Culture
John Philips: the Scottish-born commander Philipsburg is named after
A profile of John Philips, the Scottish-born commander of Dutch Sint Maarten for the Dutch West India Company, who died in 1746 and after whom Philipsburg is named.
By SXM Daily ·
John Philips was a Scottish-born commander of Dutch Sint Maarten in the service of the Dutch West India Company, and the man Philipsburg is named after. Thousands of people say his name every day without knowing much about him, which makes him one of the most quietly familiar figures in the island's history.
Illustrative: Fort Amsterdam, Sint Maarten. Photo: Ymnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
A Scot in Dutch service
Philips was born in Scotland. The Courier, a Scottish newspaper that drew on research in the Angus Archives, traces him to Arbroath, on the country's east coast. Sources disagree on the year he was born, so SXM Daily does not give one. He made his career with the Dutch West India Company, the trading company that ran the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, and rose to become commander of Sint Maarten.
Commander of Sint Maarten
Philips returned to St. Maarten as commander in 1735, according to both the history writer Will Johnson, in The Saba Islander, and The Courier. As commander, he headed the colony's administration on behalf of the company.
The town that bears his name
Philipsburg, now the capital of Sint Maarten, is named after him. Will Johnson describes Philips as the commander "for whom the town is named", and The Courier ties him to the beginnings of the town that became modern Philipsburg. Historians differ on how much of the settlement he can be credited with founding, but the sources agree on the name: the capital carries his.
Death
Philips died in 1746. Will Johnson has published a transcription of the inscription on his tombstone.
Why he matters
Every street address in Philipsburg, from Front Street to the boardwalk, carries the name of this 18th-century commander. His story is a reminder that the Dutch side's history was shaped by people from many places, including a Scot working for a Dutch company in the Caribbean.
Sources
- https://thesabaislander.com/2018/09/12/commander-john-philips/
- https://thesabaislander.com/2018/09/15/philipsburg/
- https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/angus-mearns/389274/the-scot-who-succeeded-in-the-caribbean-where-others-failed/
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Amsterdam_(Sint_Maarten)2025-_08.jpg
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