Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius

This page is about the capital of Sint Eustatius. For the capital town of Aruba, see Oranjestad, Aruba.

Oranjestad

Capital city

Beach of Lower Town

Location within Sint Eustatius

Oranjestad

Location within North America

Coordinates:  [ ⚑ ] : 17°29′N 62°59′W﻿ / ﻿17.483°N 62.983°W﻿ / 17.483; -62.983
Country| Netherlands
Public body| Sint Eustatius
Population

(2001)[1]

• Total| 1,038
Time zone| UTC-4 (AST)
Climate| Aw

Oranjestad (nl; English: Orange[4] Town) is a small town of 1,038 inhabitants;[1] it is the capital and largest town of the island of Sint Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands. It is not to be confused with the far larger Oranjestad in Aruba.

## Contents

* 1 Geography
* 2 History
* 2.1 Historical sites
* 3 Facilities
* 3.1 Climate
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Bibliography
* 7 External links

## Geography

Oranjestad is a historic harbour town which is divided into two main sections. Lower Town is a strip of buildings just above sea level along the waterfront, which borders on the island's safest beach. Lower Town includes dive shops, numerous colonial-era ruins, and the harbour. Upper Town has a restored historic core, and is also the island's main commercial and residential centre. It is nestled between Quill & Boven National Park

Neighborhoods of Oranjestad:

• Golden Rock

• Bay Brow

## History

### Historical sites

Fort Oranje The restored 'Gezaghebber House' on Kerkstraat

The first colonist arrived between 1625 and 1629.[5] Sint Eustatius produced sugar and cotton, but most importantly developed into a centre of the North American slave trade.[6] In 1780, the island had an estimated population of 20,000 people including slaves. In 1781, during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the island was captured and plundered by George Rodney.[5] During the capture, all archives were destroyed.[7] In 1786, it was home to 7,600 people (3,000 white, 600 coloureds and 4,000 slaves). In 1829, the population had decreased to 2,273.[5]

The main historical site in Oranjestad is Fort Oranje, a well-maintained, 17th-century fort in the direct centre of the town, overlooking the waterfront. This cliff-side fort has cannons, intact bastions and a courtyard. Nearby is a museum, the ruins of one of the oldest synagogues in the Western Hemisphere, and a Jewish cemetery.[8]

The town's historical features also include a Dutch Reformed church built in 1755,[8] which is partly in ruins but still accessible (its tower can be climbed for long-distance views), various restored 18th-century merchants' residences - including the oldest one, the Gezaghebber House (former Lieutenant Governor's residence) on Kerkstraat - and restored wooden Caribbean-style houses. Snorkeling in Oranje Bay is also interesting because of the parts of 18th century buildings on the bay side that were swept into the sea.[9]

## Facilities

### Climate

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## See also

* List of lighthouses in Sint Eustatius
* F. D. Roosevelt Airport
* St. Eustatius Church

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Geodata 2001, Saba & Sint.Eustatius, Census 2001". 2001. http://digitallibrary.cbs.cw/CBS0000228/00001. "Sum of Oranjestad Noord, Oranjestad Zuid, Concordia and Golden Rock"
2. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Saba and Sint Eustatius". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/sab.htm.
3. ↑ Template:Cite ngall
4. ↑ The House of Orange-Nassau — Dutch: Het Huis Oranje-Nassau — read Prince of Orange (Dutch: Prins van Oranje) and related articles for more.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Benjamins & Snelleman 1917, p. 627.
6. ↑ Benjamins & Snelleman 1917, p. 629.
7. ↑ Benjamins & Snelleman 1917, p. 93.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Sint-Eustatius en alles wat reizen boeiend maakt." (in nl). 19 October 2020. https://groenroodwit.nl/2020/10/sint-eustatius-fort-oranje-de-plek-waar-alles-samenkomt/.
9. ↑ Peter van Dun; Ben de Vries (2002). "Monumenten Boven de Wind" (in nl). Jaarboek Monumentenzorg: 139–140. https://dbnl.nl/tekst/_jaa030200201_01/_jaa030200201_01_0021.php?q=Oranjestad eustatius#hl1.
10. ↑ "SUMMARY OF CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA, PERIOD 1971 - 2000". Meteo Curacao. https://www.meteo.cw/Data_www/Climate/documents/CLIM_SUM_Eus.pdf.

## Bibliography

* Benjamins, Herman Daniël; Snelleman, Johannes (1917) (in nl). Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/benj004ency01_01/.

## External links

* St. Eustatius Historical Foundation Museum

Template:Dutch capital cities Template:List of North American capitals

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