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<\/a>The name of the island, “Sint Eustatius”, is the Dutch name for Saint Eustace<\/a> (also spelled Eustachius or Eustathius), a legendary Christian martyr, known in Spanish as San Eustaquio and in Portuguese as Santo Eust\u00e1quio or Santo Eust\u00e1cio.<\/p>\n It is unclear if the island was inhabited by native peoples prior to European colonisation. It is thought that the island was likely seen by Christopher Columbus<\/a> in 1493.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.<\/p>\n In the 18th century, St. Eustatius’s geographical placement in the middle of Danish (Virgin Islands<\/a>), British (Jamaica<\/a>, St. Kitts, Barbados<\/a>, Antigua<\/a>), French (St. Domingue<\/a>, Ste. Lucie<\/a>, Martinique<\/a>, Guadeloupe<\/a>) and Spanish (Cuba<\/a>, Santo Domingo<\/a>, Puerto Rico<\/a>) territories\u2014its large harborage, neutrality and status from 1756 as a free port with no customs duties were all factors in it becoming a major point of trans-shipment of goods, and a locus for trade in contraband.<\/p>\n St. Eustatius’s economy flourished under the Dutch by ignoring the monopolistic trade restrictions of the British, French and Spanish islands; it became known as The Golden Rock.<\/p>\n The island sold 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”.<\/p>\n On November 16, 1776, the 14-gun American brig Andrew Doria<\/a> commanded by Captain Isaiah Robinson<\/a> sailed, flying the Continental Colors<\/a> of the fledgling United States, into the anchorage below St. Eustatius’ 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 Graaff<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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\u20131784.<\/a><\/p>\n 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 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.<\/p>\n After the other islands decided to leave, ending the Netherlands Antilles, the island council opted to become a special municipality of the Netherlands, like Saba and Bonaire. This process was completed in 2010. In 2011 the island officially adopted the US dollar as its currency.<\/p>\n Sint Eustatius is 6 miles (10 km) long and up to 3 miles (5 km) wide. Topographically, the island is saddle-shaped, with the 602-meter-high dormant volcano Quill (Mount Mazinga), to the southeast and the smaller summits of Signal Hill\/Little Mountain (or Bergje) and Boven Mountain to the northwest.<\/p>\n The Quill crater is a popular tourist attraction on the island. The bulk of the island’s population lives in the flat saddle between the two elevated areas, which forms the center of the island.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n According to the Sint Eustatius government website, “Statia’s economy is stable and well placed to grow in the near future. With practically no unemployment and a skilled workforce, we have a infrastructure in place to ensure sustained growth.” The government itself is the largest employer on the island, and the oil terminal owned by NuStar Energy is the largest private employer on the island.<\/p>\n Access to Saint Eustatius is by air only from Sint Marteen (Saint Martin) primarily with services provided by Winair. The flight from Sint Marteen is a short 20 minutes.<\/p>\n There is no public transportation on the island but taxis are available and rental cars are plentiful.<\/p>\nHistory:<\/h2>\n
Early History:<\/h3>\n
Slave Trade and Free Port:<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>“First Salute”:<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles:<\/h3>\n
Geography:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Flag of Sint Eustatius:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>