Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius (/juˈsteɪʃəs/ yoo-STAY-shəs, Dutch pronunciation: [sɪnt øːˈstaːtsijʏs] ⓘ),[7] known locally as Statia (/ˈsteɪʃə/ STAY-shə),[8] is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands.[9]
Sint Eustatius
10 October 2010 (dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles)
Alida Francis (Government commissioner)[1]
21 km2 (8 sq mi)
3,242
154/km2 (405/sq mi)
St. Eustatian; Statian
United States dollar ($) (USD)
The island is in the northern Leeward Islands, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Sint Eustatius is immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts and southeast of Saba. The regional capital is Oranjestad. The island has an area of 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi).[2] Travelers to the island by air arrive through F. D. Roosevelt Airport.
Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a public body of the Netherlands in 2010.[10] It is part of the Dutch Caribbean, which consists of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. Together with Bonaire and Saba, it forms the BES Islands, also referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands.[11]
Etymology[edit]
The island's name, Sint Eustatius, is Dutch for Saint Eustace (also spelled Eustachius or Eustathius), a legendary Christian martyr, known in Spanish as San Eustaquio and in Portuguese as Santo Eustáquio or Santo Eustácio.
The island's prior Dutch name was Nieuw Zeeland ('New Zeeland'), named by the Zeelanders who settled there in the 1630s.[12][13] It was renamed Sint Eustatius shortly thereafter.[12]
The indigenous name for the island is Aloi meaning "cashew island" (origin Arawak).[14][15]
Education[edit]
Dutch government policy towards St. Eustatius and other SSS islands promoted English medium education. Sint Eustatius has bilingual English-Dutch education.[74]
Gwendoline van Putten School (GVP) is a secondary school on the island.
Other schools include: Golden Rock School, Gov. de Graaff School, Methodist School, SDA School.[75]
Sports[edit]
The most popular sports on Sint Eustatius are football,[76] futsal,[77][78] softball,[79] basketball, swimming and volleyball. Due to the small population, there are few sport associations. One of them, the Sint Eustatius Volleyball Association, is a member of ECVA and NORCECA. Currently St. Eustatius is a non-active member of the Caribbean zone of Pony Baseball and Softball leagues.