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Saba
 
Saba (pronounced Say-ber not Sab-ber)
consists largely
of (and because of) Mount Scenery (877 m), the highest point of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, an
inactive volcano for hundreds of years.
Saba has a land area of five square miles.
Its current major settlements include The Bottom,
Windwardside, Hell's Gate and St John's. Despite
the island's Dutch affiliation, English is
the principal language spoken on the island and has been used in its school
system since the 19th century. The Netherlands Antillian Guilder
(ANG) used to be the official currency, no longer used, the US
dollar has taken over and
is accepted everywhere on the island. Saba is
home to the Saba University School of Medicine,
which was established by American expatriates in coordination with the
Netherlands government. The school adds over three hundred residents when
classes are in session, and it is the prime educational attraction. A.M. Edwards
Medical Center is the major provider of healthcare for local
residents.
The Netherlands
Antilles, an autonomous Caribbean
country within the Kingdom
of the Netherlands, was dissolved on the 10th of October 2010. It was
created originally of communities from various islands in the Caribbean
that formed a single autonomous country within the Kingdom
of the Netherlands. After dissolution, the islands of Bonaire,
Saba
and Saint
Eustatius became special
municipalities of the Netherlands
proper, while Curacao
and Sint
Maarten became constituent
countries within the Kingdom
of the Netherlands, along the lines of Aruba,
which had separated from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. Sabans now have to pay taxes to Holland, a very unpopular business. One lady
told us that the Netherlands must see them as having individual needs and cannot
- nor should not be compared to Holland. An example, alcohol is not taxed,
soft drinks and water is. Everything is already expensive on Saba as everything
HAS to be brought in, by ferry or air, so the extra taxes are
crippling.
The National flower is the
black-eyed Susan. The Saba Lizard
History:
The origin of the name "Saba" is believed to be derived from the Arawak Indian
word for "rock", which was "siba". Christopher Columbus is said to have sighted Saba on the 13th of November 1493, but he
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 rescued. However, there has been some evidence found indicating that
Carib or Arawak Indians may have been on the island. The remains of the 1640 settlements can be found on the west side at
Tent Bay. They were destroyed by a landslide already in the 17th
century.
In 1635 a stray Frenchman
claimed Saba for Louis XIII of France and around the year 1640, the
Dutch Governor of the neighboring island of St. Eustatius sent people over to colonise the island for the Dutch West India
Company. In 1664, these settlers were evicted to St. Maarten by Thomas
Morgan, member of the same family as the notorious English buccaneer, Henry
Morgan, on
one of the very few occasions that the nearly vertical rocky island was
successfully invaded. The Netherlands have been in continuous
possession of Saba since 1816 after numerous flag changes (British-Dutch-French)
during the previous centuries.
In the 17th and 18th
centuries its major industries were sugar and rum and later
fishing, particularly lobster fishing. In the 1600's 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. The most
notable native Saban pirate was Hiram Beakes, who famously quipped "Dead Men Tell No Tales." 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
Bottom
Geography:
The environment of Saba is
mainly composed of woodland forest with ferns, damp soil and many mango trees.
There used to be forests of Mountain Mahogany trees until a hurricane in the
1960's destroyed many of the trees. These are Freziera undulata [Theaceae], and
unrelated to other Mahogany species, one of which is, however, planted at lower
levels on the island small-leaved mahogany, Swietenia mahagoni [Meliaceae]. The
Mahogany trees are considered at risk of going extinct on the island.
Visitors refer to Saba's forests as "the Elfin Forest" because of its high altitude mist and mossy appearance. Since then
there has been a woodland reserve created and aptly named "Elfin Forest
Reserve". Saba's lush plant and animal wildlife are diverse and are looked after
by the Saba Conservation Foundation.
People and
culture: The population of Saba
consists of only 1,424 people who come from all over the world. The island's
small size has led to a fairly small number of island families, who can trace
their last names back to around a half-dozen families. This means that many last
names are shared around the island, the most numerous being Hassell and Johnson.
Most families are a rich intermixing of Dutch, Scottish and African heritage. The population is
also descended from the Irish who were exiled from that country after the
ascension of King Charles I of England in 1625; Charles exiled these
Irish to the Caribbean in an effort to quell rebellion after he had forcibly
procured their lands for his Scottish noble supporters. Historically, the island was traded among the
many European nations that fought for power in the region. Slaves were also
imported to work on Saba. In more recent years Saba has become home to a large group of
expatriates. Sabans are mostly Roman Catholic by faith; however, there is
also a Wesleyan Holiness community on the island. Other religions practiced
on the island include Anglican, Seventh-day Adventist, Muslim and Jewish faiths.
Due to the very small
size of the island, as well as the difficulty with which the steep slopes made
farming, many Sabans took to the sea, making their living as legitimate sailors.
Their seafaring traditions made it not uncommon for many men to seek better
employment in the United States Navy; forging their birth certificates to enter
the U.S. Navy without obstruction was also not uncommon. Although the details of
his early personal biography are virtually unknown, one of these Saban sailors
was possibly Chief Boatswain Edwin J. Hill, who received the United
States' highest military honor, the Navy version of the Medal of
Honor posthumously, for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbour in
1941 in
which he died (due to the commonplace practice of one's forging his birth
certificate to enter the U.S. Navy, Hill's Saban birth cannot be absolutely
proven; however, it is known that his immediate and extended family were
Saban).
We saw many Tropicbirds
Transport:
There is one road, aptly
called "The Road". Its construction was masterminded by Josephus Lambert
Hassell who, despite the common opinion of Dutch and Swiss engineers, believed that a road could be built. He took a
correspondence course in civil engineering, and started building the road
with a crew of locals in 1938. After five years of work, the first section of
the road, from Fort Bay to The Bottom, was completed. It was not until
1947, however, that the first motor vehicle arrived. In 1951, the road to
Windwardside and St. Johns was opened, and in 1958 the road was completed.
Driving "The Road" is considered to be a daunting occasion, and the curves in
Windwardside are extremely difficult. Driving is on the right hand
side.
In 1963 the island had
built a 400 metre landing strip for easier trips to the island by flight:
Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. It is reputed to be the shortest commercial runway in the
world, and as such, only three models of airplane are known to land there
regularly.
Consistent air service from Sint Maarten and Sint
Eustatius is available through Windward Island Airways (Winair). In 1972 a
pier was completed in Fort Bay to access the island which has made it easier for
visitors to come there. Travel is also provided by ferry services to and from
Sint Maarten with the Dawn II and The Edge three times a
week.
Economy: Saba lace (also known as "Spanish work") was a major
export of Saba. In the 1870's, as a young lady, Mary Gertrude Hassell Johnson,
was sent to a Caracas convent in Venezuela for study – where she learned
the difficult craft. The lacework spread through the island. The
women of Saba began a mail-order business, and would copy addresses of
businesses off of shipping containers from the United States, and write to the
employees. Often they would get orders for the lacework, and it started a
considerable cottage industry. By 1928, the women were exporting around $15,000
(USD) worth of lace products each year.
Tourism: The island of Saba is known today for tourism, especially its
ecotourism.
Because the island is relatively new to the tourism industry, it only sees about
25,000 visitors each year. Saba is increasing in its popularity as a vacation
destination because of its excellent scuba diving, climbing and hiking. The scuba diving in
particular is deep and somewhat challenging; even though Saba is a small island
it actually supports not one, but two hyperbaric chambers in case of diving emergencies. Saba's brilliantly colourful
and pristine coral life make it one of the most sublime places to scuba dive in
the world, and is often listed as one of the Top ten diving destinations. Many
attribute the underwater life's purity to the island's remoteness and the caring
of the people. The waters around the island were designated as the Saba National
Marine Park in 1987, subject to government regulation to preserve its
coral reefs and other marine life. Thus, Saba is known as the "Unspoiled Queen"
of the Caribbean Saba has inns, hotels, rental cottages and
restaurants.
ALL IN ALL A FABULOUS
ISLAND.
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