Sint Eustatius
"Golden Rock Anthem"

Words by: Pieter van den Heuvel
Music by: unknown
Adopted: 2004

An island of the Netherlands Antilles, itself a colony of the Netherlands, Sint Eustatius, like every island in the Netherlands Antilles, have its own local anthem. The anthem appears to only be in English, a commonly-spoken language on the island, although Dutch is the official language. The title, "Golden Rock", a nickname of the island, refers to the period in the late eighteenth-century when Sint Eustatius was prosperous by trading with many nations, ignoring trade embargoes that were put forth at the time. This led to the island in November, 1776, to be the first to recognize the declaration of independence by the American rebel colonist leaders when it returned the salute fire of a visiting American ship (which was there to engage in trade), a fact also mentioned in the anthem.

Special thanks to: Ben Cahoon for informing me about this anthem.

See also: Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles.