Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius

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.

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

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]

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

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

• St. Eustatius Historical Foundation Museum

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

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