General
St Eustatius or Statia as the locals call it is a public body of the Netherlands and part of the Dutch Kingdom although it is not part of the European Union, it has an area of 21 km² and a population of approximately 3200. The island is located in the northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Saba and northeast of St Kitts and Nevis. The official languages are Dutch and English.
Climate
St Eustatius has a tropical climate with annual temperature ranges from 18 °C (64°F) to 33 °C (91°F). The average daily temperature in January is 29°C (85°F) and in July 32°C (90°F). Dry season is between Mid January to June while the remaining months corresponding with the hurricane season and are thus rainy. The island is located in routes of hurricanes and may be affected by hurricanes between July to October.
Geography
The southern part of St Eustatius is dominated by the 602 m (1975 ft) high dormant volcano (The Quill), which had its latest eruption around the year 400 AD. In northern part of the island a series of hills are the remains of an extinct volcano (Boven) and in between the two volcanoes is a plane were among other things the air port is located.
History
In 1493 the island was “discovered“ by Christopher Columbus, when the island was claimed by the Dutch in 1636 it was for unknown reasons uninhabited. Statia had previously been inhabited by several groups since 500 BC. Between 1636 and 1812 the island changed hands 22 times before it was eventually claimed by the Dutch.
In 1756 the island was declared a free port accepting trade from all countries. During the islands glory days 1770-80s Statia was the busiest port in the world thus earning its nickname” The Golden Rock”. At that point in time roughly 20.000 people inhabited the island.
During the American war of independence St Eustatius was a big supplier of war material to the colonies, in 1776 the American war ship the Andrew Dorian sailed into Orange Bay in St Eustatius announcing its arrival with a 13 gun salute. The salute was greeted with an 11 gun response, this was recognized by the Americans as the first international recognition of the United States of America.
In the 1790s Statia saw its peak in trading, the slave trade started to decline after this and was eventually abolished by the Dutch in 1821. The abolishment of the slave trade along with heavy taxes from the English and the French which owned the island from 1801 to 1816 caused an end to trading on the Golden Rock.