and Olaudah Equiano 
makes many references to Montserrat in his Interesting Narrative. He spent a fair amount of time on this small Caribbean island as a slave, and earned much of the money he used to buy his freedom by trade in items he purchased in St. (Sint) Eustatius (which he spelled St. Eustatia and is now affectionately called Statia). In the 18th century Sint Eustatius was a trading center in the West Indies. We can experience a virtual tour of a prosperous Dutch merchant's home by clicking on the museum's link on the map page of the island's Tourist Office website.
Statia is famed as the site of "the first salute" -- when the governor of this Dutch island ordered the firing of its cannons in recognition of the new American flag as the brigantine Andrea Doria hove into this busy trading port on November 16, 1776. Historian Barbara Tuchman has published a well-received book chronicling this event and its connections to the success of the American Revolution.Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory, a part of Britain and headed by the Queen of England. It has a British Governor appointed by the Queen, but a locally elected government which handles local affairs.
Montserrat is, like many Caribbean islands, volcanic. Unlike most of those islands, in recent years its Soufriere Hills Volcano be active again in 1995, causing two thirds of its population to decamp, and destroying much of the development and infrastructure of the island, including a thriving medical school which was forced to relocate to the tiny island of St. Maarten/St. Martin. The volcano continues to be active, sending plumes of ash into the atmosphere and sometimes disrupting air travel in nearby areas in the Caribbean. The Montserrat Tourist Board has made lemonade from lemons, touting the island as a unique place to "safely" witness a live volcano.
