By the mid-18th century, there were more than seventy plantations with enslaved on the island. A number of wealthy families dominated the administration. Although they often quarreled among themselves, they formed a united front when their shared interests were threatened. At this time, global trade was hindered by mercantilism, the economic theory that considered imports harmful and exports advantageous.[1]
In 1688, the Dutch West India Company allowed international trade on the Caribbean island at low import and export tariffs. Until 1730, the slave trade was relatively significant, after which it declined. On the other hand, trade in coffee, tobacco, and especially sugar increased. These goods came from the island itself as well as from nearby English and French islands. In 1756, these free trade rules were formalized. Trade on the island developed rapidly with European goods such as textiles, paper, glass, dairy products, and wine.[2] Around 1780, Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, decided to route mail to Europe via Sint Eustatius.[3] The most lucrative trade of all was in weapons needed for wars between European nations. For two decades, the island experienced unprecedented prosperity.[1]
During the American Revolutionary War, the British cut off the supply of weapons. As a result, illegal arms trade flourished on the island, with profits on gunpowder reaching up to one hundred percent. Warehouses were often so full that sugar and cotton were stored outdoors.[1] Americans bought nearly half of all their weapons and ammunition on Sint Eustatius.[4] The United Kingdom was furious. This violated the agreements in the defensive alliance with the Dutch Republic, which included mutual support if one of the two were attacked. Initially, The Hague maintained that a colonial rebellion did not fall under this treaty. But under pressure, exports to the American colonies were eventually prohibited. Jan de Windt (1715–1755), the governor of Sint Eustatius, did not comply with the ban on the lucrative arms trade, nor did his successor Johannes de Graaff. De Graaff was the wealthiest man on the island, owning ten plantations, three hundred enslaved people, and sixteen trading ships.[1]
The First Salute
In July 1776, thirteen North-American colonies had signed the United States Declaration of Independence. On 16 November 1776, the Andrew Doria visited the harbor of Sint Eustatius to load weapons and ammunition. It was the first American ship flying the new American flag to enter the harbor.[4] Governor Johannes de Graaff ordered that the ship be received with full honors.[1] After the Andrew Doria fired a salute in greeting, he commanded that it be returned with salutes from Fort Orange. Once docked, he hosted a celebration for the captain and invited all Americans on the island.[1] The Americans accepted the salute as the first recognition of the United States by a foreign power.[4]
London reacted furiously, demanding that the States General of the Netherlands publicly condemn the salute and dismiss De Graaff. He was summoned to The Hague for questioning but delayed his voyage with various excuses, from family matters to seasickness. In 1778, he arrived with a lengthy defense containing distortions and lies. The States General accepted his defense, not least because Amsterdam traders also profited greatly from trade on Sint Eustatius.[1]
By keeping De Graaff in office, the Dutch Republic had, according to the British, once again proven its unreliability as an ally. In addition to failing to support Britain against the revolutionary Americans, the Republic sought to join the League of Armed Neutrality at the end of 1780. This Russian initiative aimed to protect merchant fleets from attacks by British warships. The spark for the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War was ultimately a seized trading contract found on a British-captured ship,[1] owned by Henry Laurens, the American ambassador-designate in The Hague. On 20 December 1780, the British declared the war on the Dutch.[5]
Admiral George Rodney was ordered to seize Sint Eustatius. He held a personal grudge against the island because supplies for repairs had been sent to a French fleet after he had heavily damaged it. Rodney arrived on 3 February 1781 with seventeen warships, which was enough for De Graaff to surrender the island without resistance. Rodney took all inhabitants prisoner and deported them to Caribbean islands and Britain. He plundered the entire island and auctioned the loot, keeping a generous portion for himself. Due to gout and prostate complaints, he returned to Britain. On the way, nearly all of his possessions were intercepted by the French, preventing him from paying debts at home. British merchants from Sint Eustatius challenged his confiscations in court. In the House of Commons, opposition leader Edmund Burke delivered a famous speech condemning Rodney's plundering.[1]
Restoration of the old order
Sint Eustatius did not remain under British control for long. In November 1781, a surprise attack under French command captured the island. The old order was restored, and residents were returned their property as far as possible. In 1784, France returned sovereignty over the island to the Netherlands. A decade of great economic prosperity followed. De Graaff also returned to the island, but now as a civilian. Upon his death in 1813, he left behind immense wealth.[1]
De Graaff is commemorated as a hero of the American Revolution with a portrait in the State House of the American state of New Hampshire.[1]
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Sint Eustatius. In recognition of The First Salute, he presented the island with a plaque, which is mounted on the square at Fort Orange at the flagpole.[6] He was not the first Roosevelt to visit the island. In 1759, Adolphus Roosevelt and Elizabeth Groebe had married there.[7]
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