St. Maarten -- A Little History

For those of you who are interested in such things, I thought you might want to know a few facts about the island. At 37 square miles it is the smallest island in the world to be divided by two countries. The larger northern territory is a foreign department of France while the south half of the island is Dutch and was once part of the Netherlands Antilles but according to Lonely Planet is now an independent country in its own right within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Confusing, isn't it? Local legend has it that when the two countries divided the island they each sent a man to march in opposite directions around the coast of the island. Wherever they met up, that would be where they drew the line across. The story goes that the Frenchman quenched his thirst with wine while walking but the Dutchman drank gin instead and got so drunk he had to stop to sleep it off, which is why the French have the larger area.

As is the case with almost every island in the Caribbean, the first inhabitants here were Arawak Indians, followed by the cannibalistic Carib Indians, who tended to attack the peaceful Arawaks and enslave their women and children. Then Columbus came in 1493 and put the kibosh on that, conquering both tribes and enslaving everyone. Over time, pirates of various nationalities called this place home until the Dutch founded a settlement here in the 1600s. The Spanish didn't like that and immediately kicked the inhabitants out, so Peter Stuyvesant (who later became governor of New Amsterdam/New York) and some Dutch and French colonists fought back but were not successful. Poor Peter lost his leg, earning him the nickname "Pegleg". (I am not making this up). Unbelievably, the Spanish government rewarded the Spanish soldiers by giving them permission to leave the island, and a few of their Dutch and French prisoners got left behind to settle the island again. So if the Dutch had just bided their time they could've avoided the bloodshed and just waited until the Spanish got bored and left. I'm sure Peter Stuyvesant was kicking himself over that mistake (with his good leg, of course).

The 1600s also brought slavery to St. Martin, and the plantation system was in effect until the late 1800's (slavery was abolished in 1848 on the French side, 1863 on the Dutch). Interestingly, in 1918 the Dutch side asked to become part of the United States but that never materialized and the place was pretty quiet until after WWII (during which the Nazis overtook the Dutch side of the island), when an airport was built and tourism started picking up. So now French, Dutch, Spanish, German, and American tourists are able to congregate together in a spirit of international peace and harmony on Orient Beach (the island's clothing-optional, and most popular, beach).