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St. Eustatius (Netherlands Antilles)

(2:3)
by Arnaud Leroy, 16 December 2004

Overview
Coat of Arms
The Star and Stripes in St. Eustatius

See also:

Overview

I received a few days ago information from the St. Eustatius Tourist Bureau:
"St.Eustatius is in the process of having it's own Flag and Coat of Arms. The proceudure takes a very long time due to the fact that different committee have to go through all documentation and research the design and colours etc. We were hoping to have all this done by November 16th which Statia Day, but this will not maerialize until in 2001. Hoping to have inform you accordingly."
Mark Sensen, 26 June 2000

The procedure to come to a flag and Coat of Arms for St.Eustatius (started April 2000) still didn't lead to the adoption of a flag and Coat of Arms.
Mark Sensen, 3 June 2001

International Civic Arms shows St. Eustatius Coat of Arms adopted by the island council in 2002. The Coat of Arms has a motto in Latin: "SUPERBA ET CONFIDENS" meaning Proud and Confidence.
Nozomi Kariyasu and Ivan Sache, 10 May 2003

St. Eustatius seems still in the process of adopting a flag.
Mark Sensen, 14 January 2004

In the local newspaper (The Daily Herald) of 10 September 2004, it was reported that the Lt. Governor of St. Eustatius (Netherlands Antilles) announced the new flag and coat-of-arms of St. Eustatius. The flag was designed by Zuwena Suares. The design of the coat-of-arms is by Walter Hellebrand. The official presentation of both flag and coat-of-arms will be on Statia day, 16 November.
Walter Hellebrand, 16 September 2004

The image of the coat-of-arms appears on International Civic Arms and says the island council adopted it in 2002 not 2004. Exactly this image was loaded down from anywhere in the web on May, 2003.
Nozomi Kariyasu and J. Patrick Fischer, 17 September 2004

The flag was adopted in July and will be raised officially for the first time on Statia Day (16 November).
Mark Sensen, 8 October 2004

Image of the new flag is based on <www.amigoe.com>, located by Nadine Salas. Sint Eustatius will adopt its own flag, coat of arms and hymn on 16 November 2004 (Statia Day, the Day of Sint Eustatius). The new flag and coat of arms contain the characteristic contours of the sleeping volcano-mountain: The Quill. ("Quill" is from Dutch "kuil" = pit, hole.) 16 November is an historical day for Sint Eustatius, because it will then be 228 years ago that Fort Oranje was the first to salute the flag of the United States with gunshots.
Jarig Bakker, 18 October 2004

Not a very clear view of the brand new Statia flag at <www.amigoe.com>, but a historic day for the island - the first official hoisting of its flag!
Paraskevas Renesis, 19 November 2004

Here is the description of the flag of Sint Eustatius, as sent in Dutch by Jos Poels and translated by me:
"Decision by the Island Council of Sint Eustatius of 29 Jul 2004. # 11.
Article 2 - Description of the flag: The flag is rectangular with the colors blue, red, white, gold and green. Proportions of width : length = 2:3. The flag is divided in four five-sided blue squares, each fimbriated red. In flag center is a diamond-form white field. In the diamond is the silhouette of the island in green. In the center in the top of the diamond is a five-pointed golden star."
Information provided by the Secretary of the Island Council.
Jarig Bakker, 26 November 2004

Coat of Arms

from International Civic Arms

The image is divided into three parts; the past (Golden Rock), present (Fort Oranje) and the future (angelfish). The golden rock is the name given to the island when it was a very rich trading post in the Carribean. Fort Oranje is the oldest building on the island, and the centre of social life. At the fort the Dutch government was the first to officially salute a US ship, thus the first official recognition of that country. The fish symbolises the rich nature and ecological heritage of the island. The nature also attracts many visitors and is thus of importance for the present and future of the island. Around the shield is a string of blue beads, a historical curiosity of the island. Behind the shield are two sugar cane stalks, symbolising the ancient sugar plantations. The crown symbolises the 16 (former) forts on the island. The motto Superba et confidens means Proud and Confident.
Rob Raeside, 16 September 2004

According to Ralf Hartemink's site the coat of arms was already adopted in 2002: "These quite unheraldic 'arms' have been adopted by the island council in 2002. The image is divided into three parts; the past (Golden Rock), present (Fort Oranje) and the future (angelfish). The golden rock is the name given to the island when it was a very rich trading post in the Carribean. Fort Oranje is the oldest building on the island, and the centre of social life. At the fort the Dutch government was the first to officially salute a US ship, thus the first official recognition of that country. The fish symbolises the rich nature and ecological heritage of the island. The nature also attracts many visitors and is thus of importance for the present and future of the island. Around the shield is a string of blue beads, a historical curiosity of the island. Behind the shield are two sugar cane stalks, symbolising the ancient sugar plantations. The crown symbolises the 16 (former) forts on the island. The motto Superba et confidens means Proud and Confident. The Hoge Raad van Adel, the Dutch College of Arms, clearly did not agree with the proposal, but has no official say in the Netherlands Antilles.
Literature : Letter of explanation of the arms to the Hoge Raad van Adel in Den Haag, the Netherlands."
Jarig Bakker, 19 October 2004

The Star and Stripes in St. Eustatius

At the photo reported from <www.amigoe.com>, there is also the Stars and Stripes (S&S). Why do they fly the S&S? (And apparently in the honour position, too, assuming this is deliberate).
André Coutanche, 19 November 2004

Because Sint Eustatius was the first place to salute the American flag and to recognize it as the flag of a sovereign state. An American merchantman called at Fort Oranje sometime during 1775 or 1776, and the battery at the Fort fired athe standard salute due to non - Dutch vessels entering a Dutch port.
I think we should try to asce