Saint Martin (french: Saint-Martin; nl, Sint Maarten) is an island in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The island is divided roughly 60:40 between the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

() and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (), but the Dutch part is more populated than the French part. The division dates to 1648. The northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic. As part of France, the French part of the island is also part of the European Union. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On January 1, 2019, the population of the whole island was 73,777 inhabitants, with 41,177 living on the Dutch side and 32,489 on the French side. Note that the figure for the French side is based on censuses that took place after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, whereas the figure for the Dutch side is only a post-censal estimate still based on the 2011 census. The first census since Hurricane Irma on the Dutch side of the island is scheduled to take place in October 2022. Population of the island on Jan. 1, 2017, before Hurricane Irma, was 75,869 (40,535 on the Dutch side, 35,334 on the French side). The island's traditional pre-colonial name is ''Oualichi'' which means "the island of women". Collectively, the two territories are known as "Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten", or sometimes "SXM", the

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport, the island's main airport. St. Martin (the French portion) received the ISO 3166-1 code MF in October 2007. In 2010, the Dutch part had its status changed to that of a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and was given the code SX.

Geography

Saint Martin has a land area of , of which is under the sovereignty of the French Republic, and under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is the only land border shared by the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The main cities are Philipsburg on the Dutch side and Marigot on the French side. The Dutch side is more heavily populated. The largest settlement on the entire island is

Lower Prince's Quarter Lower Prince's Quarter is a town in Sint Maarten, in the Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png ...

, which is on the Dutch side. The highest hilltop is the Pic Paradis () in the centre of a hill chain on the French side. Both sides are hilly with large mountain peaks. This forms a valley where many houses are located. There are no rivers on the island, but there are many dry gullies. Hiking trails give access to the dry forest that covers tops and slopes. The island is located south of Anguilla and is separated from that British overseas territory by the

Anguilla Channel The Anguilla Channel (french: Canal d'Anguilla) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea. It separates the island of Anguilla (a British Overseas Territory) in the north from the Collectivity of Saint Martin, an overseas collectivity of France on the is ...

. Saint Martin is northwest of Saint Barthélemy and is separated from that French overseas collectivity by the Saint-Barthélemy Channel.

History

It is commonly believed that Christopher Columbus named the island in honour of Saint Martin of Tours when he encountered it on his second voyage of discovery. However, he actually applied the name to the island now called Nevis when he anchored offshore on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin. The confusion of numerous poorly charted small islands in the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

meant that this name was accidentally transferred to the island now known as Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten. At Columbus' time, St. Martin was populated, if at all, by Carib Amerindians. The former

Arawaks The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, wh ...

had been chased by the Caribs coming from the north coast of South America a short time before the arrival of the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

who followed in Columbus' wake. The Arawaks were agricultural people who fashioned pottery and whose social organization was headed by hereditary chieftains who derived their power from personal deities called ''zemis''. The Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century when most of them perished in the struggle between the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, English (later British), Dutch,

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

and Spanish for control of the West Indies islands around the Caribbean Sea. The Dutch first began to use the island's ponds for salt in the 1620s. Then still at war with the Dutch, the Spaniards captured St. Martin in 1633. One year later, they built a fort (now Fort Amsterdam, near Philipsburg) and another

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

Pointe Blanche Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet ballet technique, technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''e ...

to assert their claim and control access to Great Bay

salt pond Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...

. A massive influx of African slaves took place in the 18th century with the development of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

plantations by the French and Dutch. Slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century. On some of their territories the British imported

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and South Asians to take the place of slaves. Thus, St. Martin and the other islands are populated by a mixture of Amerindian, European, African, Indian, and Asian peoples. Border monument 2008

On 23 March 1648, the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic agreed to divide the island between their two territories, with the signing of the

Treaty of Concordia The Treaty of Concordia, or the Partition Treaty of 1648, was signed on March 23, 1648, between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic and divided the island of Saint Martin. Signature The treaty was signed by the two governors of the islan ...

. Folklore surrounds the history of the once ever-changing border division between St. Martin and Sint Maarten, and a popular story among locals narrates that "to divide the island into two sections,

n 1648 N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

the inhabitants were told to choose two walkers, one chosen by the French-dominated community and the other one by the Dutch-dominated community, who were put back to back in one extreme of the island, making them walk in opposite directions while stuck to the littoral line, and not allowing them to run. The point where they eventually met was set as the other extreme of the island, and the subsequently created line was chosen as the frontier, dividing Saint-Martin from Sint Maarten. Seemingly, the French walker had walked more than his Dutch counterpart (they earned their respective lands 54 km² and 32 km²). The French locals' explanation for this discrepancy is that, as the first man chose wine as his stimulant prior to the race, while the latter chose

Jenever Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...

(Dutch Gin), the difference between such beverages' lightness was said to be the cause of the territorial differences. The Dutch locals instead accuse the French walker of running."

Politics

There currently is a movement aiming to unite the Dutch and French halves of the island of Saint Martin. A "Unity Flag" for representing this unification was created in 1990. Currently, the island is divided into Sint Maarten (the southern half of the island, part of the Netherlands) and the Collectivity of Saint Martin (the northern half of the island, part of France). The island has been divided since the signing of the

in 1648, which today remains as one of the oldest treaties still in effect. Unification of the island enjoys support from the population of both halves. The Treaty of Concordia allows

freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...

between both parts of the island, which has promoted a common sentiment among the island's inhabitants, although this is also the reason why some see a formal unification as unnecessary. Other arguments against unification of the island are that neither France nor the Netherlands would allow it and that both sides would require full independence to achieve it. On 31 August 1990, the "Unity Flag" of Saint Martin was adopted at the Preliminary Conference on National Symbols at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library, in Sint Maarten. This flag was created to represent the people of both halves of the island and the unification of the latter, and is hoisted today on some houses and sometimes by churches and religious groups in Saint Martin. In August 2020, when restrictions and controls were added to the

Saint Martin–Sint Maarten border The Saint Martin–Sint Maarten border, or France–Netherlands border, is the border between the Collectivity of Saint Martin, an overseas collectivity of France, and Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on th ...

to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, some protesters against these measures flew this flag with them. In September 2020, these restrictions were lifted, and people from both sides of the island started chanting "One island, one people, one destiny". Some notable supporters of this movement include Albert Fleming, former leader of the Collectivity of Saint Martin, who in 2014 stated his support for the unification of the island.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, the island has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from August to December. The precipitation patterns are due to the movement of the

Azores High The Azores High also known as North Atlantic (Subtropical) High/Anticyclone or the Bermuda-Azores High, is a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure typically found south of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, at the Hor ...

during the year. With the wind direction predominantly from the east or the northeast, northeasterly trades, temperatures remain stable throughout the year and temperatures rarely exceed or fall below . Temperatures remain steady throughout the year with an average mean temperature of . The average sea temperature is ranging from a low of in February to a high of in October. The total average yearly rainfall is , with 142 days of measurable rainfall. Thunderstorms can occasionally occur, with 18 days with thunder per year. Precipitation totals are quite variable from year to year, depending on the number of passing tropical cyclones.

Hurricane Irma (2017)

On 6 September 2017 the island was hit by Hurricane Irma ( Category 5 at landfall), which caused widespread and significant damage, estimated at $3 billion, to buildings and infrastructure. A total of 11 deaths had been reported as of 9 July 2018. France's

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, Gérard Collomb, said on 8 September 2017 that most of the schools were destroyed on the French half of the island. In addition to damage caused by high winds, there were reports of serious flood damage to businesses in the village of Marigot. Looting was also a serious problem. Both France and the Netherlands sent aid as well as additional police and emergency personnel to the island. '' The Washington Post'' reported that 95% of the structures on the French side and 75% of the structures on the Dutch side were damaged or destroyed. Some days after the storm had abated, a survey by the Dutch Red Cross estimated that nearly a third of the buildings in Sint Maarten had been destroyed and that over 90 per cent of structures on the island had been damaged.

Princess Juliana Airport Princess Juliana International Airport is the main airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The airport is located on the Dutch side of the island, in the country of Sint Maarten, close to the shore of Simpson Bay Lagoon. In 2015, the ...

was extensively damaged but reopened on a partial basis in two days to allow incoming relief flights and for flights that would take evacuees to other islands.

Economy

INSEE estimated that the nominal GDP of the French side of Saint Martin amounted to 582 million euros in 2014 (US$772 million at 2014 exchanges rates; US$660 million at Feb. 2022 exchange rates) The nominal GDP of the Dutch side of the island, Sint Maarten, was estimated at 2,229 million Antillean guilders (US$1,245 million at the official peg) in 2014. The nominal GDP of the entire island was thus US$2.01 billion in 2014. The

nominal GDP per capita The figures presented here do not take into account differences in the cost of living in different countries, and the results vary greatly from one year to another based on fluctuations in the exchange rates of the country's currency. Such flu ...

of the entire island stood at US$27,923 in 2014. The Dutch side of the island experienced a big recession in 2017 and 2018 due to the devastation of Hurricane Irma which struck the island in September 2017. Real GDP experienced a negative growth of -5.8% in 2017 and -6.6% in 2018 (GDP figures after 2018 have not been published yet). GDP of the French side of the island has not been estimated since 2014. The main industry of the island is tourism. In 2000, the island had about one million visitors annually. About 85% of the workforce was engaged in the tourist industry.

Demographics

On January 1, 2019, the population of the whole island was 73,777 inhabitants, with 41,177 living on the Dutch side and 32,489 on the French side. Note that the figure for the French side is based on censuses that took place after the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, whereas the figure for the Dutch side is only a post-censal estimate still based on the 2011 census. The first census since Hurricane Irma on the Dutch side of the island is scheduled to take place in October 2022.See job offer as census interviewer for the Oct. 2022 census

Population of the island on Jan. 1, 2017, before Hurricane Irma, was 75,869 (40,535 on the Dutch side, 35,334 on the French side).

Culture

St. Martin's Sint Maarten, Dutch side is known for its festive nightlife, beaches, jewellery,

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

s made with native rum-based guavaberry

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

s, and casinos. The island's French side is known for its nude beaches,

clothes Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

, shopping (including outdoor markets), and French and Indian Caribbean cuisine. English is the most commonly spoken language along with a local dialect. The official languages are

for Saint-Martin, and both Dutch and English for Sint Maarten. Other common languages include various French-based creoles (spoken by immigrants from other French Caribbean islands), Spanish (spoken by immigrants from the Dominican Republic and various South American countries), and

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

(spoken by immigrants from Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao). Among the leading cultural artists of the island are Youth Waves, music band; Isidore "Mighty Dow" York, kaisonian, penman; Roland Richardson,

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter;

Ruby Bute Ruby Bute (born 1943) is a painter, storyteller, and writer of the island of Saint Martin. She became the first woman to publish a book in Saint Martin with her poetry collection ''Golden Voices of S'maatin'' in 1989. Bute has been referred to as "t ...

, painter;

Nicole de Weever Nicole de Weever (born 1979) is a dancer and choreographer from Sint Maarten. After completing her primary schooling in the Caribbean, she moved to the United States, completing education. She has performed in film, on television and appeared on B ...

, dancer and Broadway star;

Lasana M. Sekou Lasana M. Sekou (born 12 January 1959) is a poet, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and publisher from the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Biography Lasana M. Sekou has authored over 20 books and is considered one of the prolific Caribb ...

, poet, author, independence advocate; Clara Reyes, choreographer; and Tanny and The Boys, string band music group. Public buses are the primary mode of transportation for visitors staying on the island. In recent years sargassum weed has arrived on the south ("Dutch") shoreline, but the northern French coast is generally free of the weed. Because the island is located along the

intertropical convergence zone The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal e ...

, it is occasionally threatened by

Atlantic hurricane An Atlantic hurricane, also known as tropical storm or simply hurricane, is a tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily between the months of June and November. A hurricane differs from a cyclone or typhoon only on the basis of ...

activity in the late summer and early fall. Neighbouring islands include Saint Barthélemy (French), Anguilla (British), Saba (Dutch),

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius (, ), also known locally as Statia (), is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially " public body") of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, so ...

"Statia" (Dutch), Saint Kitts and Nevis (independent, formerly British). With the exception of Nevis, all of these islands are easily visible on a clear day from St. Martin. News publications on St. Martin include ''The Daily Herald'', ''Soualiga News Day'', ''Soualiga News'', ''St. Maarten News'', ''SMN News'', ''SXM Island Time'', and ''SXM Talks''. File:Phillipsburg St Maarten.jpg,

Simpson Bay Simpson Bay Lagoon (also spelt Simson Bay Lagoon, or referred to simply as The Great Pond) is one of the largest inland lagoons in the West Indies of the Caribbean. It is located on the island of Saint Martin. The border between the French and ...

, Sint Maarten, Dutch side File:Philipsburg and the Great Bay, Sint Maarten, Caribbean.jpg, Philipsburg and the Great Bay File:Marigot 2.jpg, Marigot,

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Mart ...

, French side File: Saint Maarten.jpg, Phillipsburg

Currency

The official currency of Saint Martin is the Euro, while Sint Maarten uses the

Netherlands Antillean guilder The Netherlands Antillean guilder ( nl, gulden) is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 ''cents'' (Dutch plural form: ...

, pegged at 1.79 per US dollar. As a consequence of the dissolution of the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

, the Netherlands Antillean guilder will cease to be legal tender and be replaced by the

Caribbean guilder The Caribbean guilder ( nl, Caribische gulden) is a proposed new currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the Caribbean islands which became "landen" (constituent countries) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, following the dissolution of the N ...

, scheduled for circulation in the first half of 2021. Almost every store on the island also accepts the United States dollar, although sometimes a more expensive exchange rate is used.

Transport

Border checks

Neither side of the island is part of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

; full border checks are performed when travelling in and out of the island. Passport controls are also exercised when taking the ferry from Marigot or Princess Juliana International Airport to Anguilla. There are rarely checks at the border between the two sides of the island. In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France signed the

Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls The Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, sometimes shortened to the Franco-Dutch treaty and in full the Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Republic on the control of persons entering Saint Martin through t ...

, which allows for joint Franco-Dutch border controls on so-called "risk flights" arriving from off-island and only admitting foreigners having permission to travel on both sides of the island. After some delay, the treaty was ratified in November 2006 in the Netherlands and subsequently entered into force on 1 August 2007. Its provisions are not yet implemented as the working group specified in the treaty is not yet installed. The treaty requires a working group that has never been set up, to harmonize external checks at the two main airports. The Dutch side has expressed concern that new and tighter French visa requirements would harm their tourism income.

Airports

The island is served by many major airlines that daily bring in large jet aircraft, including

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

s and Airbus A340s carrying tourists from across the world. The short main runway at Princess Juliana International Airport and its position between a large hill and a beach cause some spectacular approaches.

Aviation photographers Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

flock to the airport to capture pictures of large jets just a few metres above sunbathers on Maho Beach. There is a small airport on the French side of the island at

Grand Case Grand Case is a small town on the French side of the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean. It lies on the Anguilla Channel The Anguilla Channel (french: Canal d'Anguilla) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea. It separates the island of Angui ...

L'Espérance Airport L'Esperance or L'Espérance (French for "The Hope"), may refer to: * L'Espérance (newspaper), Guinean newspaper * L'Esperance, U.S. Virgin Islands, settlement * ''L'Espérance'' (ship), a French privateer ship captured in the action of 30 Septemb ...

for small aircraft serving neighbouring Caribbean islands. It frequently suffers thick fog during the hurricane season due to its location.

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

; General information
Saint Martin
'' The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency. * * ; News and media
''The Daily Herald''
daily newspaper from St. Maarten
''LE FAXinfo''
daily newspaper from Saint Martin (in French) ; Travel
Dutch St. Maarten
official Tourist Bureau
French Saint Martin
official Tourist Office
Official tourist website for LGBT visitors

French Saint Martin
Hotel Association
Princess Juliana International Airport, Sint Maarten
official website * ; Others * Eric Dubois-Millot
''Birds of Sint Maarten''
Action Nature {{Authority control Leeward Islands (Caribbean) International islands Nude beaches