A short overview of the Saban history
SABA-TIJDBALK
Arowaks (Not one people
but a langage group of Ciboney, 2000 bC, Hueco•des, Salado•d, 300-200 bC
and maybe some
Ostionids, Eleonids or Suazo•ds, but that is not likely
1000? 1500? Caribs
1640 1656 Netherlands (In 1656 by
57 Dutch (Zeeuwen) + 54 English / Scottish / Irish)
1656 Conquered by England and all Dutchmen deported
to St. Maarten
1656 1672 Netherlands (only
a few Dutch families returned to Saba to live there;
Vanterpool, Zagers, Heyligers)
1672 1679 England
1678 1781 Netherlands WIC (Zeeland)
1781 1784 England
1784 1795 Netherlands WIC
1795 1801 France
1801 1802 England
1802 1810 France
1910 1816 England
1816 2012 Netherlands
In total Saba (approx.) was "owned" by
Netherlands 345 years
England 18 years
France 14 years
N.B.:
In 1657 there has been published a vacancy for a civil servant
who could speak english
(By the way: in almost all colonies
over the whole world the
Dutch
respected and used the language of that country
whereas France, England, Spain and
Portugal forced their colonies to speak
the language
of the colonists
and also Gaelic almost disappeared
in this way).
Saba has been owned by several countries
but as a colony the island
was too small
to be economically really interesting and too unaccessible
to play a strategic role either.
That is how it
came that there was always little dominance by the colonizing coutries
and this explains
why the people who lived on Saba felt quite independant
and disliked for centuries too
much influence of any nation,
Dutch, English or French.
(The Scottish
and Irish themselves were actually colonized
by the English)
Saban inhabitants regardless whether they had originally Dutch,
English, Irish or Scottish or other
roots -
always wanted to have their own say over their own island
as much as possible.
This explains also
a balance between the languages dutch and english
and
this mutual understanding and acceptation, this sometimes fragile harmony should be maintained.
Saba, 2012-11-24
Here also a map of the period of the Caribbeans
