St Eustatius: treasure hunting in the Caribbean

Around mid-point along the volcanic arc of Caribbean islands that stretches from Florida to Venezuela, lies the largely forgotten nation of Sint Eustatius. Today it is overshadowed by neighbouring St Kitts, Antigua and the Virgin Islands, but this tiny island of just over 8.1 square miles once played a disproportionately large role in the fate of both Europe and the newborn United States of America.

While many people are unfamiliar with Sint Eustatius, a special municipality of the Netherlands more commonly known as Statia, those who have heard of it tell me, “there’s nothing to do there. It’s small – you’ll get bored within a day.” I take this as a challenge.

Its riches are first suggested to me while I’m pulling on my hiking shoes to climb the Quill, Statia’s dormant volcano that dominates the island’s skyline. “There’s treasure in the crater, you know,” says my host Win Piechutzski. “What kind?” I ask. “Valuables the Dutch landowners hid in caves when they knew the English were coming.” He replies with just a hint of a glare.

Statia certainly carries great promise of treasure through its history of wealth and conflict. With little rain or land to support plantations, it became a trading post for goods, raw materials and slaves between the Americas, Africa and Europe in the late 17th century and was at one time the world’s busiest seaport. The island became phenomenally wealthy and European nations, principally the Dutch, British and French, vied regularly for control of it. It has changed hands 22 times throughout its history.

My initial ascent of the Quill is through rather uninspiring scrub and dry woodland. Statia’s population boom to over 12,000 people at the height of its wealth in the 18th and early 19th centuries (it is now just over 3,000) forced landowners to clear far up the slopes, destroying the biodiversity. But when I reach the rim and look down into the crater, it’s a dramatically different landscape; the interior is swathed in dense forest.

After scrambling down the steep path to the bottom of the crater a broad path appears, leading me past giant ficus trees that spread their tentacle-like roots across the forest floor. Their leaves create a high canopy that, with the stillness of the air, creates a church-like feel. I follow the path around the inside of the crater, lit by an ethereal green light as the tropical midday sun filters through the leaves. To either side of the path is impenetrable undergrowth – it’s no wonder the treasure remains hidden.

That afternoon I explore Statia’s only town and capital, Oranjestad, in the company of the island’s director of monuments, Walter Hellebrand. Our first stop is Fort Oranje, where he tells me Statia’s best-known story. In 1774 the British had become increasingly annoyed with Statia’s role in supplying the restive states in North America with munitions. They encouraged the Dutch West Indies Company to ban the trade, which they duly did. Statia, however, ignored them.

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“This is the period when the economy of Statia really went crazy,” says Hellebrand. “We supplied the American revolution with everything it needed, from cloth to guns.” The final straw for Britain came on 16 November 1776, when a naval vessel flying the flag of the newly declared United States of America arrived in Statia’s port and fired an official salute to greet the Dutch flag.

“The Commander of the fort asked Statia’s governor, Johannes de Graaff, what he should do.” says Hellebrand. “The governor ordered that he should salute in return.” This was the first formal acknowledgement of American independence by a sovereign nation.

Plaques adorn Fort Oranje, now a peaceful viewpoint sheltered by a large mango tree. They tell of visits by The Daughters of the American Revolution and even President Roosevelt, who the airport is named after, to thank Sint Eustatius for its role in the birth of their nation.

After a little pressing however, Hellebrand admits that governor De Graaff had no idea what flag he was looking at and had ordered the salute to hide his ignorance.

The largely stone-paved streets of Oranjestad are lined with small gingerbread-fringed houses dating from as early as the 17th century and interspersed with reminders of the island’s former wealth; a ruined synagogue, large churches surrounded by imposing tombs of long-dead European noblemen.

I ask Hellebrand about the treasure in the Quill. A thorough historian, he is unable to let a good story get in the way of the truth. “There is absolutely no evidence that anybody buried treasure in the Quill”, Hellebrand says ruefully, “But it does have a hidden past that for me is more interesting than buried treasure.”

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“From at least the late 1700s” he continues, “there are reports of slaves running away and hiding in the crater of the Quill. Once there, they would chop down one of the big trees and carve out a canoe.” When the canoe was ready, the runaway slaves would wait until night and then drag it up the inside of the crater, down the other side and escape to British-owned St Kitts, where slavery had already been abolished.

Stories of treasure on Statia are not entirely apocryphal however. Divers are drawn to the island by its large number of shipwrecks. The most sought-after prize is one of the island’s renowned blue beads, which were principally used to barter for slaves in the 17th century. Legend has it that once you find a bead beneath the waves, you belong to Statia and are destined to visit the island time and again.

I found no bead, or indeed any other kind of treasure during my visit, but Statia itself proved rare and remarkable. Unlike many caribbean towns, all of Oranjestad’s historic buildings are lived or worked in by ordinary Statians, and it’s rare to bump into another tourist on the island.

Since the recent tourist surge in Cuba after the island’s thawing of relations with the US, Sint Eustatius is now one of only a handful of Caribbean islands that remains untouched by mass tourism. Despite its size, it has enough history, nature and underwater adventure to satisfy any independent traveller looking to find the real Caribbean. Far from being bored within a day, I extended my stay and left with the firm resolve to return, blue bead or none.

Getting there

Sint Eustatius can be accessed from St Martin on Win Air (fly-winair.sx). KLM (0871 231 0000; klm.com) flies to St Martin from a range of UK airports via Amsterdam.

Staying there

Accommodation is sparse on Statia. The writer stayed at Kings Well Resort, which is within easy walking distance of Oranjestad’s centre. Doubles start at US$120 (£82) per night including breakfast (kingswellstatia.com).

More information

statiatourism.com