New Focus as Merchants: By the time of the American War for Independence in the 1770s, however, the tough Dutch traders had prospered and become the comfortable merchants and bankers of continental Europe. Responding to the urgent demands from Washington to equip his army, France supplied large amounts of arms before and after it declared open war itself in 1778. This was followed by Spain’s entry in 1779. The Netherlands, however, struggled to remain neutral in order to generate profits from selling to both sides.

The Dutch were already strongly attached to Great Britain as a long-term ally in war. Moreover, William III of Orange had married Mary, the daughter of England’s James II. They, in turn, became the rulers of Britain as “William & Mary” following the “Glorious Revolution” in 1688. William’s surviving impact on his adopted country was widespread even to the visible Dutch influence in the ultimate design of the Brown Bess muskets. Records indicate that Britain regularly ordered shipments of Dutch arms to supplement her needs during the early 1700s, including the purchase of as many as 18,000 obsolete “Dutch/Liege” muskets in 1741 for distribution to her worldwide colonies. At least 4,500 of these are known to have been supplied to America prior to and during the French & Indian War (1754-1763).

As the Revolutionary War progressed, however, the Netherlands made valuable contributions to the rebel cause. In addition to the sale of their own arms, many shipments from European sources supplying the colonists were routed through the Low Countries for transportation in their neutral vessels to evade the British naval blockade of France and Spain. As a result, the Netherlands was torn between the opportunity for wartime profits, which attracted the governing class (Regents) and the working masses whose memories of the sacrifices for their own freedom favored the struggling Americans.

Colonial agents in Europe encouraged this sympathy at every opportunity. When John Paul Jones, for example, left on his Bonhomme Richard from France to raid England, Benjamin Franklin urged that, if successful, he should return to a Dutch port. Thus, following his victory over the HMS Serapis and the loss of his own ship, Jones brought his prize into Texel, Holland, to the great acclaim of its populace.

Importance of St. Eustatius: Beyond their material aid, the ultimate Dutch contribution to the winning of America’s freedom was the establishment of a conduit or supply route by which critical European aid could safely reach the rebels. In 1756 they had declared their small island of St. Eustatius (“Statia”) in the leeward group of the West Indies a free open port. Because the Dutch were neutral it could not be attacked, so the island now became the principal depot for the transshipment of goods to and from the American colonies. In 13 months from 1778-1779, for example, 3,182 ships cleared the island (i.e. 7 to 8 a day) while American vessels delivered 12,000 hogsheads of tobacco plus 1,500,000 ounces of indigo and large amounts of rice in payment. The rebels then returned to their colonies loaded with wartime goods and arms. This arrangement permitted various suppliers in Europe to ship cargoes directly to St. Eustatius or to the English, French, Spanish or Danish islands in the West Indies for transshipment to neutral Statia, which circumvented interference from Britain’s navy.

It also offered a special opportunity on November 16, 1776, to directly further the American cause. On that date the rebel brig-of-war Andrew Doria entering the port of St. Eustatius had its customary cannon salute unexpectedly answered by Fort Orange. More than a simple act, this was the first acknowledgment by a European power of the American colonies as a nation.

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