Saba History

History
Christopher Columbus is said to have sighted Saba on November 13, 1493, but did not land, as the island's perilously rocky shores were a major deterrent to Columbus and his crew. In 1632 a group of shipwrecked Englishmen landed upon Saba; they stated they found the island uninhabited when they were retrieved by others. But there has been some evidence found indicating that Carib or Arawak Indians may have been on the island.

In 1635 a stray Frenchman claimed Saba for Louis XIII of France and around the year 1640, the Dutch West India Company sent people from the neighboring island of St. Eustatius to colonize the island. These settlers were then in 1664 evicted to St. Maarten by Sir Henry Morgan, the notorious English buccaneer, on one of the very few occasions that the nearly vertical rocky island was successfully invaded. The Netherlands finally took possession of Saba in 1816 after a spell of British occupation during the Napoleonic era.

Through the 17th and 18th centuries its major industries were sugar and rum, and, later, fishing, particularly lobster fishing. In the 1600s Saba was believed to be a favorable hideout for Jamaican pirates. England also deported its "undesirable" people to live in the Caribbean colonies. They too became pirates, taking haven on Saba. Legitimate sailing and trade later became important and many of the island's men took to the seas, during which time Saba lace became an important product made by the island's women.

The remains of the 1640 settlements can be found on the west side at Tent Bay. The nations which governed the island of Saba changed 12 times between 1634 and 1816. Some of the more significant changes were: Netherlands 1634, England 1665, Netherlands 1667, England 1672, and Netherlands 1682. The last change was in 1816 when the Netherlands again took control, and has kept it since then. 

Timeline
1640's - The Dutch Governor of the neighboring island of Sint Eustatius sent several Dutch families over to colonize the island for the Dutch West India Company 1664 - Refusing to swear allegiance to the English crown, these original Dutch settlers were evicted to St. Maarten as well as other British pirates that had been convicted to stay on Jamaica 1816 - The Netherlands have been in continuous possession of Saba for 345 years 2004 - A status referendum was held in Saba and 86.05% of the population voted for closer links to the Netherlands