The Golden rock

The story of the tiny Dutch island of St Eustatius - the Golden Rock - in the Lesser Antilles, once the richest trading centre in the Caribbean and a major source of supply for arms and necessaries for the American rebels in the War of Independence, will be known to few, other than students of that war or British naval history. The events which followed Britain's declaration of war on the Dutch in December 1870, to pre-empt a threatened alliance with Britain's enemies, France and Spain, and the consequent seizure of the island in February 1781, by Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney and Major-General Sir John Vaughan, reflect little credit upon those joint-Commanders-in Chief or, indeed, upon the government of King George III. After some years of extensive and penetrating research, Ronald Hurst has pieced together the whole story and given us a fascinating and wholly authentic account of the rape of St Eustatius and its aftermath. He has laid bare the shameful conduct of those who busied themselves with the stripping of the assets of the island and its people: not least we are given an intriguing view of the activities of Lieutenant-Colonel James Cockburn of the 35th Regiment of Foot