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Saint-Martin

Hurricane Irma tore across the Caribbean on 06 September 2017, leaving 900,000 without power in Puerto Rico before heading towards Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. At least four people were killed in Saint Martin, an island divided between French and Dutch administration, according to French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. The president of the French territorial council for Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, Daniel Gibbs, said on Radio Caraibes International that the French part of Saint Martin was "95 percent destroyed".

The tiny French-Dutch island of Saint-Martin, covering just 88km², is nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Much more than a beach-lover’s paradise, the island of Saint Martin is teeming with natural, cultural and human riches. Thanks to its climate and untouched natural heritage, the island offers unparalleled year-round watersports and outdoor activities. The capital of duty-free shopping, St. Martin is also renowned for its friendly welcome, culinary delights and lively nightlife.

Since the early 1980s, the population of St. Martin has increased dramatically. The population of the French side of the island rose from 8,000 in 1982 to around 35,000 in 2007. More than 38,959 inhabitants live on the Dutch side.

In all, over 120 nationalities can be found on St. Martin, with significant numbers of French, Haitians, Dominicans, Americans and people from other European countries. There are also communities originating from other Caribbean islands, South America, Asia and Africa. The most widely spoken languages are English, French, Haitian, Guadeloupe and Martinique Creole, Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

Most of the island’s built-up areas are situated in its low-lying zones along the coast. The capital city is Marigot, where the “Hôtel de la collectivité”, prefecture and most of the collectivity’s administrative buildings and services are located. Other towns and districts include Grand Case, Colombier, Cul-de-Sac, Quartier d’Orléans, Nettle Bay and Terres Basses.

Archaeological investigations carried out on Saint Martin since the 1950s have pointed to the presence of American Indian settlers on the island from 2000 BC until the 15th century AD. Between 800 BC and 300 BC the island was inhabited by Arawaks. Two groups are thought to have settled on the site of Hope Estate (in the hills across from today’s Route de L’Espérance, which leads to Grand Case Airport) between 200 BC and 300 BC and from 300 AD to 500 AD. Possibly from South America, these early dwellers, who were semi-nomadic, were hunters, fishermen and farmers. Further migratory waves of fishermen and farmers arrived and settled in villages.

In all, over thirty pre-Columbian settlements have been discovered on the island, in particular Baie Rouge at Terres Basses, which is of continuing interest to archaeologists. In 1400 AD the Arawaks were displaced by the much-feared cannibalistic warriors, the Caribs. Historical research suggests that the Taínos were the last American Indian people to have settled on the island in the 1500's ; they died out after the arrival of the first European colonists, who brought viruses and disease.

On St Martin’s Day, November 11th 1493, Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus, on his second journey into Antillean waters, landed on the island, naming it “Saint Martin” and marking a new discovery for the Western world.

In the heyday of 16th-century corsairs and buccaneers, the Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, English and Flemish coveted the island for its protected waters and salt deposits, earning it the name of Soualiga, Land of Salt.

It was over the course of the sixteenth century that the remaining American Indian populations on the island were enslaved and deported to neighboring islands. Now too small for the conquistadors, the Spanish started to lose interest in the island and began to desert it. The Dutch began to settle on Saint Martin between 1627 and 1631 with the intention of exploiting the island’s natural salt deposits, which it required for its North American operations. The Dutch erected a fort, which provoked a spirited attack from the Spanish. The island fell under Spanish military control in 1638. The Spanish deserted Saint Martin for good in 1648, considering it to be too small (88km²) and of limited interest.

On March 23rd of the same year, the French and the Dutch settled the matter of the ownership of the island when they signed the Treaty of Concordia, named after the mountain (Mount Concordia) on which the agreement was signed. France and the Netherlands would divide the island into two parts, France occupying the northern section (54km²) and the Dutch the southern section (34km²). The Treaty recognised both the dual nationality and the unity of the island: there would be no physical border between the two nations and people and goods would move freely between the two zones. And so, Saint Martin became known as the “Friendly Island”, a name that it keeps to this day. All of the provisions of the 1648 treaty are still enforced today.

In 1713 (Treaty of Utrecht), France lost Saint Kitts (now Saint Kitts and Nevis) to the English. The administration of the French side of Saint Martin had up to this point been linked to Saint Kitts, on which the island was dependent. The loss of Saint Kitts severed all ties with France, and from this date onwards French Saint Martin could rely only on itself. In 1763 the French part of the island is annexed to the island of Guadeloupe, 250km away. Between 1775 and 1784, the white population increases from 300 to 500, and the number of slaves - mostly blacks - shipped in on trade ships or imported from neighbouring islands, increases sharply from 1000 to 2500 individuals.

In 1863 slavery was abolished on the Dutch side. Fifteen years after their French counterparts, slaves on the Dutch side are finally free. During these fifteen years, “Dutch slaves” had only to cross the border between the two zones to be free. The abolition of slavery results in a slump in trade. In spite of quality goods being produced on the island (cattle, cotton, rum and salt), the late 19th century saw an economic downturn.

In 1939 France and the Netherlands abolished customs duty and indirect taxes between the two zones (Dutch and French), which allowed for unimpeded development of commercial and economic relations between the two parts of the island. In 1943, the site of the present-day Princess Juliana International Airport (Dutch side) became a strategic US airbase and a key weapon in its arsenal against German submarines. And so, the War helped to Americanise and anglicise the population of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, and English became the working language across the island, competing with French in the north and Dutch in the south.

By the early 1980s, tourism had taken over as the main source of revenue for the population. Successive tax exemption laws (Pons, Paul, Robien Besson and Girardin) have contributed greatly to this economic boom. The tourist economy reached new heights in 1994, with over 600,000 visitors coming through Princess Juliana Airport. In 2007, over 1,430,406 cruise ship passengers came through the deep water port at Great Bay (Dutch side). In 2007, over 2 million people visited Saint Martin.