Philipsburg () is the main town and

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the country of

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northe ...

. The town is on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Saint Martin island, whereof Sint Maarten encompasses the southern half. , it has 1,894 inhabitants.

History

Philipsburg was founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy; the settlement soon became a bustling centre of international trade. Two historic forts bear witness to Philipsburg's strategic importance in St. Maarten's history:

Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan at the confluence of the Hudson and East rivers. It was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then English/British rule of the colony of New Netherland and subsequently th ...

and Fort Willem.

Tourism

The main shopping district, Front Street, is in the heart of the city. The city also has a port that is visited by many cruise liners.

Transport

Princess Juliana International Airport

World-famous for its close photographs of landing aircraft,

Princess Juliana International 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 ...

(

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 tarif ...

: SXM,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: TNCM), west of Philipsburg, has become a tourist destination in its own right.

Jet blast Jet blast is the phenomenon of rapid air movement produced by the jet engines of aircraft, particularly on or before takeoff. A large jet-engined aircraft can produce winds of up to as far away as behind it at 40% maximum rated power. Jet b ...

from departing aircraft is another 'attraction' as it creates artificial waves. However, jet blast is physically hazardous so viewers need to exercise caution; local authorities placed a warning on the airport's fence to alert people to the dangers of jet blast.

Education

Schools include: *Oranje School (public primary) *Sr. Borgia Primary (subsidized primary) *St. Joseph Primary (subsidized primary) *

Sundial School A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat p ...

(subsidized secondary) Philipsburg Jubilee Library is in Philipsburg.

Climate

Philipsburg has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

( Köppen ''Aw''), and is drier than most parts of the northeastern Caribbean due to a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is ca ...

from the island's mountains, drying the northeast

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...

. The driest months are from January to July, and the wettest from September to November, when

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

s are a frequent occurrence in the region.

References

External links

Philipsburg Jubilee Library, Public Library of St. Maarten
{{Authority control Populated places in Sint Maarten Capitals in the Caribbean Populated places established in 1763 1763 establishments in North America