Informatie
Informational video about Sint Eustatius, a tiny island, in the middle of the Caribbean, where most people speak English, but are in fact Dutch nationals. Sint Eustatius is a tropical municipality of the Netherlands.
Content
- History – this Dutch territory was the first to recognize the United States as an independent country by saluting an approaching ship with the American flag, making St. Eustatius the target of a British plundering campaign
- Dutch Independence – the former colonies were dissolved and the Netherlands Antilles were formed. In 2010, it became a special municipality of the Netherlands
- Jewish Community – they were present from the beginning and represented 10% of the population at one point. Today the Jewish cemetery is witness to this past
- Tourism – tourism is small scale and focused on the beaches, history, and scuba diving. The dormant volcano ‘The Quill’ offers an amazing hike to the highest point of the Netherlands
Additional information
1. Sint Eustatius, also known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially “public body”) of the Netherlands.
2. It is unclear if native peoples inhabited the island before European colonization. It is thought that Christopher Columbus likely saw the island 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.
3. Oranjestad is a small town of 1,038 inhabitants; it is the capital of the island of Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands.
4. Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a special municipality of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010. Together with Bonaire and Saba, it forms the BES islands. In 2011 the island officially adopted the US dollar as its currency.
5. The first record of Jews on St. Eustatius dates to 1660. The Jews were mainly merchants with significant international trading and maritime commercial ties. Jews were estimated to have comprised at least 10% of the permanent population of St. Eustatius.
6. The oil terminal (an unloading and storage depot for petroleum) of the American company Prostar Capital is the most important economic pillar of Sint Eustatius. Tourism is also important and is seen as the second economic pillar, especially diving tourism. The port is not suitable for large cruise ships, so no large flows of tourists can come to the island.
7. The Quill is a stratovolcano located on the island of Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands. The summit elevation is 601 m above sea level. It is also the second highest mountain in the Netherlands.
