The Saint Martin–Sint Maarten border, or France–Netherlands border, is the border between the

Collectivity of Saint Martin The Collectivity of Saint Martin (french: Collectivité de Saint-Martin), commonly known as simply Saint Martin (, ), is an overseas collectivity of France in the West Indies in the Caribbean, on – but not identical with – the island of S ...

, an

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies ...

of France, and

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 nort ...

, a constituent country of 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 , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

, on the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean. The island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic () and the

() by the 16 km (10 mi) border, however the two parts are roughly equal in population.

Description

The border starts in the west at Cupecoy Bay and then proceeds eastward, cutting across Rue de Terre-Basses/Rhine Road. It then runs through the Simpson Bay Lagoon between the island of Little Key (Dutch) and Grand Islet (French). Back on land it crosses Rue de Hollande/Union Road and then turns north-eastwards, running across Sint Peter Hill, Mont des Accords, Concordia Hill, Marigot Hill, Mount Reward and Mount Flagstaff. It then turns south-eastwards and then eastwards, terminating in the east at Oysters Pond bay.

History

Saint Martin Dutch-French Border - panoramio

Historically the home of native

Arawak The Arawak are a group of 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, who historically lived in the Great ...

and Carib people, the island of Saint Martin was first discovered by Europeans in 1493 when

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

sailed by on his second voyage to the Americas. Initially disputed between the Netherlands and Spain, the Spanish withdrew their claim in the 1640s, only for the French to begin settling on the north of the island. In order to avoid fighting over the matter, France and the Netherlands signed 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 ...

on 23 March 1648 which formally split the island into two jurisdictions. The final border was confirmed in 1817. Various local legends relate how the border was supposedly decided by a French and Dutch official walking round the island, the Dutch gaining less land due to their representative being drunk on

genever 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 ...

. In 1994, France and the Netherlands 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 improved the mutual border controls at their airports on the island.The Daily Herald �
Dutch Parliament ratifies Franco-Dutch Treaty
/ref> Today there is a movement in both Sint Maarten and Saint Martin promoting the unification of the island, which would make the border between them disappear.

Border crossings

The border is completely open and can be crossed freely.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France-Netherlands border Borders of France Borders of the Netherlands International borders Geography of Saint Martin (island)