Sint Eustatius, then a Dutch possession island in the north eastern Caribbean Sea, becomes the first foreign government to officially recognize the nascent United States of America as the cannon at Fort Oranje fired a salute to the brig Andrew Doria, which was flying the new Stars and Stripes flag.
The island was probably the major source of supplies for the rebelling North American British colonies. Sint Eustatius was considered to be speaking for the Netherlands in the matter and Great Britain lodged a complaint with The Hague in early 1777. Sint Eustatius is now a special municipality within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
