The Ancient history of Saba Island

 

Saba Island is an overseas territory of the Netherlands. With a population of about 1, 900 people and a land area of about 13 square kilometers, it is the smallest island territory in the Caribbean.  The first people to conquered Saba were Englishmen whose shipwreck landed in Saba in 1632(Virtual Caribbean).  By 1635, Frenchmen had claimed the island and Saba came under the rule of Louis XIII of France. The French conquest did not last long. By the 1640s, the Dutch, through the governor of Sint Eustatius, which is a neighboring island, conquered Saba. As a result, Saba was ruled by the Dutch West India Company. To date, Saba remains attached to the Dutch as a Dutch territory.  Saba remains part of the Netherlands and does not have any form of independence. However, in 2011, Saba became a special municipality of the Netherlands when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Before the dissolution, Saba was part of a province in the Netherlands. The Netherlands continues to influence most of the social, political, and economic activities in Saba. For example, the governor of Saba is appointed by the Dutch monarch who serves for six years. The governor works under the Dutch minister of interior. Further, the Dutch have impacted immensely on the Saba society. Unlike most Islands in the Caribbean, Dutch and English are the main languages spoken in Saba. While English is the main language of instruction in schools, Dutch is the language of business (Virtual Caribbean). Agriculture and tourism are the main economic activities on the Island. Tourism, however, remains the most important foreign exchange earner for the island.  Although the Netherlands Antillean guilder has been the official currency for Saba since it was established, the US dollar became the official currency in 2011.

Sources;

Virtual Caribbean. “Explore places”. Feb 8, 2021. <https://ggccaribbean.wpengine.com/ >