As one visualizes the island of St. Maarten / Sint Martin and the rest of the Caribbean islands speckled about the deep blue sea and covered by clear blue skies, one can hardly avoid thinking about pirates, ships and battles at sea.
However, the story behind the island of St. Maarten goes further back and hardly refers to anything similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean, except for the battle part. The history behind the island of St. Maarten goes back to the days before Christopher Columbus.
History writes that a peaceful and simple living Indian tribe known as the Arawaks, migrated from regions as remote as the eastern slopes of the Andes and the Amazon to the island of St. Maarten and even as far north as around the Florida Keys. The Arawaks were known for their complex, yet peaceful social organization that evolved around the economy of fishing and the production of cassava and corn. The Arawaks were the first to arrive to the island of St. Maarten giving it the name of Soualiga which means Salt Island due to the large deposit amount of this mineral.
A second Indian tribe from the South American mainland, known as the Caribs, followed the path of the Arawaks to the island of St. Maarten. The Caribs where known for their aggressiveness and warrior attitude as well as for their cannibalistic preferences. The peaceful Arawak settlement on the island of St. Maarten was soon ended by the hostile take-over of the Caribs.
However, in 1493, Christopher Columbus spotted the island on November 11th and claimed it for the Spanish Empire. Columbus named the island after the holy day of St. Martin de Tours celebrated on November 11 and the Spaniards soon drove out the belligerent Carib tribe from the island.
The Spaniards did not show any interest in settling the island until after 1630 when the French and Dutch had established small settlements. The Dutch West Indian Company began mining salt and the French made clear their intention of colonizing St. Maarten as well as other Caribbean islands.
Spain did not take well to the Dutch and French settlements and took control of St. Maarten in 1638. The Spanish built their forts along several of the island’s inlets being the Old Spanish Fort in Point Blanche one of the most famous even today. The Dutch battled for years with the Spanish to regain control of the island and ended up joining forces with the French in order to beat the Spanish. It wasn’t until around 1644 when the Spanish felt they had no need for the Caribbean island and left leaving the Dutch and the French to fight over the island.
In 1648, the Treaty of Concordia was signed by the Dutch and the French government and allowed both nations to divide the island. The boundary settlement was a constant issue of dispute among both nations and history points out that the island of St. Maarten changed hands between both nations for a total of 16 times until 1817 at which the current boundary was finally agreed upon.
Today, the island of St. Maarten offers its visitors a unique and distinct culture on each side of the island that coexists in harmony. Each side of the island has independently taken its own direction thus allowing visitors and tourists to enjoy the best of both worlds.
