In Part 2 of Golden Rock Dreams and Nightmares, we delve into the paradoxical history of St. Eustatius during its "Golden Rock" era (1750–1800). The island flourished as a global trading hub, connecting continents and fueling revolutions, yet its wealth was built on exploitation and the labor of enslaved people. 

We uncover the critical, yet often overlooked, contributions of the elite women on St Eustatius, whose strategic alliances and property management helped consolidate power—even as systems of oppression underpinned their privileges. How do these hidden narratives challenge our traditional views of colonial history, and what do they demand from us today?

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Produced by Simpler Media

>> Dr. Elaine: Abolitionists knew that homing in on the treatment of

enslaved women would provoke a lot of

outrage. Even though the British public did

not see black women as sort of proper

women, they did think that assaulting

women of any race was

barbaric. So all of this is to say

enslaved women featured heavily in

abolitionist material.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Welcome to Whispers of the Past. I'm your

host, Filo Vit. In this, part

two of Golden Rock Dreams and Nightmares, we

unravel the striking contradictions of synthastacia

during its golden rock era between

1750 and 1800. This

was a time of immense prosperity, and

the island thrived as a global trading hub,

connecting continents and fueling revolutions.

Yet beneath the prosperity lay a complex

reality, one of exploitation,

enslavement, and society sustained by human

suffering. These

contradictions force us to ask critical

how do we reconcile the celebrated wealth of a place

with the suffering that underpinned it?

Whose voices have been lost? And why does this

matter? As we examine the legacy of

colonization, the

history of Sintostatius has often been told through the

colonial lens, centering on the actions

of European men. Missing from this dominant

narrative are the enslaved, whose labor sustained the

island's wealth, and women, whose roles were shaped

by both resilience and compliancy.

In this episode, we seek to uncover the silence

in history and bring to light the voices that are

often overlooked. Amongst these

overlooked stories are those of women who navigate a system

of power and patriarchy. There

is some archival material from this time period about some of the

elite women of women like

Judith Godet, Maxwell De Grave, and Sarah

Godad Benner Don Lovick. They influence

the consolidation of wealth and power through strategic

marriages, inheritance, and property management.

Yet their privileges were built on a system of

exploitation that depended on the labor of the

enslaved. This

duality of resilience and complicity

challenges us to approach history with

nuance. How can we honor the strength of these

women while confronting the systems they

upheld? As we explore the legacies

of Sintostatius, we continue to amplify the

stories that were left in the shadows and reflect on

the shared but unequal experience of those who

lived through these transformative eras.

To begin, we revisit a pivotal moment in the

island's history with Mr. Richardson, the island's

heritage. Inspector.

>> Mr. Richardson: Slavery is still not abolished. Um,

and you would see a lot of strange things later on that would

happen, especially in the early 1800s. But

before that, after the islands, um, you

know, salutes the American flag, recognizes

USA as, uh, an independent country. It

still goes kind of Pretty well, everyone is still welcome

on Sius. You know, you have the Jewish

community, you have the Anglican community, the Dutch

reform, you know, you have

Anabaptists, you have everyone, you have

Catholics that were worshiping in private residences. So you have

everyone is basically welcome. On

stage.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Within the thriving community of Sint Eustatius were

women who quietly influenced its prosperity and

social fabric. Judith

Gaudette Maxwell de Grave was born into a

wealthy planter family, solidifying her

influence through her marriage to commander Johannes de

Geff. Together, their combined

wealth and social standing positioned Judith as a

key figure during this era, overseeing fast

plantations and properties.

Her story challenges the notion that only men

drove synthesia's economic success,

revealing how marriages,

inheritance and strategic alliances

allowed women to navigate the constraint of colonial

patriarchy.

Similarly, elite, uh, women like Sarah Godett, Benner

Dunlopig played crucial roles in

consolidating wealth and power.

Born into prominence, Sarah's

influence extended far beyond her household.

Through three strategic marriages to Henry

Benner, William Donne, and Thomas Lofic,

she united some of the island's most lucrative

plantations under her control.

Her alliances with influential families like

Benners and Dunns ensured her

descendant inherited a vast network of wealth and

property. This

consolidation of land highlights the critical but

often overlooked contributions of women in shaping

the island's economic foundations.

Judith's and Sarah's stories, along with others,

demonstrate how women operated within the colonial

system to secure influence. Their

legacy revealed a complex dynamic of power,

gender and wealth in a time to dominated

by men. Amongst

these figures was Johannes the Grave, governor of

Syntostatius during its most transformative

years. Born into an

influential island family, the KAF's rise to

power paralleled the island's emergence as a

global trading hub. He had

immense wealth, uh, owning 10 plantations.

He was a holder of 300 enslaved people

and had 16 trading ships.

Yet the graft is perhaps best remembered for his

bold recognition of the American

independence. In

1776, he slew the American

warship the Andrew Doria, making

Sintostatius the first foreign power to

acknowledge the United States of America.

While we were being celebrated by the Americans,

this act infuriated the British,

placing synthesias at the center of a global

conflict.

These stories of wealth, revolution and

exploitations are deeply intertwined.

Elite women like Judith and Sara used their positions to

shape family legacies, but their privileges were

underpinned by a system of enslavement and

inequalities. As we examine these

women's agency, we must also confront the systems

they uphold, reflecting how power,

privilege and Exploitation shape the fabric of

Sintostatius and the world beyond.

While the wealth of Sintostatius was shaped in part by

the influential individuals, the island's

prosperity extended far beyond families like the Gaudet and

the graves. Its thriving economy

drew people from diverse backgrounds, creating a

community where culture and opportunities

intersected. This prosperity

wasn't limited to the elite. Free people

of color. And wealthy merchants

also carved out spaces of influence

within this independent island nation.

Yet as we delve deeper, we see that this era

of wealth and opportunity came with stark inequalities

both visible and hidden in the shadows of

history. With this in mind, we return to Mr.

Richardson.

>> Mr. Richardson: It's a free for all as long as you pay it.

You even have free people of color that were

living on the island and everything is going bliss

and you're kind of like this wealthy independent nation. And

of course, synthesis was also known for even

wealthy merchants at that time printing their own

coins with their own names on it. You know, think

of a gosling, et cetera. So the island is just extremely

wealthy.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): This wealth wasn't coincidental.

Syntostacia's open roadstead made it one

of the busiest ports in the world. By the

1780s, we were attracting ships from Europe,

Africa, the Americans and beyond.

But this prosperity came at a profound human

cost. To understand the scale of the

economic engine, we turned to archaeologists,

Dr. Stelton, who shares with us the island

maritime history.

>> Dr. Stelton: So in the 1770s and the 1780s, there

were between three and three and a half thousand ships that dropped

anchor and Stacia each year. And

those are the only the ones that are recorded. Right. So there were probably

interlopers and people who were trading illegally

as well, probably in the remote base to the north, like

Tamilandig Bay and Jenkins Bay, but the recorded ones, between

three and three and a half thousand every year. So that's,

yeah, that's a significant number of ships. And they were coming

from all over the world. They were coming from Europe,

from North America, from throughout the Caribbean, from West

Africa, South America. And all of

that was possible because

Staesia has such a large open roadstead where all these ships can

anchor. So that is by far, I think, the most

important and defining feature if you look at the maritime

history of the island and especially in the 18th century.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): November 16, 1776,

marked a pivotal moment in Syntostatia's history.

On this day, the island saluted the Andrea Doria,

an American warship that, ah, played a key role in the

naval efforts during the American Revolution.

The Andrew Doria's arrival in Sint Eustacea's

harbor was symbolic as it was part of a broader

movement of American vessels seeking

international recognition and support from their struggles

against Britain. For some, this salute was a

bold gesture of freedom and revolution. But

for other colonial powers, it was seen as a direct

challenge to their authority.

Governor Johannes Zhaerf's decision to recognize the

United States wasn't a mistake. At

the time, Synthesias almost acted like an

independent nation with the slow communication between

the Hague and Oranjestad, leaving the island to

make its own decisions. However, this

recognition came at a heavy cost. It transforms

Interstacia from a neutral trade haven into a target

for British revenge, dragging the island into a

global conflict. Mr.

Richardson will now walk us through this pivotal historical

moment.

>> Mr. Richardson: And of course the American independence is being

heavily supported by Saint Eustatius.

Saint M. Eustatius at that time kind of acts like an

independent nation because correspondence between the Hague and

Oranjesat would have taken months. What

you see is interesting is that, you know, November 16th

comes around and we have a governor called

Johannes de Graaf who salutes the Andrew

Doria. Actually the Brig of War sails in and

fires shots and um,

Johannes de Graaf, who's the governor at the time,

replies to these shots, also kind of

solidifying that first salute as they call

it, and recognizing America as an

independent nation. But what's interesting is any people thought and

think it was a mistake. It was not a

mistake because you know, Johannes de Graaf, who's the governor

at the time, he was born into this role. The

governorship of these islands were kind of a dynasty. They

were royalty outside of royalty in Europe.

Johannes de Grafs, his father was governor at the time,

so he should have known this. And his father was governor

at the time when America was already fighting the war of

Independence against the British. So Yohannes as a

young boy, he should have known this. And Johannes

grandfather was governor of Stusatius. And

if you go further, his great grandfather was

governor of St. That's already like five generations

down the line of governorship. How could you not

know the rules of engagement? So these things were no mistake.

They fully well knew what they were doing.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): While, uh, the American Revolution reshaped global power

dynamics, Sintostasia faced a different kind of

upheaval. In October of

1780, one of the deadliest hurricane

in recorded history struck the Caribbean. The

hurricane left a trail of devastation

profoundly impacting Sintostatius. Homes

were destroyed, lives were lost and

livelihoods were Disrupted.

This catastrophe marked a crucial turning point for the

island. As it began to rebuild, synthesis became

increasingly vulnerable, both economically and

politically. Misasutukao, a long term

island resident and one of the founders of the island center

of Archaeology and Research,

recounts the history of this period of growth

and struggle that shaped the island's

future.

>> Ms. Sutekau: And our agreement here on Station was

to trade with the American colonies,

um, and provide them their arms, their

ammunition, their other things that they needed during the war.

But this was the biggest period of

Seius growth.

Then with the hurricane of 1780

which had greatly affected the population during

the 20 over 78, a uh,

lot of people died during that hurricane and

a lot of houses were destroyed and Station had to

rebuild. Unfortunately, February of

1781, English Boundary had

enough of our trade with uh, the

colonies and the Rodney captured the island.

Then this was a period where Eustacea went

downhill and we were, the

warehouses were closed and we were in bad

shape from 17 uh to

1784.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): In December of 1781, Syntostatius

became the focus of British frustration.

Officially declaring war on the island, King George

III and his government targeted its vital

trade network, accusing

Sintostatius of aiding in the American

Revolution. This marked the beginning of one of the most

turbulent periods in the island's history.

The British invasion wasn't just a military

act. It was a calculated effort to dismantle

the economic engine that had been supporting their

rivals. Mr. Richardson

continues.

>> Mr. Richardson: So you see that's already going to go downhill from

here economically, but also

socially this is going to lead to

1781, where the British actually are now

coming in. And in an official decree

actually that I saw, uh, original of

26 December

1781, the British

declares war.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): The British invasion led by Admiral

Rodney was marked by paranoia and

cruelty. Rodney's suspicion of the island's

inhabitants, merchants, Jewish families and

free people of color, spiraled into harsh

and devastating measures.

Entire communities were uprooted, assets

were seized, and the once thriving social

fabric began to unravel fast.

Rodney's occupation wasn't just a military

campaign. It was a direct assault on the

diverse interconnected communities that made

Synthesius so unique.

>> Mr. Richardson: King George iii, who is supposedly

mad at this time, uh, he

declares war on St. Eustatius.

And to this day it is said to be one

of the longest deliberations ever of the House of

Parliament in Westminster. And you see that

it's a long declaration of war. It's more

than 10 pages where they go into the extent

of what is to be done. To St.

Eustatius. And then there's this

admiral, this Lord Burke is his name.

And he closes off this session just before, like the

gavel goes down. So you can kind of reimagine

it as being in the House of Commons in the

uk and, you know, all of these crossbenches are

screaming at each other. And then here is this Edmund Burke is

like, you know, and before we end, I just want you to say

this, like, sink the island, sink it, sink.

You know, I want to see Syntustatius at,

ah, the bottom of the sea where it belongs.

It has no defenses and its only

glory has been its location and its

trade. And you really get the

essence of Lord Burke's anger

at Centius for helping them aid the

usa. And one can only think the

tantrums they must have had knowing that 2

Statius was like a bad word for the British.

So then the fourth Dutch Anglo war

that comes between the English and the

Dutch was actually declared on

St Eustatius and dependencies.

Many people don't know this, but when

the British were sailing down and the British were

gathering from other islands, they actually distracted

St. Martin. I, um, St. Martin was also

part of this destruction.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): The British attack on Sint Eustaceous was

carefully planned before focusing on the island itself.

They first targeted neighboring islands like St.

Martin, knowing it would be difficult for anyone to help if

the island fell. With

St. Martin captured, they then turned their attention to

Sint Eustace. The result was a devastating blow to

the island's trade economy. But the British occupation

didn't end there.

>> Mr. Richardson: They knew there was nothing much on Ceiba. It was high, it was

isolated, it was much smaller. But they actually

sailed into St. Martin first and knew if

they burned Fort Amsterdam and

they kind of captured St. Martin, there

was no one else to help because that was the last Dutch

island in that corner. So

they did that. So it was carefully planned. And then Rodney

came in and then what they call the

plundering, not technically, because the trade,

Rodney kind of allows the trade to continue

during his period because he's kind of fooling everyone off,

you know, and then Rodney stays on the island.

And what's interesting is many of the things that

Rodney would have account for in his

journals, in his diary while being on the

island, eventually. Fast forward now in parts

of Stacia's collective memory

in a lot of plays and the way a lot of people behave

and even in the funerary customs of how

people still bury people, it all comes

from the British occupation of the Island.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Rodney's occupation left a profound impact on the

island. The trauma of his actions

influenced not only the immediate residents, but also

the cultural fabric of synthesis,

particularly in customs like burial practices.

His paranoia and control tactics shaped

social behaviors that endured for generations.

>> Mr. Richardson: So you see that it's so traumatic that it's

still part of society today. The way people bury

people, for example. I've read one of his documentation

of it. So one morning there's a funeral, and

Rodney is now staying in the present day

museum. And from the balcony he looks

out the window and in the direction of the

Jewish synagogue, he sees there's a funeral going

on and there's everyone in black and everyone is

crying. But also, Rodney noted that there were quite

a lot of funerals on the island. It's like everyone was

dying. Like it was a trend. If you weren't

dead, you weren't part of the trend,

and everyone was just dying. And Rodney decides, you

know what, I'm going to get dressed. And he

fetches, um, to get a horse and

he mounts himself on the horse and he goes to pay

his respects to this funeral.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Rodney's curiosity led to a chilling

moment that mirrored the growing tension of the

occupation. His decision to attend

a funeral, observing it from a distance

would mark a strange chapter in history of

syncestatius, where paranoia and

fear were at the heart of everyday life.

>> Mr. Richardson: And Rodney drilled down in

his journal after that, when the

casket was passing, you know, he wanted to pay his

respects. And they weren't the caskets with the lids like we know

them today. It was just a cover that would go on.

And Rodney kind of,

you know, out of curiosity

wanted to look in, and he

kind of, you know, looked in

from his horse and also, you know, like realized something was

off here. And when the person in

the casket saw, of course, the sword edging

towards them, he jumped out

of the coffin and ran up the road that we call

Fort Oran Yisrael. He ran up that road and

Rodney recorded this in his journal. So it's insane that

something like this actually happened. And people

ran with fright, not because the dead was awake,

but because they know bust they were busted.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): This incident symbolizes Rodney's growing

distrust of the island's inhabitants.

His paranoia spiraled, leading to a widespread

social disruption. As

Rodney tightened the grip, entire

communities, Jewish families,

merchants, and even free people of color

face brutal measures, forever

altering the fabric of synthesia.

>> Mr. Richardson: And that's when they saw that under the coffin there were a

lot of valuable documents, papers and deeds.

So people were Trying to bury, um, their

valuables as well. And then Rodney goes basically

ballistic because now it's like all of these

funerals, were they real, were they fake? He

becomes almost paranoid here. He becomes kind of

this evil deviant. You know, he's like, exporting the

Jews. The Jews are all rounded up, and I think their place

in the building that's currently the dive shop, I think it's that

particular building was the weighing house. And you see that the

Jews are all put in that building, um,

separated. The men from the women are put in another cellar. The men

are in another building. Free people of color are free

no more. All enslaved people that were free at

the time or reinstated into slavery. Rodney is becoming

extremely paranoid and he starts to

auction off the stuff that out of the synagogue.

And the Jews are being expelled at high rates.

Something that would have been labeled

anti Semitic, you know, under today's standards.

Rodney didn't only do that to the Jews, but also to

the Catholics, the rich merchants, the Dutch

merchants, free people of color. So he

attacks every part of Stacia

society in his paranoia. It's about

1783 now, I think. 1782,

1783.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Rodney's actions during this period revealed a brutal

attempt to control every aspect of the island

society. His measures left deep

scars, marking a turning point in the lives

of Cintastasia's diverse communities. The

legacy of Rodney's tactics lasted far beyond the

18th century, disrupting cultural norms

and leading to superstitions that influenced

Synastasia's burial practices and collective memory

for generations. This enduring

impact is a testament how deeply historical

events shape communities not only

through their immediate consequences, but through the

echoes they leave in cultural traditions and shared

history.

>> Mr. Richardson: So, of course, out of that, a lot of superstition

developed. Many plays that were written

by Ellis Lopes. They were all funeral plays,

and every play, someone jumps out of a coffin.

In Europe, it's normal to put your favorite thing in the

casket, et cetera. But you see that people begin to

not do that for a long time on Stacia, out of, like,

oh, if you do it, then, you know Rodney's gonna still

come. So you see that people stop, like, for a very

long time, colloquially, like, out of

superstition. People no longer wanna bury someone

with coins or with anything of value

because, you know, it keeps the spirit awake. They

will not rest out of fear of Rodney coming back. And you

see all of these weird kind of mythical

stories then develop out of something that actually

happened. So you see how that kind of a

historical fact trickled down 200

years later into superstition of station

society. And I think that is, you know, again, really

interesting how history kind of shapes

society. Whether it's a big place or a small place,

you always kind of connect it to something that

happened.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): As Mr. Richardson illustrates, the trauma of

Rodney's occupation left an incredible mark on the

cultural and social fabric of Sintostatius,

creating superstition and traditions that endured

for centuries. But even as these legacies

took root, the island itself faced continual

upheaval. Sintostatius, once

a thriving hub of trade, became a pawn in a

larger geopolitical chess game of colonial

powers. The era following

Rodney's occupation was marked by a relentless back

and forth struggle for control. We now return

to Mrs. M. Soutikau, who continues the timeline of

Syntostacia's history.

>> Ms. Sutekau: The French came in and rescued us, uh, in

1784. By 1790,

we had built all of that back

1790 Stacia

population, as well as the

amount of trade, was the highest it ever

was. Unfortunately, in

1794, the French were to capture

us again, close the warehouses

down. From 1794 to

1816, Stacia was

played volleyball back and forth between the English

and the French, with the Dutch only being able to rule a

few years. Prosperity

died.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Rodney's occupation wasn't the end of Sintostatia's

struggles. Between 1781 and

1816, the island became a pawn in a larger

geopolitical battle of Europe. Repeating

invasions by British and French, coupled with

declining trade, marked the beginning of the island's

economic and social decline. Once

celebrated as the golden Rock,

Sintostatius faced a grim future as its

prosperity faded into memory.

Amongst this turbulence, the enslaved population was

not passive. While the island's economy,

fortune declined rapidly, its enslaved

community was undergoing significant

transformation. Freedom was being

gained, new roles were emerging, and the

cultural shift was beginning to take root.

Questions of, uh, freedom, identity and

resilience grew increasingly significant

as some enslaved individual carved out spaces

of autonomy and began to influence the island's

cultural and social fabric. To

understand how these changes reshaped stacia's enslaved

community, Mr. Tutakow continues.

>> Ms. Sutekau: A lot was happening with them. Um, there

were a lot of slaves that were

gaining their own freedom. We know that there

were quite a few freed slaves on station.

There were some slaves that were actually

beginning to work with the government, with

the authorities. One of those

slaves, a, uh, former freed slave,

was actually the whipper of

our founder of our Methodist

religion. Like Harry,

the man who whipped him was A former slave.

There were slaves who were escaping. There were

slaves who were able to buy their

freedom. Um, there were slaves

that had professions. Those people

were often recognized for their profession.

Some of the slaves on the waterfront, many of

them evidently learned how to read and write,

because oftentimes when they had, uh, run

away, there would be advertisements directed to those

slaves in the paper saying, if you will return

home, you won't be

punished. So a lot was going

on. They were getting more involved in the

religions. That was the time Methodism

started here on the island, which was at the

beginning just the religion of the

slave. By, uh, the time

Methodism really was going in the early

1800s, there were white people on

the island who had joined that religion.

They were mostly Catholic. They were practicing

probably some of their own religion. A lot of that we don't

know. We'd love to learn more about it, and

hopefully that's going to be done.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): As the island's social fabric shifted, the stories of

the enslaved population became intertwined

with the broader colonial struggles.

While the resilience of the enslaved people shaped

Synthesia's history, their experience

often remain hidden from the mainstream historical

narrative. We now turn

to Dr. Elaine, historian and

teacher, who will provide a broader regional

perspective on the experience of enslaved women and their

roles in the resistance, as well as how these

narratives played into the larger abolition movement.

>> Dr. Elaine: And, um, because this was the 18th

century, direct allusions to sexual

violence were rare. But a lot of abolitionist

material sort of indirectly referenced the sexual

assault of enslaved women.

Abolitionists knew that homing in on the treatment

of enslaved women would provoke a lot of

outrage. Even though the British public did

not see black women as sort of proper

women in the sense that, you

know, bourgeois, white European women

were proper women, they did think that

assaulting women of any race was

barbaric. So all of this is to say

enslaved women featured heavily in

abolitionist material. I'll

also note that the movement to end Atlantic

slavery ushered in a period known as

amelioration in the British Caribbean.

British abolitionists ran a very effective campaign

to expose the horrors of slavery. And many

members of the British public, even if they didn't really believe

in the idea of racial equality, were

appalled by stories of sexual

torture, physical torture, et cetera, that

characterized Atlantic slavery. Um,

amelioration can largely be

conceptualized as a cluster of

legislation intended to kind of

soften and humanize slavery, a sort of

PR campaign that was ultimately intended

to prolong slavery.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): As we close part two of Golden Rock Dreams and

Nightmares, we reflect on a time when

syntastacia stood at the heart of a global

conflict, the island's wealth and

strategic importance placed itself at the center

of American Revolutionary War and

European colonial rivalries. Yet

beneath the surface of these grand narratives lies

the untold stories of those whose lives shaped and

were shaped by these events.

In the historical records, we often encounter

women's stories only in fragments, and

they're predominantly those of the elite women like Judith and

Sarah, whose strategic marriages and

inheritance allows them to navigate the structure

of power. Their stories

show how privilege operated within the inequalities

of a patriarchal colonial system

where even the most privileged women faced

limitation tied to their gender.

But what about the countless enslaved and marginalized

women whose names

history have not preserved?

Their lives reveal another form of

resilience, one rooted in

survival, resistance, and the quiet

defiance of a system built to oppress.

This duality invites us to

what can we learn from the struggles and agencies of

these women, both privileged and

oppressed? And how does

understanding their lives inspire us to confront the

inequalities that persist in our world

today? As we move

into the 19th century, we are left with many

gaps and questions. Though our

focus has been on syntastaceas, this

island reflects the broader world, its

struggles, inequalities, and

transformation, mirroring global patterns.

May we stay curious, seeking to understand

the complexities of history,

so that together we can make choices that lead to, um,

a more humane world.