Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 8, ELE-FOR

E U S t 353 ] E U S
.jftathians dance'of Catholics, who be^an to hold feparate meet-
11 ingsj and this formed the fchifm of Antioch. Upon
Euftatia. this, the reft, who continued to meet in the church,
ceafed to be called Eujiathians, and that appellation be¬
came reftrained to the diflenting party. St Flavianus,
biftiop of Antioch in 381, and one of his fucceflbrs,
Alexander, in 482, brought to pafs a coalition, or re¬
union, between the Euftathians and the body of the
church of Antioch, defcribed with much folemnity by
Theodoret, Eccl. lib. iii. c. 2.
Eustathians were alfo a feil of heretics in the
fourth century, denominated from their founder Euf-
tathius, a monk fo fooliflily fond of his oAvn profeflion,
that he condemned all other conditions of life. Whe¬
ther this Euftathius was the fame with the biftiop of
Sebaftia and chief of the Semi-Arians, is not eafy to
determine.
He excluded married people from falvation ; prohi¬
bited his followers from praying in their houfes} and
obliged them to quit all they had, as incompatible
with the hopes of heaven. He drew them out of the
other affemblies of Chriftians to hold fecret ones with
him, and made them wear a particular habit 5 he ap¬
pointed them to fall; on Sundays ; and taught them,
that the ordinary fafts of the church were needlefs-, af¬
ter they had attained to a certain degree of purity
which he pretended to. He ftiowed great horror for
chapels built in honour of martyrs, and the affemblies
held therein. Several women leduced by his reafons,
forfook their hufbands, and abundance of flaves defert-
ed their mafters houfes. He wras condemned at the
council of Gangra in Paphlagonia, held between the
years 326 and 341,
EUSTATHIUS, biftiop of Theffalonica, in the
12th century, under the reigns of the emperors Ema¬
nuel, Alexander, and Andronicus Comnenus. He was
a very eminent grammarian 5 and V'rote commentaries
upon Homer, and Dionyfius the geographer. The
beft edition of his Commentaries on Homer is that of
Home, printed in Greek, in 1542, in four volumes
folio. His Commentaries on the Periegefis of Diony¬
fius were printed by Mr Hudfon at Oxford, in 1697,
8vo. Euftathius appears to have been alive in the
year 1194.
EUSTATIA, St Eustatia, or Eujlatius, one of
the Caribbee iflands, belonging to the Dutch, and fi-
tuated in W. Long. 62. 56. N. Lat. 17. 29. It is lit¬
tle elfe than a huge mountain, which formerly has, in
all probability, been a volcano. Its fituation is fo
ftrong, that it has but one landing place ; and that is
fortified in fuch a manner as to be alrtioft impregnable.
Tobacco is the chief produft of the ifland ; and it is
cultivated to the very top of the pyramid, which termi¬
nates in a large plain furrounded with woods, but ha¬
ving a hollow in the middle, which ferves as a large
den for wild beafts. No fewer than 5000 white people
and 15,000 negroes fubfift on this fpot, where they
rear hogs, kids, rabbits, and all kinds of poultry, in
fuch abundance, that they can fupply their neighbours,
after having ferved themfelves.
The firft Dutch colony fent to this ifland confifted
of about 1600 people. They were difpoffeffed by the
Englith from Jamaica in 1665. Soon after, the Dutch
and French becoming confederates, the Englifli were
expelled in their turn. The French continuing to hold
Vol. VIII. Part L
a garrifon in the iftand till the treaty of ISreda, when
it was reftored to the Dutch. Soon after the revolu¬
tion, the French drove out the Dutch, and were in
their turn driven out by the Englith under Sir Timo¬
thy Thornhill, with the lofs of no more than eight men
killed and wounded, though the fort they took mount¬
ed 16 guns, and w'as in every other refpeft very ftrong.
Sir Timothy found it neceffary for the protection of
the Dutch, to leave a fmall Englifli garrifon in the
fort j but he granted the French no terms of capitula¬
tion, except for their lives and baggage. By the peace
of Kyfwick, the entire property of this itland was refto¬
red to the Dutch.
This ifland was reduced by the Britifli in the year
1781. Though not -20 miles in circumference, it
abounded at that time with riches, by reafon of the
vaft conflux of trade from every other ifland in thefe
feas. Being a free port, it was open to all the fub-
jefts of the belligerent powers j and thus a communi¬
cation was eftabliftied among them, through which
they w'ere enabled to carry on a commercial corre-
fpondence, which greatly mitigated the inconveniences
of war. The greateft benefit, however, was reaped by
the Dutch ; who, by tranfafting all trading bufinefs
for other nations, were thus intrufted with numberlefs
commiflions, and likewife enjoyed vaft profits from
the fale of the merchandifes to which they were en¬
titled. At the time the attack was made upon them,
they were fo little under the apprehenfions of fueh an
event, that their warehoufes were not fufticient to con¬
tain the quantity of commercial articles imported for
fale, and the beach and ftreets were covered with
hogtheads of tobacco and fugan Irt this fituation,
Admiral Rodney having received orders to commence
hoftilities againft the Dutch, fuddenly appeared before
the ifland with fuch an armament of fea and land
forces, as in its defencelefs fituation was not only ufe-
lefs but ridiculous. The governor could fcarcely credit
the officer who fummoned him to furrender j but be¬
ing convinced how matters flood, the only poffibk ftep
was taken, namely, to furrender the whole ifland and
every thing in it, at difcretion. Along with the ifland
there fell into the hands of the captors a ftiip of 60
guns, with 250 fail of merchantmen, while the value
of property on the iftand was eftimated at no lefs than
four millions fterling. This capture became afterwards
a fubjedl of difcuffion in parliament, where the conduct
of the Britifti commanders was feverely Icfutinized by
Mr Burke. The admiral and general made their de¬
fence in perfon : but the minority at that time were
far from being fatisfied 5 and it was fuppofed that or!
the change of miniftry a rigid inquiry would have been
fet on foot, bad not the fplendour of Admiral Rodney’s
vidlory over de Graffe put an end to all thoughts ofi
that nature.
The iftand of St Euftatius is naturally of fueh difti-*
cult accefs, as already obfi rved, that it is almoft impof-
fible for an enemy to effeft a landing if prope r care is
taken by thofe who are in pofieflion of it. This very
circumftance proved the ruin of the ntw poffeffors. The
Britifli, feeure in their inacceflible fituation, conduced
thimlelve? in fuch a manner as induced thi Maiquis de
Bouille to make an attempt to regain it. Having fail¬
ed from Martinico at the head of 20 o men, he arrived
on the 26th of November 1781, off one of the landing
Y y places
fcuftatia.