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ST MARTIN
Saint Martin (Dutch
Sint Maarten, French Saint-Martin) is an island in the northeast Caribbean (West
Indies). Half Dutch and half French, the tropical 38 square-mile (88 km˛)
island is approximately 150 miles east of Puerto Rico and a few thousand
miles southwest of Amsterdam and Paris.
History of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten
Close to 500 years ago, an Italian sea captain financed by Spanish royalty
went looking for new lands to claim. He found a vast amount of unexpected
real estate, as history has so often recited, and it was he who named this
island St.Martin. Whether Christopher Columbus landed here, anchored here of
merely sailed past, he literally put this 37 square miles of mountain top on
the map. Saint Maarten (Dutch spelling) or Saint Martin (French, Spanish,
Italian, English spelling) was named for St.Martin of Tours on whose feast
day, November 11, 1493, Columbus first saw these white sand shores. The
island name, incidentally, is generally pronouncing the English manner,
simply St.Martin. St. Martin of Tours, for those who might be curious, lived
from 330 to 397, was a bishop, a missionary and father of monasticism in
Gaul. He was one of the most revered saints of Western Europe, one of the
first persons not a martyr to be publicly venerated as a saint.
When Columbus
sailed these seas, St.Martin was populated, if populated at all, by Arawak
or Carib Indians. The Arawaks were subjugated by the warlike Carib Indians
from South America a short time before the arrival of the Spanish who
followed in Columbus' wake. The English work cannibal, we not in passing, is
derived from an Arawak word which referred to the Caribs. The Arawaks were a
relatively cultured people who introduced agriculture, fashioned pottery and
whose social organization was headed by hereditary chieftains who derived
their power from personal deities called zemis. The Caribs, on the contrary,
concentrated on warfare. They killed and ate the Arawak men, then married
the Arawak women.
As the Spanish conquered each island, they rounded up its Indians and put
them to work. By 1550, a few Arawaks remained on Cuba and Trinidad. The
Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-seventeenth
century when most of them perished in the struggle between the French,
English, Dutch, Danes and Spanish for control of the West Indies. The Dutch
first began to ply the island's ponds for salt in the 1620's. Despite the
Dutch presence on the island, the Spaniards recaptured St.Martin in 1633 and
one year later built a fort at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim. The
Spaniards introduced the first slaves to the area in the sixteenth century
but the main influx of slaves took place in the eighteenth century with the
development of sugar plantations by the French. Slavery was abolished in the
first half of the nineteenth century, whereupon the British imported Chinese
and East Indians to take the place of slaves. Thus, these islands are
peopled by a mixture of Amer-Indian, African, Asian and European peoples.
West Indian cultures are, consequently, exceedingly rich and varied, can
scarcely be matched in other parts of the world.
Political status
France and the Netherlands agreed to divide the island on November 11, 1648.
The southern, Dutch half is called Sint Maarten and is part of the
Netherlands Antilles, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands though
not in the European Union. Its currency is the Antillean Guilder. The
northern, French half is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe,
which is an overseas department of France and therefore in the European
Union. The official currency in Saint-Martin is the Euro. In 2003 the
population of the French part voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe
to form a separate territorial collectivity.
Collectively, the two territories are known as, "St. Martin/St. Maarten", "St.
Martins", or simply, "SXM". (SXM is the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana
International Airport, the island's main airport.)
Characteristics and tourist information
Sint Maarten, the "Dutch-side", is known for its festive nightlife, fun
beaches, and plentiful casinos, while Saint-Martin, the "French-side", is
known more for its sexy daylife of world-famous nude beaches, jewelry and
clothes shopping, exotic drinks made with native rum-based Guavaberry
liquors, and rich French Caribbean cuisine.
The island is served by many major airlines that bring in large jets,
including Boeing 747s, carrying tourists from across the world on a daily
basis. This fuels the island's largest revenue source, tourism.
Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin is home to several world-class accommodations,
including hotels, villas, and timeshares. Some properties have over two
hundred rooms, while others have fewer than twenty. Many are located
directly on beaches and in upscale shopping districts. Villas pepper the
coast, boasting private beaches. Some are private residences, while others
are available to affluent renters.
Rental cars are the primary mode of transportation for visitors staying on
island. The island is served by several well-known agencies. It is common
and recommended to reserve a rental car over the Internet through a discount
Caribbean specialist, well in advance of arrival. If any driving is expected
off the major roads (such as to some of the more secluded beaches), a
4-wheel drive is recommended.
The island is prone to hurricane activity, especially in the late summer and
early fall months and tourism is usually down dramatically during this time.
Many shops, restaurants, and other local businesses close completely during
hurricane season.
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