Special Mission
Large puffs of white clouds drift lazily with the trade winds beneath the bright blue November sky over Oranje Bay. Isaiah Robinson, captain of the 14-gun brig Andrea Doria, brought his spyglass to his eye. Ahead, twin peaks with lush green slopes rose sharply from the sandy shore, where the Dutch trading port city of Oranjestad stood. He shifted his gaze to the large stone fort sitting atop the bluffs overlooking the anchorage, which was his destination.
“How will they receive us, sir?” asked a young midshipman standing beside him. The United States declared independence from Britain earlier that summer but had not yet received diplomatic recognition.
“We shall know soon enough, Mister Sewall,” replied Robinson.
The First Salute
The Andrea Doria sailed quickly and then lazily toward the harbor, crowded with trading ships from across the New World and Europe. Sint Eustatius, part of the Dutch Antilles, was a duty-free port that, since its occupation by the Dutch West Indies Trading Company in the early 17th century, served as a hub for maritime trade—both legal and illegal. Tobacco, rice, cotton, and rum passed through her, forming part of a global supply chain that connected two hemispheres. However, the port was sadly a transit point for the worst kind of trade—human chattel.
Robinson snapped his glass shut and nodded to the Gunner's
Mate. “Fire the salute!”
Thirteen of the fourteen barrels flashed and belched smoke—one for each state. Andrea Doria had officially announced her arrival. Robinson wondered, What will be their reply?
From his perch at the fort, the island's governor, Johannes de Graaf, watched the salvo fired by the brig below. He turned to the battery commander and doffed his plumed hat. A salvo of eleven guns erupted, belching a cloud of gun smoke above the harbor.
Captain Robinson smiled in satisfaction. “The signal of a returned
salute is two guns less than the saluted.”
“What does it mean, sir?” asked Sewall.
Robinson did not respond to the young officer but turned to the entire crew. “The United Netherlands recognizes us as a sovereign nation!”
The crew erupted into a long cheer as the Andrea Doria headed to safe harbor.
Island in the Sun
I have slightly adjusted my plan to dedicate the upcoming editions of the Yankee Doodle Spies blog to characters from the series’ next novel, The Reluctant Spy. Instead, we will focus on a place that plays a significant role in this adventure story. This unique location is an island in the West Indies. An island that was crucial during the American Revolution and features prominently in the fifth book of the Yankee Doodle Spies series, The Cavalier Spy. As those who have read it know—this island is Sint (Saint) Eustatius, sometimes called Statia.
Revolutionary Role
Sint Eustatius’s role in the American fight for independence didn’t end with that “first salute.” In fact, Governor de Graaf greeted the crew, and Robinson gave him a copy of the Declaration of Independence along with a letter written in Hebrew, meant for the Jewish merchants in the Netherlands. Many Jewish settlers on Sint Eustatius helped make the island a trading and banking hub that linked the Old World with the New.
Lively and Prosperous
When Robinson and his crew went ashore, they discovered a bustling port town with hundreds of storehouses, shops, inns, taverns, and bordellos. The storehouses were packed with goods from the region’s islands—coffee, cocoa, rice, tobacco, and wood from North America, along with finished products from Europe. The bay was filled with ships from all over the world, waiting to unload or load cargo. The small island, a “duty-free” port, was as busy as Amsterdam, handling 3,000 ships a year.
The Jewish Community
The large Jewish population was the driving force behind the island’s prosperity. In the early 18th century, Sephardic Jews migrated to Sint Eustatius from the Netherlands, bringing entrepreneurial skills and talent, and establishing financial ties with their communities in Europe and elsewhere. The population eventually made up about one-tenth of the island's residents. These traders became wealthy enough to build the largest synagogue in the New World, Honen Dalim. Stone bricks were imported from Europe to construct the massive structure.
Duty-Free Port
Though short on natural resources, the small island in the sun boasted a global network of traders and maritime interests. The Jewish settlers on St. Eustatius made up a significant part of those merchants who were also “illegal” sellers of war materials and supplies to the Americans. Add to that the banking interests in Amsterdam, and you had the ingredients for a system that some called the “Armory of the American Revolution.”
Robinson would meet with some of the local Jewish businessmen and purchase munitions. This marked the start of a covert (or not so covert) trade that exchanged American cash crops, such as tobacco, for war supplies. It was a vital pipeline during the early years of the fight for independence.
Smugglers Hub
But the troublesome island that defied the rules of maritime trade was in the crosshairs of the empire that enforced maritime regulations—at least wherever the navy patrolled. However, political and diplomatic politeness kept the British government from doing much to halt the secret trade that gave the American rebels their lifeline. As long as the Netherlands and France were not confirmed allies of America, the better approach was to send occasional squadrons to patrol the waters. But eliminating the source of smugglers and (to the British) illegal traders would have to wait.
A Vital Threat
A few years into the war, London realized that the threat from the small island needed to be addressed. By 1780, the Admiralty believed it was time for action. France and Spain were at war, and after the revelations captured with American emissary Henry Laurens, the focus shifted to the West Indies, where the British believed their greater economic interests were. With the Southern strategy in motion, everything was set for a confrontation.
Send Rodney
British Admiral George Rodney, a capable and well-respected naval veteran, was given the assignment. In late 1780, he sailed with a fleet of fifteen ships of the line, many support ships and transports, and about 3,000 men to finally deal with the “nest of vipers.” Arriving at the harbor entrance on February 3, 1781, the fleet looked impressive. With around 1,000 naval guns, Governor de Graaf could only watch in dismay, as he had just a dozen cannons and fifty men. He accepted Rodney’s offer of surrender.
Worse Than Thought
The British admiral was amazed by the abundance of supplies and munitions on the island and the number of vessels loaded with goods involved in American trade. Beaches were lined with warehouses overflowing with goods, mainly sugar and tobacco. Others were filled with naval stores—the timber, resin, tar, and hemp rope needed for ships. The scale of the island's contribution to the American war effort was further demonstrated by the number of munitions belonging to the Royal Navy that were seized—sold by British merchants on nearby St. Kitts!
Months of Rapine
Rodney began confiscating anything of value. With substantial gambling debts, the more he could seize for Britain, the bigger his share of the loot. The admiral burned, dumped, or looted what he could find. The island was plundered like a medieval city. His contempt for the Jews was clear—he believed many successful merchants were mainly responsible for supporting the Americans. In an act similar to later Boer War tactics, Rodney had many of the island’s leading Jewish figures rounded up and sent to St. Kitts. While now destitute families watched in horror, he seized all of their possessions.
Not Following Orders
Meanwhile, Rodney lost focus on his duties. He broke his orders to destroy the supplies intended for the American forces and to shadow a French fleet heading for North America under Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse. As he lingered on Sint Eustatius to continue looting, the French arrived in American waters and set sail for the Chesapeake. Rodney sent part of his fleet to join Admiral Hood while, now sick, he sailed back to England. De Grasse and Hood clashed at the Battle of the Chesapeake, where the French forced the British to retreat. They then trapped British General Charles Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown, sealing Britain’s fate in North America.
After Rodney
The British occupation of Sint Eustatius was brief. Months later, a French fleet recaptured it, and it was returned to Dutch control in 1784. But the island, once vibrant, was a shell of its former self. Months of destruction and plundering by Hood bankrupted the locals, and the population of about 8,000 began to decline. With the war over and the former British colonies now free to trade freely, its importance decreased.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the French and British fought over it (the Netherlands was made a client state and then absorbed by France). The Congress of Vienna returned Sint Eustatius to the Netherlands in 1816. But the “Golden Island” would never be the same as it was during its heyday of the late 18th century.
Statius Speculation
The story of the island in the sun has two “what ifs.”
The first is obvious. What if Rodney had not succumbed to his greed and instead followed his orders, rather than spending months looting and expropriating, but had shifted focus to the French threat after capturing the island? Would America’s fate, and that of the world, have turned out differently?
The second is more vague. But what if the Jewish population had been left untouched and not gone into a diaspora? Would their trade and finance expertise have made Eustatius an even more important regional hub for commerce, leading the entire West Indies to prosperity?
Visitors to the island today can barely imagine its brief yet crucial role in shaping history. But the island in the sun did have its part—and it's one we should always remember.
