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MaSS

stepping stones of maritime history

History

Plan of the proposed breakwater by Samuel Fahlberg in 1828. Source: National Archives, The Hague, 4.MIKO 3.A.2.5.2-336.
Watercolor of Lower Town made by Samuel Fahlberg in 1829 from a boat about 500 meters from shore. The building behind the canoes is the weighing-house. In the bottom right-hand corner construction on the breakwater can be seen. Source: Rotterdam Maritime Museum, inv. nr. P2192.

According to Marten Douwes Teenstra, a visitor to the island in 1834, the breakwater was never finished due to cutbacks.During his visit, the structure was in a very dilapidated state and had largely washed away (Teenstra 1837:325).

Underwater image of the unfished breakwater, facing east towards Lower Town. Source: The St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research, 2019.

References

  • Marten Douwes Teenstra (1837).
    De Nederlandsche West-Indische eilanden in derzelver tegenwoordigen toestand.
    Amsterdam, C.G. Sulpke.
  • Ruud Stelten (2019).
    From Golden Rock to Historic Gem: A Historical Archaeological Analysis of the Maritime Cultural Landscape of St. Eustatius Dutch Caribbean.
    Leiden: Sidestone Press.
  • Ruud Stelten, Alexandre Hinton (2020).
    The SE-504 Shipwreck Site, St. Eustatius Report on the 2018, 2019, and 2020 archaeological research campaigns.
MaSS