher, but were actually written in [[Yiddish]], addressed to Jewish merchants in Holland.

[[File:Andrew Doria NH 85510-KN.jpg|thumb|''Andrew Doria'' receives "[[The First Salute]]" from the Dutch fort at Sint Eustatius, 16 November 1776.]]

President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] visited St. Eustatius for two hours on 27 February 1939 on [[USS Houston (CA-30)|USS ''Houston'']] to recognise the importance of the 1776 "First Salute". He presented a large brass plaque to St. Eustatius, displayed today under a flagpole atop the walls of Fort Oranje, reading:

<blockquote>''In commemoration to the salute to the flag of the United States, Fired in this fort November 16. 1776, By order of Johannes de Graaff, Governor of Saint Eustatius, In reply to a National Gun-Salute, Fired by the United States Brig of War Andrew Doria, Under Captain Isaiah Robinson of the Continental Navy, Here the sovereignty of the United States of America was first formally acknowledged to a national vessel by a foreign official. Presented by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States of America''</blockquote>

The recognition provided the title for [[Barbara W. Tuchman]]'s 1988 book ''The First Salute: A View of the [[American Revolution]]''.

===Capture by British Admiral George Rodney 1781===
{{see also|Capture of Sint Eustatius}}

The British took the ''Andrew Doria'' incident seriously, and protested bitterly against the continuous trade between the United Colonies and St. Eustatius. In 1778, [[David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield|Lord Stormont]] claimed in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] that, "if Sint Eustatius had sunk into the sea three years before, the United Kingdom would already have dealt with [[George Washington]]". Nearly half of all American Revolutionary military supplies were obtained through St. Eustatius. Nearly all American communications to Europe first passed through the island. The trade between St. Eustatius and the United States was the main reason for the [[Fourth Anglo-Dutch War]] of 1780–1784.<ref name="Britannica St Eustatius a2"/> Notably, the British Admiral George Brydges Rodney, having occupied the island for Great Britain in 1781, urged the commander of the landing troops, Major-General Sir John Vaughan, to seize "Mr. Smith at the house of Jones – they (the Jews of St. Eustatius, Caribbean Antilles)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jews in British America |url=http://www.ouramericanrevolution.org/index.cfm/page/view/p0157 |access-date=2022-04-04 |website=The American Revolution |archive-date=18 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518100717/http://www.ouramericanrevolution.org/index.cfm/page/view/p0157 |url-status=dead }}</ref> cannot be too soon taken care of – they are notorious in the cause of America and France".<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Botta |first=Carlo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLcTAAAAYAAJ |title=History of the War of Independence of the United States of America |date=1837 |publisher=N. Whiting |language=en}}</ref><ref>Jong, Cornelius de (1807). ''Reize naar de Caribische Eilanden in de jaren 1780 en 1781''. Haarlem. p. 179</ref> The war was disastrous for the Dutch economy.

[[File:Île_de_Saint_Eustache_en_1781_(haute_résolution).jpg|thumb|The island of St. Eustatius taken by the English fleet in February 1781. Admiral [[George Brydges Rodney|Rodney]]'s sailors and troops pillaged the island.]]

Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic on 20 December 1780. Even before officially declaring war, Britain had outfitted a massive battle fleet to take and destroy the weapons depot and vital commercial centre that St. Eustatius had become. British Admiral [[George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney|George Brydges Rodney]] was appointed the commander of the battle fleet. 3 February 1781, the massive fleet of 15 ships of the line and numerous smaller ships transporting over 3,000 soldiers appeared before St. Eustatius prepared to invade. Governor De Graaff did not know about the [[declaration of war]]. Rodney offered De Graaff a bloodless surrender to his superior force. Rodney had more than 1,000 cannon to De Graaff's one dozen cannon and a garrison of sixty men. De Graaff surrendered the island, but first fired two rounds as a show of resistance in honor of Dutch Admiral [[Lodewijk van Bylandt]], who commanded a ship of the Dutch Navy which was in the harbor.<ref name="Tuchman 19882"/> Ten months later, the island was conquered by the French, allies of the [[Dutch Republic]] in the war. The Dutch regained control over the looted and plundered island in 1784.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The British Capture of Sint Eustatius |date=3 August 2018 |url=https://snr.org.uk/avarice-and-rapacity-and-treasonable-correspondence-in-an-emporium-for-all-the-world-the-british-capture-of-st-eustatius-1781/}}</ref>

A series of French and British occupations of Sint Eustatius from 1795 to 1815 during the [[French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars]] diverted trade to the occupiers' islands. St. Eustatius's economy collapsed, and the merchants, including the Jews left. St. Eustatius reverted permanently to Dutch control from 1816.

At its peak, St. Eustatius may have had a largely transient population of about 10,000 people. Most were engaged in commercial and maritime interests. A census list of 1790 gives a total population (free and enslaved people combined) of 8,124. Commerce revived after the island returned to Dutch control. Many of the merchants (including the Jews) returned to the island. However, the French and British occupations disrupted trade and also the Americans, now globally recognised as an independent nation, had meanwhile developed their own trading network and did not need St. Eustatius anymore. The island was eclipsed by other Dutch ports, such as those on the islands of [[Curaçao]] and [[Sint Maarten]]. During the last years of the 18th century Statia developed trade in bay rum. The economy declined in the early 19th century. From about 1795 the population declined, dropping to 921 in 1948.

===Jewish population===

The first record of Jews on St. Eustatius dates to 1660.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gramarye |first=Eliza |title=1725 St. Eustatius Census |url=https://www.academia.edu/17178776 |journal=Academia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="A Medley of Contradictions": The Jewish Diaspora in St Eustatius and Barbados |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/235406368.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Miller |first=Derek |date=2013-01-01 |title="A Medley of Contradictions": The Jewish Diaspora in St Eustatius and Barbados |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539623614/ |journal=Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects |doi=10.21220/s2-c1t3-w516}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Honen Dalim |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/honen-dalim-sint-eustatius |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=La Nacion |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/la-nacion |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=St Eustatius |url=https://jewswerehere.com/americas/caribbean/st-eustatius/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Jews were here |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Pilgrim |first=Lucy |date=2024-12-10 |title=Sint Eustatius : Jewish Heritage In Focus |url=https://www.outlooktravelmag.com/travel-guides/the-caribbean/sint-eustatius/sint-eustatius-jewish-heritage-in-focus |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Outlook Travel Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> The Jews were mainly merchants with significant international trading and maritime commercial ties. Jews were captains, owners or co-owners with Christian partners, of significant numbers of ships originating out of St. Eustatius. A few were island plantation owners. By 1750, Jews comprised over half of the island's free population, with more than 450 individuals among 802 free citizens.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />

Ten days after the island surrendered to the British on 3 February 1781, Rodney ordered that the entire Jewish male adult population assemble for him. They were rounded up and 31 heads of families were summarily deported to St. Kitts without word or mercy to their dependents.<ref name=":11" /> The choice of exiling the Jews to St. Kitts was significant. The nearby British colony of [[Nevis]] had a large Jewish population and an established community capable of aiding the refugees. St. Kitts did not have any Jewish community or population. The other seventy-one were locked up in the weighing house in Lower Town where they were held for three days.

Expulsion of Americans followed on 23 February, of merchants from Amsterdam on 24 February and of other Dutch citizens and Frenchmen on 5 March. The crews of the Dutch ships Rodney took were sent to St. Kitts for imprisonment – after first stripping them of all their belongings. Because of their maltreatment, many perished. The Jews were well received on St. Kitts – where many knew them as their respected business partners. They were supported in their protest against their deportation and it proved successful. They were allowed to return to St. Eustatius after a few weeks to observe all their property being sold at small fractions of the original value after having been confiscated by Rodney. There were numerous complaints about "individuals of both sexes being halted in the streets and being body searched in a most scandalous way."<ref>{{Cite book |title=West Indisch Plakaatboek |date=1979 |location=Amsterdam}}</ref> Pieter Runnels, an eighty-year-old member of the island council and captain of the civic guard, did not survive the rough treatment he received aboard Rodney's ship. He, a member of one of the island's oldest-established families, became the only civilian casualty of the British occupation.

Rodney singled out the Jews: the harshness was reserved for them alone. He did not do the same to French, Dutch, Spanish or even the American merchants on the island. He permitted the French to leave with all their possessions. Rodney was concerned that his unprecedented behavior would be repeated upon British islands by French forces when events were different. However, Governor De Graaff was also deported. As he did with all other warehouses, Rodney confiscated the Jewish warehouses, looted Jewish personal possessions, even cutting the lining of their clothes to find money hidden in there. When Rodney realized that the Jews might be hiding additional treasure, he dug up the Jewish cemetery.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Norton |first=Louis Arthur |date=October 2006 |title=Retribution: Admiral Rodney and the Jews of St. Eustatius |url=http://www.jewishmag.com/107mag/jewsofeustatius/jewsofeustatius.htm |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=Jewish Magazine}}N</ref><!-- Norton cannot be used as a reference for Rodney burning down the synagogue and Jewish owned warehouses since he does not give sources for this information in his article. A contemporary eyewitness, Cornelius de Jong, makes no mention of any buildings being burned down while he was very keen to paint the blackest possible picture of the British so he would have undoubtedly included this in his account.-->

Later, in February 1782, [[Edmund Burke]], the leading opposition member of the Whig Party, upon learning of Rodney's actions in St. Eustatius, rose to condemn Rodney's actions in [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]]:

<blockquote>
...and a sentence of general beggary pronounced in one moment upon a whole people. A cruelty unheard of in Europe for many years… The persecution was begun with the people whom of all others it ought to be the care and the wish of human nations to protect, the Jews… the links of communication, the mercantile chain… the conductors by which credit was transmitted through the world... a resolution taken to banish this unhappy people from the island. They suffered in common with the rest of the inhabitants, the loss of their merchandise, their bills, their houses, and their provisions; and after this they were ordered to quit the island, and only one day was given them for preparation; they petitioned, they remonstrated against so hard a sentence, but in vain; it was irrevocable.
<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Abbattista |first=Guido |date=2008 |title=Edmund Burke, the Atlantic American War and the 'Poor Jews at St. Eustatius': Empire and the Law of Nations |journal=Cromohs |volume=13 |pages=1–39}}</ref>
</blockquote>

====The synagogue and the cemetery====
[[File:Saint Eustatius synagogue - Honen Dalim.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The restored and stabilized walls of the 1737 synagogue]]

From about 1815, when there was no longer a viable Jewish community using and maintaining the synagogue on St. Eustatius, it gradually fell into ruin.

The synagogue building, known as Honen Dalim, (חונן דלים, He who is charitable to the Poor) was built in 1737.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honen Dalim Synagogue {{!}} Sint Eustatius Sightseeing {{!}} Sint Eustatius |url=https://www.inyourpocket.com/Sint-Eustatius/Honen-Dalim-Synagogue_124279v |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.inyourpocket.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Honen Dalim |url=https://varrtravel.wordpress.com/tag/honen-dalim/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Richard Varr's Travel Blog |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> Permission for building the synagogue came from the Dutch West India Company, additional funding came from the Jewish community on Curaçao. Permission was conditional on the fact that the Jewish house of worship would be sited where "the exercise of their (Jewish) religious duties would not molest those of the Gentiles".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arbell |first=Mordehai |title=The Jewish Nation of the Caribbean: The Spanish-Portuguese Jewish Settlements in the Caribbean and the Guianas |date=2002 |publisher=Geffen |location=Jerusalem}}</ref> The building is off a small lane called Synagogue Path, away from the main street. The synagogue attested to the wealth of the Jews of St. Eustatius and their influence on the island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honen Dalim Synagogue Restoration Project |url=http://www.steustatiushistory.org/HonenDalimSynagogue.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223132157/http://steustatiushistory.org/HonenDalimSynagogue.htm |archive-date=23 February 2015 |access-date=3 October 2014 |website=St. Eustius Historical Foundation}}</ref>
[[File:Saint Eustatius- Jewish Cemetery.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Jewish cemetery]]

In 2001, its walls were restored as part of the [[Historic Core Restoration Project]], although there are no known images showing what the synagogue looked like when still in use, so that archeological research is attempting to restore the structure to the best estimate of its former condition. The grounds include a Jewish ritual bath ([[mikveh]]) and an oven used on [[Passover]]. A restored and respectfully maintained Jewish cemetery is next to the Old Church Cemetery, at the top of Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius.

===Slave Revolt of 1848===
After 1848, [[slavery]] only existed on the Dutch and Danish Eastern Caribbean islands, which caused unrest on the islands colonized by [[Evolution of the Dutch Empire|the Netherlands]]. As a result, a proclamation declared on 6 June 1848 on Sint Maarten that enslaved [[Africa]]ns would be treated as free persons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paula |first=A. F. |title='Vrije' slaven: Een sociaal-historische studie over de dualistische slavenemancipatie op Nederlands Sint Maarten, 1816–1863 |date=1993 |publisher=Centraal Historisch Archief, Universiteit van de Nederlandse Antillen |isbn=90-6011-841-3 |page=98}}</ref>

Unrest also arose on Sint Eustatius. On 12 June 1848, a group of free and enslaved Africans gathered in front of Lieutenant Governor Johannes de Veer's home demanding their declaration of liberty, increased rations, and more free hours. The Island Governor addressed the group, but it persisted in its demands. The militia was mobilized and, after consultation with the Colonial Council and the main residents, an attack was decided by the Lieutenant Governor. After another warning to leave the city or otherwise experience the consequences, fire was opened on the group. The insurgents fled the city, leaving two or three seriously injured. From a hill just outside the city they pelted the militia with stones and pieces of rock. A group of 35 shooters stormed the hill, killing two insurgents and injuring several. The six leaders of the uprising were exiled from the island and transferred to [[Curaçao]]. [[Thomas Dupersoy]], a free African, is considered the chief leader of the uprising. One of the other leaders sent a death notice to his owner in 1851. After the uprising, the largest plantation owners on Sint Eustatius decided to give their enslaved workers a certain wage for fear of repetition of revolt.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hartog |first=Joh. |title=De Bovenwindse eilanden: Sint Maarten, Saba, Sint Eustatius |date=1969 |publisher=De Wit N. V. |location=Aruba |pages=296–297 |language=nl}}</ref>

===Abolition of slavery===
In 1863 slavery was officially abolished in the Netherlands. The Dutch were among the last to abolish slavery.<ref>[https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio/timeline-dutch-history/1863-abolition-of-slavery 1863 Abolition of slavery – Timeline Dutch History – Rijksstudio]</ref> The freed slaves no longer wanted to live in the field and moved to the city. Due to a lack of trade, the bay of Sint Eustatius underwent a recession. Natural disasters such as the hurricane of September 1928 and May 1929 accelerated the process of economic decline on the island.

===Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles===
{{main|Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles}}

Sint Eustatius became a member of the [[Netherlands Antilles]] when that grouping was created in 1954. Between 2000 and 2005 the member islands of the Netherlands Antilles voted on their future status. In a [[Sint Eustatius status referendum, 2005|referendum on 8 April 2005]], 77% of Sint Eustatius voters voted to remain within the Netherlands Antilles, compared to 21% who voted for closer ties with the Netherlands. None of the other islands voted to remain.

After the other islands decided to leave, ending the Netherlands Antilles, the [[Island council (Netherlands)|island council]] opted to become a special municipality of the Netherlands, like Saba and Bonaire. This process was completed in October 2010.<ref name="Britannica St Eustatius a2"/> In 2011 the island officially adopted the [[United States dollar|US dollar]] as its currency.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 May 2010 |title=Introduction of the Dollar on Bonaire, Saint Eustace, Saba |url=https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2010/05/18/introduction-of-the-dollar-on-bonaire-saint-eustace-saba |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626202050/https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2010/05/18/introduction-of-the-dollar-on-bonaire-saint-eustace-saba |archive-date=26 June 2019 |access-date=26 June 2019 |website=Government of the Netherlands}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Sint Eustatius from ISS.jpg|thumb|left|Sint Eustatius as photographed from the [[International Space Station]]]]
[[File:Quill dormant vulcano.jpg|thumb|View looking southeast along the Atlantic coast, showing the airport runway in the middle distance, Lynch Beach beyond that, then the [[The Quill (volcano)|Quill]], St. Eustatius's dormant volcano, and over the water in the distance, the northern end of the island of St. Kitts]]
Sint Eustatius is 6 miles (10&nbsp;km) long and up to 3 miles (5&nbsp;km) wide.<ref name="Britannica St Eustatius a2"/> Topographically, the island is saddle-shaped, with the {{Convert|602|m|ft|adj=on}} high dormant volcano [[The Quill (volcano)|Quill]] (Mount Mazinga), (from Dutch ''kuil'', meaning 'pit'—originally referring to its crater) to the southeast and the smaller summits of 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 flat [[Col|saddle]] between the two elevated areas, which forms the centre of the island.<ref name="Britannica St Eustatius a2"/>
<!--Contemporary eyewitness Cornelius de Jong mentions some ruined warehouses as a result of the [[Great Hurricane of 1780]] but does not speak of anything like "cataclysmic damage" or the loss of over 4,000 lives on St. Eustatius.-->

===Climate===
St. Eustatius has a [[tropical monsoon climate]]. Tropical storms and hurricanes are common. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, sharply peaking from late August through September. [https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/ Tropical Cyclone Climatology]

===Nature===
[[File:Statia Zeelandia Beach 2012.jpg|thumb|Zeelandia Beach]]As St. Eustatius is a volcanic island and very small, all of the beaches on the island are made up of black volcanic sand. These volcanic sands, especially one of the more popular nesting beaches called Zeelandia, are very important nesting sites for several endangered sea turtles such as: the [[Green sea turtle|green turtle]], [[Leatherback sea turtle|leatherback]], [[Loggerhead sea turtle|loggerhead]] and [[Hawksbill sea turtle|hawksbill]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zeelandia Bay |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/sint-eustatius/attractions/zeelandia-bay/a/poi-sig/1396449/358147 |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=Lonely Planet}}</ref>
Sint Eustatius is home to one of the last remaining populations of the [[critically endangered]] [[Lesser Antillean iguana]] (''Iguana delicatissima'').<ref name="van den BurgMeirmansvan Wagensveld2018">{{cite journal | last1 = van den Burg | first1 = Matthijs P | last2 = Meirmans | first2 = Patrick G | last3 = van Wagensveld | first3 = Timothy P | last4 = Kluskens | first4 = Bart | last5 = Madden | first5 = Hannah | last6 = Welch | first6 = Mark E | last7 = Breeuwer | first7 = Johannes A J | title = The Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima) on St. Eustatius: Genetically Depauperate and Threatened by Ongoing Hybridization | journal = Journal of Heredity | date = 19 February 2018 | volume = 109 | issue = 4 | pages = 426–437 | issn = 0022-1503 | eissn = 1465-7333 | doi = 10.1093/jhered/esy008 | pmid = 29471487 | url = | doi-access = free }}</ref> The population was strongly affected during the high-intensity hurricane year of 2017, with especially [[Hurricane Maria]], during which the population declined by 25%.<ref name="van den BurgMaddenvan Wagensveld2022">{{cite journal | last1 = van den Burg | first1 = Matthijs P. | last2 = Madden | first2 = Hannah | last3 = van Wagensveld | first3 = Timothy P. | last4 = Boman | first4 = Erik | title = Hurricane-associated population decrease in a critically endangered long-lived reptile | journal = Biotropica | date = 21 March 2022 | volume = 54 | issue = 3 | pages = 708–720 | issn = 0006-3606 | eissn = 1744-7429 | doi = 10.1111/btp.13087 | pmid = | bibcode = 2022Biotr..54..708V | s2cid = 247602866 | url = https://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/53/381553.pdf}}</ref>

===National parks===
Sint Eustatius has three nature parks – on land and at sea: the Sint Eustatius National Marine Park, [[Quill/Boven National Park]], and Miriam Schmidt Botanical Garden. Two of them have national park status. These areas have been designated as important bird areas. The nature parks are maintained by the [[STENAPA|St Eustatius National Parks Foundation]] (STENAPA).<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.statiapark.org/about-us/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=St. Eustatius National Parks}}</ref>

==Archaeology==
Due to its turbulent history, Sint Eustatius is rich in archaeological sites. Nearly 300 sites have been documented.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Eastman |first=John |title=An Archaeological Assessment of St Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles |date=1996 |degree=MA |publisher=College of William and Mary |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539626031 |doi=10.21220/s2-aq12-3j05 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The island is said to have the highest concentration of archaeological sites of any area of comparable size.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Underwater Archaeology on St. Eustatius – The Caribbean's Historic Gem |url=https://theshipwrecksurvey.com/underwater-archaeology-st-eustatius/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=The Shipwreck Survey |archive-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409180321/https://theshipwrecksurvey.com/underwater-archaeology-st-eustatius/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 1920s, [[J. P. B. de Josselin de Jong]] conducted archaeological research into [[Saladoid]] sites on the island and in the 1980s a great deal of research at the [[Golden Rock (archaeological site)|Golden Rock site]] was done by archaeologist Aad Versteeg of [[Leiden University]]. Around 1981, under the direction of archaeologist Norman F. Barka, the [[College of William & Mary]] in [[Williamsburg, Virginia]] also started archaeological research on Sint Eustatius. The documented archaeological sites include prehistoric sites, plantations, military sites, commercial trading sites (including shipwrecks), and urban sites (churches, government buildings, cemeteries, residences). The [[St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research]] (SECAR) has been conducting archaeological research on the island since 2004<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://secar.org/organisation/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research}}</ref> including excavations at the [[Godet African Burial Ground]] and the [[Golden Rock African Burial Ground]].

In June 2021, SECAR became involved in protests against excavations at the 18th-century [[Golden Rock Burial Ground|burial ground Golden Rock]] on the island. The [[Ubuntu Connected Front]] and other concerned citizens of Sint Eustatius denounced the non-involvement of the community in the excavation process through a petition and letters to the government.<ref>{{Cite press release |title="Let Our Enslaved Ancestors Rest" – Says UCF Caribbean Chair |date=17 June 2021 |publisher=Ubuntu Connected Front |url=https://ubuntuconnectedfront.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PRESS-RELEASE-UCF_Stop_Excavations_African_Burial_Ground_St_Eustatius_2021_July12.pdf |last1=Ubuntu Connected Front}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 July 2021 |title=Statia Suspends Archaeological Dig at the Airport |url=https://www.statiagovernment.com/news-and-tenders/news/2021/07/14/statia-suspends-archeological-dig-at-the-airport |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=St. Eustatius}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Meijer |first=J. H. T. |title=[Letter from J.H.T. (Jan) Meijer] |date=9 October 2021 |url=https://werkgroepcaraibischeletteren.nl/wordpresssite/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021.10.09_Sint-Eustatius_EN-Jan-Meijer.pdf |mode=cs1 |via=Caraïbisch Uitzicht}}</ref> The majority of the population on St. Eustatius are of African descent. Participation in cultural heritage, i.e. involving the community whose ancestors are being excavated, is good practice in contemporary archaeology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Faro – Participation in Cultural Heritage – |url=https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/topics/faro---participation-in-cultural-heritage |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=Cultural Heritage Agency|date=3 July 2019 }}</ref> Archaeological excavations on St. Eustatius apparently fall under the old Monuments Act for the BES islands<ref>{{Citation |title=Monumentenwet BES |url=https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0028429/2010-10-10 |language=nl |via=Overheid.nl |mode=cs1}}</ref> that is very brief on these issues. The 2016 Dutch Heritage Act<ref>Heritage Act https://english.inspectie-oe.nl/publications/publication/2016/9/14/{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> offers more protection for cultural heritage. The Committee on Kingdom Relations asked [[List of ministers of the interior of the Netherlands|State Secretary]] [[Raymond Knops]] questions about the matter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reactie op verzoek commissie over de stand van zaken voortgang opgravingen vliegveld Sint Eustatius |url=https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/brieven_regering/detail/2021Z17561/2021D37657 |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal |language=nl }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The ''Statia Heritage and Research Commission'' (SHRC) set up by the government of St. Eustatius investigated the allegations of the protest groups and published its report in January 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 September 2021 |title=Statia Heritage Research Commission Officially Installed |url=https://www.statiagovernment.com/news-and-tenders/news/2021/09/22/statia-heritage-research-commission-officially-installed |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=St. Eustatius}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 January 2022 |title=Report of the Statia Heritage Research Commission (SHRC) for the Government of St. Eustatius, Netherlands Caribbean |url=https://www.statiagovernment.com/documents/media-articles/2022/01/28/report-of-the-statia-heritage-research-commission-shrc-for-the-government-of-st.-eustatius-netherlands-caribbean |access-date=29 August 2023 |website=St. Eustatius Government}}</ref>
{{anchor|Demography}}
== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
As of January 2025, the population was 3,270,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Netherlands |first=Statistics |date=2025-05-19 |title=Population of the Caribbean Netherlands up by nearly 1.6 thousand in 2024 |url=https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2025/21/population-of-the-caribbean-netherlands-up-by-nearly-1-6-thousand-in-2024#:~:text=Population%20of%20the%20Caribbean%20Netherlands%20up%20by%20nearly%201.6%20thousand%20in%202024,-19/05/2025&text=On%201%20January%202025,%20the%20population%20of%20Bonaire%20stood%20at,percent)%20than%20one%20year%20previously. |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Statistics Netherlands |language=en-GB}}</ref> with a population density of 154 inhabitants per square kilometre.

The majority of Sint Eustatius is of [[Afro-Caribbean people|African]] descent, with minorities of [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] and [[Asian people|Asian]] descent also present. Around 20 nationalities live on the island as well.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Practical Information |url=https://statia-tourism.com/plan-your-trip/practical/ |access-date=2025-09-09 |website=Statia Tourism |language=en-US}}</ref> 
[[File:AgeSexPyramid 2023 Sint Eustatius.svg|thumb|Age Sex Pyramid]]

=== Language ===
The official language is Dutch, but English is the "language of everyday life" on the island and education is solely in English.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2014 |title=English to Be Sole Language of Instruction in St Eustatian Schools |url=http://www.government.nl/news/2014/06/19/english-to-be-sole-language-of-instruction-in-st-eustatian-schools.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224093715/http://www.government.nl/news/2014/06/19/english-to-be-sole-language-of-instruction-in-st-eustatian-schools.html |archive-date=24 February 2015 |access-date=20 February 2015 |website=Government of the Netherlands}}</ref> A local English-based [[Netherlands Antilles Creole English|creole]] is also spoken informally. More than 52% of the population speak more than one language. The most widely spoken languages are English (92.7%), Dutch (36%), Spanish (33.8%) and [[Papiamento]] (20.8%).

=== Religion ===
The population of Sint Eustatius is predominantly [[Christianity|Christian]]. The main denominations are [[Methodist|Methodism]] (28.6%), [[Roman Catholic]]ism (23.7%), [[Seventh-Day Adventist]] (17.8%), [[Pentecostal]]ism (7.2%) and [[Anglican]]ism (2.6%).<ref name="religion">{{Citation |last=Statistics Netherlands |title=Trends in the Caribbean Netherlands 2018 |date=2018 |url=https://www.cbs.nl/-/media/_pdf/2018/50/trends%20in%20the%20caribbean%20netherlands%202018_web.pdf |page=80 |place=The Hague |publisher=Statistics Netherlands |isbn=978-90-357-2238-5 |mode=cs1}}</ref>
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Sint Eustatius (2018):<ref name="religion" />
|label1 = [[Protestant]]
|value1 = 56.2
|color1 = DarkBlue
|label2 = [[Roman Catholic]]
|value2 = 23.7
|color2 = Purple
|label3 = Other [[Christian denomination]] or religion
|value3 = 5.2
|color3 = DodgerBlue
|label4 = No denomination
|value4 = 14.9
|color4 = lightgrey
}}
[[File:Collectie Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen TM-20030082 Monument ter ere en herinnering aan het 50-jarige (1898-1948) regeringsjubileum van Koningin Wilhelmina Sint Eustatius Boy Lawson.jpg|thumb|Catholic church in Sint Eustatius]]

==Economy==
[[File:Lower Town Sint Eustatius.jpg|thumb|Ruins of numerous warehouses on Oranje Bay]]
In the 18th century, "Statia" was the most important Dutch island in the Caribbean and was a center of great wealth from trading. At this time it was known as the "Golden Rock" because of its immense wealth. A very large number of warehouses lined the road that runs along Oranje Bay; most (but not all) of these warehouses are now ruined and some of the ruins are partially underwater.

A French occupation in 1795 was the beginning of the end of great prosperity for Sint Eustatius.

The government is the largest employer on the island, and the oil terminal owned by [[GTI Statia]] is the largest private employer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Eustatius |url=https://www.rijksdienstcn.com/sint-eustatius?waxtrapp=hoykhtBsHbGLZFsBtB&1curvers=engels&0Lang=E |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006081926/https://www.rijksdienstcn.com/sint-eustatius?waxtrapp=hoykhtBsHbGLZFsBtB&1curvers=engels&0Lang=E |archive-date=6 October 2014 |access-date=22 April 2014 |website=Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland}}</ref>

=== Energy and water ===
[[File:Aerial view on the solar park on Sint Eustatius.jpg|thumb|The solar park on Sint Eustatius in 2016]]
Statia Utility Company N.V. provides electricity to the island, as well as drinking water per truck and on part of the island by a water network. The electricity supply is rapidly being made green. Until 2016 all electricity was produced by diesel generators. In March 2016 the first phase of the solar park with 1.89 [[MWp]] capacity became operational, covering 23% of entire electricity demand. In November 2017<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bouma |first=Joop |date=3 November 2017 |title=Sint-Eustatius haalt nu al de helft van de stroombehoefte uit zon |language=nl |work=Trouw |url=https://www.trouw.nl/gs-b440121e |access-date=4 April 2022}}</ref> another 2.15 MWp was added, totaling 14,345 solar panels, with 4.1 MW capacity and a yearly production of 6.4 [[Gigawatthour#Watt-hour multiples|GWh]]. The solar park includes lithium-ion batteries of 5.9 MWh size. These provide power for grid stability, as well as energy shifting. On a sunny day the diesel generators are switched off from 9 a.m. to 8&nbsp;pm. This is made possible by [[Inverter-based resource|grid-forming inverters]] produced by [[SMA Solar Technology|SMA]]. This is one of the first such solar parks in the world and provides 40% to 50% of the island's electricity.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Transportation==

The [[F. D. Roosevelt Airport]] (IATA: EUX) offers flights to [[Princess Juliana International Airport|Sint Maarten]] and [[Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport|Anguilla]].<ref>{{cite web |title=How to get here |url=https://statia-tourism.com/plan-your-trip/how-to-get-here/ |website=Statia Tourism |access-date=24 March 2025}}</ref>

As of March 2025, [[Makana Ferry Service|Makana]] operated ferries six days a week to and from [[Philipsburg, Sint Maarten|Philipsburg]] on the Dutch part of [[Sint Maarten]], with continuing service to the Dutch island of [[Saba (island)|Saba]], as well as a direct ferry link to and from [[St. Kitts]] (Port Zante in [[Basseterre]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Schedules |url=https://makanaferryservice.com/#schedules |website=Makana Ferry Services |access-date=24 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://makanaferryservice.com/about-us/ |website=Makana Ferry Services |access-date=24 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

There is no regularly scheduled public transportation, such as public buses or minibuses, on Statia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Practical Information |url=https://statia-tourism.com/plan-your-trip/practical/ |website=Statia Tourism |access-date=24 March 2025}}</ref>

==Education==
Dutch government policy towards St. Eustatius and other SSS islands promoted English medium education. Sint Eustatius has bilingual English–Dutch education.<ref name="Sociolinguisticsp2108">Dijkhoff, Marta, Silvia Kowenberg, and Paul Tjon Sie Fat. Chapter 215 "The Dutch-speaking Caribbean Die niederländischsprachige Karibik." In: ''Sociolinguistics / Soziolinguistik''. [[Walter de Gruyter]], 1 January 2006. {{ISBN|3110199874}}, 9783110199871. Start: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MGl35Q3W5twC&pg=PA2105 2105]. CITED: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MGl35Q3W5twC&pg=PA2108 2108].</ref>

[[Gwendoline van Putten School]] (GVP) is a secondary school on the island.

Other schools include: Golden Rock School, Gov. de Graaff School, Methodist School, SDA School.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Education |url=https://www.statiagovernment.com/key-topics/education |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=St. Eustatius|date=16 June 2020 }}</ref>

==Sports==
The most popular sports on Sint Eustatius are [[Association football|football]],<ref name="statia history">{{Cite web |last=Stokkermans |first=Karel |date=29 June 2012 |title=Sint Eustatius – Football History |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/statiachamp.html |access-date=29 June 2012 |website=[[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]] |publisher=[[RSSSF]]}}</ref> [[futsal]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cruyff Courts Sint Maarten / Sint Eustatius / Saba |url=https://windwardroads.com/cruyff-courts-sint-maarten-sint-eustatius-saba/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=Windward Roads}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 February 2008 |title=1st Cruyff Court Dutch Caribbean Futsal Championship 2007 (Aruba) |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/cruijff-youth07.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=RSSSF}}</ref> [[softball]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2011 |title=Saba and St. Eustatius Compete in Softball |url=http://pearlfmradio.sx/2011/06/27/saba-and-st-eustatius-compete-in-softball/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Pearl FM Radio – Pearl of the Caribbean}}</ref> [[basketball]], [[Swimming (sport)|swimming]] and [[volleyball]]. Due to the small population, there are few sport associations. One of them, the [[Sint Eustatius Volleyball Association]], is a member of [[ECVA]] and [[NORCECA]]. Currently St. Eustatius is a non-active member of the Caribbean zone of [[PONY Baseball and Softball|Pony Baseball and Softball leagues]].

==Famous Statians==
* [[Mariana Franko]] (1718–1779), freedom fighter
* [[Antony Beaujon]] ({{circa}} 1763–1805), colonial governor
* [[Edward Wilmot Blyden]] (1832–1912), educator and diplomat; born in [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint Thomas]] from Statian parents
* [[Gerald Berkel]] (b. 1969), politician
* [[Black Harry (Sint Eustatius)|Black Harry]] (18th century), methodist preacher 
* [[Kizzy (entertainer)|Kizzy]] (b. 1979), artist
* [[Lolita Euson]] (1914–1994), writer and poet 
* [[Ziggi Recado]] (b. 1981), artist
* [[Shirma Rouse]] (b. 1980), singer

==See also==
{{portal|Geography|North America|Caribbean|Netherlands|<!-- Sint Eustatius -->}}
* [[Caribbean Netherlands]]
* [[Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles]]
* [[Governors of Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten]]
* [[F. D. Roosevelt Airport]]
* [[Great Hurricane of 1780]]
* [[Index of Netherlands Antilles-related articles]]
* [[Plantations of Sint Eustatius]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Arbell |first=Mordechai |year=2002 |title=The Jewish Nation of the Caribbean, The Spanish-Portuguese Jewish Settlements in the Caribbean and the Guianas |place=Jerusalem |publisher=Geffen Press |isbn=978-9652292797}}
* {{cite book |last=Attema |first=Y |year=1976 |title=A Short History of St. Eustatius and its Monuments |place=Zutphen |publisher=Walburg Pers |isbn=978-9060111536}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Bernardini |editor1-first=P |editor2-last=Fierling |editor2-first=N |year=2001 |title=The Jews and the Expansion of Europe to the West, 1450–1800 |place=New York |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1571811530}}
* {{cite book |last=Ezratty |first=Harry |year=2002 |orig-date=1997 |title=500 Years in the Jewish Caribbean – The Spanish and Portuguese Jews in the West Indies |place=Baltimore, MD |publisher=Omni Arts |isbn=978-0942929188}}
* {{cite book |last=Hartog |first=J |year=1976 |title=History of St. Eustatius |publisher=Central USA Bicentennial Committee of the Netherlands Antilles}}
* {{cite book |last=Hearst |first=Ronald |year=1996 |title=The Golden Rock |place=Annapolis, MD |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=}}
* Jameson, J. Franklin. "St. Eustatius in the American Revolution". ''[[American Historical Review]]'' 8 (1903):683-708. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1834346
* {{Cite book |last=Morse |first=Jedidiah |author-link=Jedidiah Morse |year=1797 |chapter=St. Eustatius |title=The American Gazetteer |place=Boston, MA |publisher=At the presses of S. Hall, and Thomas & Andrews |ol=23272543M |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/americangazettee00mors#page/n175/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last=Spinney |first=David |year=1969 |title=Rodney |place=London |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-0049200227}}
* {{cite book |last=O'Shaughessy |first=Andrew Jackson |year=2013 |title=The men who lost America: British Command during the Revolutionary War and the Preservation of the Empire |place=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-1-78074-246-5}}
* Schulte Nordholt, Jan Willem. ''The Dutch Republic and American Independence'', trans. Herbert H. Rowen. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1982 {{ISBN|0807815306}}
* {{cite book |last=Tuchman |first=Babara W |year=1988 |title=The First Salute |place=Westminster, MD |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-0394553337}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.statiagovernment.com/ St. Eustatius Government]
* [http://www.statiatourism.com St. Eustatius Tourist Office's homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207172906/http://www.statiatourism.com/ |date=7 February 2011 }}
* [http://www.statiapark.org The website of STENAPA, the National Parks of St. Eustatius]
* [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/sint-eustatius St. Eustatius info in Lonely Planet website]
* [http://www.secar.org St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research]
* [https://archive.today/20140926210032/http://www.thedailyherald.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=19860:schotsenhoek-plantation&Itemid=37 The Farm in St. Eustatius: Not Dead Yet]
* [http://www.top10worldmedia.com/statia/o-nov22.pdf Colorful stories from St. Eustatius's eventful history. Saba invasion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308223707/http://www.top10worldmedia.com/statia/o-nov22.pdf |date=8 March 2016 }}
* [http://www.top10worldmedia.com/statia/o-jan10.pdf Colorful stories from St. Eustatius's eventful history. Bermuda connection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005048/http://www.top10worldmedia.com/statia/o-jan10.pdf |date=5 March 2016 }}
* [http://www.jewishmag.com/107mag/jewsofeustatius/jewsofeustatius.htm "Retribution: Admiral Rodney and the Jews of St. Eustatius"], by Louis Arthur Norton

{{Island areas of the Netherlands Antilles}}
{{Special municipalities of the Netherlands}}
{{Outlying territories of European countries}}
{{Countries of North America}}
{{Dutch colonies|Kingdom2}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|17|29|N|62|58|W|type:isle_region:BQ|display=title}}

[[Category:Sint Eustatius| ]]
[[Category:Islands of the Dutch Caribbean]]
[[Category:Leeward Islands (Caribbean)]]
[[Category:Caribbean special municipalities of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Dutch is an official language]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where English is an official language]]