Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2019 | Page 490
Saba
Culture and
Nature Tourism
This is the second of a two-part series, submitted by
Dr René Caderius van Veen, on the island of Saba.
In 2014, Dr. René Caderius van
Veen started a museum in one
of Saba’s traditional cottages.
It was the foundation of
the Dutch Museum Saba
which now exhibits antiques
from the period 1600-1850.
Dr Caderius van Veen also
collects data about the shared
history between Saba and
the Netherlands during the
period 1640 - 1800. Videos
and PowerPoint presentations
about that period which was
partly dominated by the West
India Company (WIC) are also
in evidence.
On your visit to Saba, be
sure to stop in at the Dutch
Museum which is located
on Park Lane Street 12,
Windwardside. The patron,
Dr. Caderius van Veen will
be there to share Saba’s
interesting history with you.
Archeology
About 40 years ago, Leiden University, Professor
Corinne Hofman, started excavations on Saba
to discover more of pre-Columbian history. This
special work is now being continued by Ryan
Esperson PhD, a top archaeologist, who started
as a teacher at the Comprehensive School on
Saba but has now completed his PhD.
He organized a group called SABARC with the
school. That group still exists and that work of
digging out excavations is still going on. Some
of the results that can be mentioned are the
traces of sugar plantations at Spring Bay, sugar
ovens at Flat Point, excavations at the then
demolished and abandoned home of Mary's
Point and much more.
He has established the Saba Heritage Center,
which mainly focuses on the results of research
on traces of Amerindians, on Saba.
This Saba Heritage Center is also located
in Windwardside but you can also visit the
archaeological sites, including the Spring Bay
Trail.
Ryan Esperson, together with the Saba
Conservation Foundation, also plays an
important role in the establishment of the
Mount Scenery National Park. Approximately
1/3 of the island on the north side will therefore
be protected.