Johannes deGraff (de Graf, de Graef)
Dutch commander of Fort Orange, St. Eustacius, 1770/78.
Portrait by A. L. Brockman, 1834, after an earlier (now unlocated) portrait.
Presented to the State of New Hampshire by Paul Cragin, 1837, on behalf of his brother F. W. Cragin, of Surinam.

St. Eustacius is an island of eight square miles, located in the Leeward Islands, the Caribbean, and under the control of Dutch-owned Cuaracao. It has been controlled by the Dutch Republic, now The Netherlands, since the 1630s.

Despite its small size, St. Eustacius was an important center for American smuggling and privateering during the 18th century. The Great Powers all had a stake in the Caribbean sugar economy, and the 18th century Dutch still resented the British Navigation Acts, which from 1650 on had sought to restrict American exports to English ships and English ports. The Dutch, without formally recognizing the American colonies, encouraged their smuggling efforts, as did France and Denmark, the other Great Powers with islands in the Caribbean.

As American colonies' smuggling increased, thanks to the British Navy's need to spread itself thin around the world, St. Eustacius became a harbor and a port for American privateers who many times were little more than pirates. With the outbreak of the American Revolution these American privateers expanded their smuggling into attacks on other British islands, and into attacks on British ships at anchor at Tobago and other British island harbors. The British Navy could not pay much attention to these irritations because of Britain's global commitments, but they were not pleased with these American rebel activities.

While The Dutch Republic, France, and Denmark all made their Caribbean possessions "neutral ports" so that they would not be turned into another theatre of war in the global power struggle between 18th century England and France, none of these islands officially recognized America as a separate nation. It was therefore a serious breach of diplomatic etiquette when the American privateer Andrew Doria, entering the harbor at St. Eustacius with American diplomatic papers announcing American independence, had her cannon fire a thirteen-gun salute to deGraffe at Fort Orange, and had Fort Orange fire a like number of shots in recognition of the American flag flying from the stern of the Andrew Doria. The British filed a stiff diplomatic protest with the Dutch government, and deGraffe was called home for "consultations."

All this activity happened in 1776, but it was not until 1778 that deGraffe appeared at The Hague to answer questions and criticisms from his government. On the very day that deGraffe appeared, however, the Dutch Republic's Stadt Holder and his ministers received word that France, Russia, and Prussia had recognized the American flag and American nation. They asked that the Dutch Republic recognize America as well. deGraffe was now recognized as farsighted in his recognition of the American flag, and he was offered his commission back again. deGraffe had by now made his fortune from the smuggling trade, however, and he opted to stay in Europe. He died soon after.

The portrait shows deGraffe with the American dispatches announcing American independence in his hand. The original portrait from which this 1834 copy was made is now unlocated.

References: State of New Hampshire correspondence with New Hampshire Secretary of State B. F. Prescott, 1875/6, and other documents in Portraits file; Isakk Dookham, A Pre-Emancipation History of the West Indies (Longman Group UK, 1988).