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Sint Maarten

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Sint Maarten
Constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Flag of Sint Maarten
Flag
Official seal of Sint Maarten
Coat of arms
Motto: 
"Semper progrediens" (Latin)
(English: "Always progressing")
Anthem: "O Sweet Saint Martin's Land"
Royal anthem: "Wilhelmus"
(English: "William of Nassau")
Location of Sint Maarten
Location of Sint Maarten (circled in red)
Sint Maarten is located on the southern half of the island of Saint Martin.
Sint Maarten is located on the southern half of
the island of Saint Martin.
Sovereign state Kingdom of the Netherlands
Before separationNetherlands Antilles
Country status10 October 2010
CapitalPhilipsburg
18°02′N 63°03′W / 18.033°N 63.050°W / 18.033; -63.050
Largest cityLower Prince's Quarter
Official languages
Religion
Demonym(s)Sint Maartener
GovernmentParliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
Willem-Alexander
• Governor
Ajamu Baly
Silveria Jacobs
LegislatureParliament of Sint Maarten
Area
• Total
34[1] km2 (13 sq mi)
Highest elevation
383 m (1,257 ft)
Population
• 1 January 2019 estimate
41,486[1] (216th)
• Density
1,221/km2 (3,162.4/sq mi) (10th)
GDP (PPP)2018 estimate
• Total
$1.436 billion[2]
• Per capita
$35,342[2]
GDP (nominal)2018 estimate
• Total
US$1.185 billion[3]
CurrencyNetherlands Antillean guilder (ƒ) (ANG)
Time zoneUTC-4:00 (AST)
Mains electricity120 V–60 Hz
Driving sideright
Calling code+1-721
ISO 3166 code
Internet TLD.sx
This article is about the island country. For other uses, see Sint Maarten (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 18°02′N 63°03′W / 18.033°N 63.050°W / 18.033; -63.050

Sint Maarten (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪntˈmaːrtə(n)] (listen)) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean.[4] With a population of 41,486[1] as of January 2019 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 56% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg.[5] Collectively, Sint Maarten and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.

Before 10 October 2010, Sint Maarten was known as the Island Territory of Sint Maarten (Dutch: Eilandgebied Sint Maarten), and was one of six island territories (eilandgebieden) that constituted the Netherlands Antilles.[5] Sint Maarten has the status of an overseas country and territory (OCT) and is not part of the European Union.

On 6 and 7 September 2017, the island was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Irma, which caused widespread and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.[5]

Discover more about Sint Maarten related topics

Geographic coordinate system

Geographic coordinate system

The geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or ellipsoidal coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth as latitude and longitude. It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various spatial reference systems that are in use, and forms the basis for most others. Although latitude and longitude form a coordinate tuple like a cartesian coordinate system, the geographic coordinate system is not cartesian because the measurements are angles and are not on a planar surface.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as simply the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with 98% of its territory and population in Western Europe and with several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean.

Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a subregion of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea and its islands, the nearby coastal areas on the mainland may also be included. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.

Overseas collectivity

Overseas collectivity

The French overseas collectivities 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 and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which became COMs by constitutional reform on 28 March 2003. The COMs differ from overseas regions and overseas departments, which have the same status as metropolitan France but are located outside Europe. As integral parts of France, overseas collectivities are represented in the National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council. Though some are outside the European Union, all can vote to elect members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The Pacific COMs use the CFP franc, a currency pegged to the euro, whereas the Atlantic COMs use the euro itself. As of 31 March 2011, there were five COMs:French Polynesia became a COM in 2003. Its statutory law of 27 February 2004 gives it the designation of overseas country inside the Republic, but without legal modification of its status. French Polynesia has a great degree of autonomy, two symbolic manifestations of which are the title of the President of French Polynesia and its additional designation as a pays d'outre-mer. Legislature: Assembly of French Polynesia since 2004. Saint Barthélemy, an island in the Lesser Antilles. St. Barthelemy was separated from the overseas department of Guadeloupe in 2007. It has a territorial council and executive council, and with separation ceased to be part of the European Union. Saint Martin, the northern part of the island of Saint Martin in the Lesser Antilles. St. Martin was separated from the overseas department of Guadeloupe in 2007. It has a territorial council and executive council, and with separation remained a part of the European Union. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It has a territorial council. It is the last remaining part of New France to be under French rule. Wallis and Futuna, three small islands in the Pacific Ocean has a high administrator and territorial assembly.

Collectivity of Saint Martin

Collectivity of Saint Martin

The Collectivity of 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 Saint Martin. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.

Capital city

Capital city

A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution. In some jurisdictions, including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the official (constitutional) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place.

Dutch Caribbean

Dutch Caribbean

The Dutch Caribbean are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.

Dutch language

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. Afrikaans is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter language spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa. The dialects used in Belgium and in Suriname, meanwhile, are all guided by the Dutch Language Union.

Island territories of the Netherlands Antilles

Island territories of the Netherlands Antilles

The island territories of the Netherlands Antilles were the top-level administrative subdivisions of the Netherlands Antilles. The government of each island territory consisted of three major parts:The island council – the local parliament, elected every four years. The executive council – the executive board of the island territory, comparable to the Dutch provincial executive and municipal executive. The lieutenant governor – chair of the island council and executive council, appointed by the Crown for a six-year term.

Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.

European Union

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi) and an estimated total population of nearly 447 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered the most powerful hurricane on record in the open Atlantic region, outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Dorian two years later. It was also the third-strongest Atlantic hurricane at landfall ever recorded, just behind the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and Dorian.

Etymology

The island was named by Christopher Columbus in honour of St Martin of Tours, as he first sighted it on the saint's feast day on 11 November 1493.[6]

"Sint Maarten" is Saint Martin in Dutch.

History

See also: History of Saint Martin and Dutch Caribbean

Pre-colonial

Sint Maarten had been inhabited by Amerindian peoples for many centuries, with archaeological finds pointing to a human presence on the island as early as 2000 BC.[7] These people most likely migrated from South America.[7] The earliest identified group were the Arawak people who are thought to have settled around the period 800 BC – 300 BC.[7] Circa 1300-1400 AD they began to be displaced with the arrival of Carib people.[7]

Arrival of Europeans

The 1633 Spanish capture of Saint Martin, as painted by Juan de la Corte
The 1633 Spanish capture of Saint Martin, as painted by Juan de la Corte

It is commonly believed that Christopher Columbus named the island in honor of Saint Martin of Tours when he encountered it on his second voyage of discovery. However, he actually applied the name to the island now called Nevis when he anchored offshore on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin. The confusion of numerous poorly charted small islands in the Leeward Islands meant that this name was accidentally transferred to the island now known as Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten.[8][9]

Nominally Spanish territory, the island became the focus of the competing interest of the European powers, notably France, Britain and the Netherlands. While the French wanted to colonize the islands between Trinidad and Bermuda, the Dutch found San Martín a convenient halfway point between their colonies in New Amsterdam (present day New York) and New Holland. Meanwhile, the Amerindian population began to decline precipitously, dying from introduced diseases to which they had no immunity.

The Dutch built a fort (Fort Amsterdam) on the island in 1631; Jan Claeszen van Campen became its first governor and the Dutch West India Company began mining salt on the island. Tensions between the Netherlands and Spain were already high due to the ongoing Eighty Years' War, and in 1633 the Spanish captured St Martin and drove off the Dutch colonists. At Point Blanche, they built what is now Old Spanish Fort to secure the territory. The Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant attempted to wrest back control in 1644, but were repulsed.[10] However, in 1648 the Eighty Years' War ended and the Spanish, no longer seeing any strategic or economic value in the island, simply abandoned it.

With Saint Martin free again, both the Dutch and the French jumped at the chance to re-establish their settlements.[7] Dutch colonists came from St. Eustatius, while the French came from St. Kitts. After some initial conflict, both sides realized that neither would yield easily. Preferring to avoid an all-out war, they signed the Treaty of Concordia in 1648, which divided the island in two.[11] During the treaty's negotiation, the French had a fleet of naval ships off shore, which they used as a threat to bargain more land for themselves. In spite of the treaty, relations between the two sides were not always cordial. Between 1648 and 1816, conflicts changed the border sixteen times. The entire island came under effective French control from 1795 when Netherlands became a puppet state under the French Empire until 1815. In the end, the French came out ahead with 53 km2 (20 sq mi; 61%) against 34 km2 (13 sq mi; 39%) on the Dutch side.

18th–19th centuries

To work the new cotton, tobacco and sugar plantations the French and Dutch began importing large numbers of African slaves, who soon came to outnumber the Europeans.[7] The slave population quickly grew larger than that of the land owners. Subjected to cruel treatment, slaves staged rebellions, and their overwhelming numbers made it impossible to ignore their concerns. In 1848, the French abolished slavery in their colonies including the French side of St. Martin. Slaves on the Dutch side of the island protested and threatened to flee to the French side to seek asylum. The local Dutch authorities then freed the colonies' slaves. While this decree was respected locally, it was not until 1863 when the Dutch abolished slavery in all of their island colonies that the slaves became legally free.[12][7]

20th century

Statue of Claude Wathey in Philipsburg
Statue of Claude Wathey in Philipsburg

After the abolition of slavery, plantation culture declined and the island's economy suffered. In 1939 Sint Maarten received a major boost when it was declared a duty-free port. In 1941 the island was shelled by a German U-boat as part of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Tourism began growing from the 1950s onward, and Princess Juliana International Airport became one of the busiest in the Eastern Caribbean. For much of this period, Sint Maarten was governed by business tycoon Claude Wathey of the Democratic Party.[13] The island's demographics changed dramatically during this period as well, with the population increasing from a mere 5,000 people to around 60,000 people by the mid-1990s. Immigration from the neighbouring Lesser Antilles, Curaçao, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the United States, Europe, and Asia turned the native population into a minority.[14]

Sint Maarten became an "island territory" (eilandgebied in Dutch) of the Netherlands Antilles in 1983. Before that date, Sint Maarten was part of the island territory of the Windward Islands, together with Saba and Sint Eustatius. The status of an island territory entails considerable autonomy summed up in the Island Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles. During this period Sint Maarten was ruled by an island council, an executive council, and a lieutenant governor (Dutch: gezaghebber) appointed by the Dutch Crown.

Hurricane Luis in late August and early September 1995 hit the island, causing immense destruction and resulting in 12 deaths.[7]

21st century

In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France had signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, which allows for joint Franco-Dutch border controls on so-called "risk flights". After some delay, the treaty was ratified in November 2006 in the Netherlands and subsequently entered into force on 1 August 2007. Though the treaty is now in force, its provisions are not yet implemented as the working group specified in the treaty is not yet installed.

On 10 October 2010 Sint Maarten became a constituent country (Dutch: Land Sint Maarten) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, making it a constitutional equal partner with Aruba, Curaçao, and the Netherlands proper. Constitution Day (10 October) is celebrated annually as a public holiday.[15]

Sint Maarten has been assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes of SXM and SX,[16] and the .sx Internet ccTLD became available to register on 15 November 2012.[17]

Effects of Hurricane Irma

The port in Sint Maarten before Hurricane Irma
The port in Sint Maarten before Hurricane Irma
Damaged buildings in the wake of Hurricane Irma
Damaged buildings in the wake of Hurricane Irma
Ground view of Hurricane Irma's damage
Ground view of Hurricane Irma's damage

Hurricane Irma made landfall on 6 September 2017, causing extensive damage. 4 deaths were ultimately reported; there were 11 serious injuries out of a total of 34.[18] Princess Juliana Airport was extensively damaged but reopened on a partial basis in two days to allow incoming relief flights and for flights that would take evacuees to other islands.[19] By 8 September, "many inhabitants [were] devoid of basic necessities" and looting had become a serious problem.[20] Reports on 9 September indicated that 70% of the infrastructure on the Dutch part had been destroyed.[21] A survey by the Dutch Red Cross estimated that nearly a third of the buildings in Sint Maarten had been destroyed and that over 90 per cent of structures on the island had been damaged.[22]

The prime minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, told the news media on 8 September that the airport in Sint Maarten was ready to receive emergency flights and that aid, as well as police officers and military personnel, were on their way.[23] The prime minister of Sint Maarten, William Marlin, had already asked the Dutch government for extended relief assistance which began to arrive on 8 September. The government issued a tropical storm warning on 8 September since the Category 4 Hurricane Jose was approaching.[24]

The government of the Netherlands was sending aid, as well as additional police and military, since looting was a serious problem. A statement by Marlin summarized the situation on 8 September. "We've lost many, many homes. Schools have been destroyed. We foresee a loss of the tourist season because of the damage that was done to hotel properties, the negative publicity that one would have that it's better to go somewhere else because it's destroyed. So that will have a serious impact on our economy."[25] At the time, preparations were being made as Hurricane Jose approached the island.[26] Government estimates on 9 September indicated that 70 percent of houses were badly damaged or destroyed; much of the population was living in shelters pending the arrival of Jose. Thankfully, this second hurricane did not have a significant impact on the island.[27]

Widespread looting had started and a state of emergency was announced; some 230 soldiers from the Netherlands were patrolling. Additional Dutch troops were expected.[28] By 10 September, some 1,200 Americans had been evacuated to Puerto Rico from Sint Maarten by military aircraft during a time of looting and violence. On that date, Royal Caribbean International said that the company was sending its Adventure of the Seas to Saint-Martin and to St. Thomas to provide supplies and to offer evacuation services.[29] The ship arrived on the island on 10 September with water, ice, garbage bags, clothing and canned food, and evacuated 320 people.[30] By 11 September, King Willem-Alexander had already arrived in Curaçao and was scheduled to visit St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba.[31] When King Willem-Alexander visited Sint Maarten for the first time post-hurricane, he was shocked by the destruction. He immediately called for support from the European Union so the island could recover swiftly. Later in the month, it was revealed that the EU would allocate €2 billion in emergency funds for immediate disaster relief to restore basic essentials on Sint Maarten, such as drinking water and sanitation.[32] In addition to the EU's contribution, Red Cross, the government of the Netherlands, and Dutch citizens of the mainland pitched in (via donations and crowdfunding) to raise money for the devastated island.[33]

Post hurricane rebuilding

On 10 October 2017, Princess Juliana International Airport re-commenced commercial flights[34] using temporary structures, pending repairs.[35]

A report in late March 2018 indicated that the airport was able to handle some flights and some service had resumed from the US, Canada, and Europe. A new departure lounge was being used during rebuilding of the original facility. The General Aviation building was being used for passengers arriving on the island.

A little over a year after Hurricane Irma, St Maarten's cruise industry had recovered to the extent that in 2018, more than 1 million cruise passengers visited the island.[36]

Telecommunications, including Wi-Fi, had been restored on the island, 95% of customers were receiving electricity and drinking water was readily available on the island. Some tourist accommodations were open, with 27 operating and 36 said to be ready sometime later this year. Cruise ships were arriving; a full 14 were accommodated the week of February 18, 2018.[37]

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Dutch Caribbean

Dutch Caribbean

The Dutch Caribbean are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-west of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.

Arawak

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 Greater Antilles and northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. All these groups spoke related Arawakan languages.

Kalina people

Kalina people

The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an Indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil. They speak a Cariban language known as Carib. They may be related to the Island Caribs of the Caribbean, though their languages are unrelated.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and European colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Nevis

Nevis

Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Nevis is located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Antigua. Its area is 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi) and the capital is Charlestown.

Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Dominica, is called the Windward Islands. Dominica was originally considered a part of the Leeward Islands, but was transferred from the British Leeward Islands to the British Windward Islands in 1940.

Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Bermuda archipelago consists of 181 islands with a total land area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). The closest land outside the territory is in the US state of North Carolina, approximately 1,035 km (643 mi) to the northwest.

Dutch Brazil

Dutch Brazil

Dutch Brazil, also known as New Holland, was a colony of the Dutch Republic in the northeastern portion of modern-day Brazil, controlled from 1630 to 1654 during Dutch colonization of the Americas. The main cities of the colony were the capital Mauritsstad, Frederikstadt, Nieuw Amsterdam (Natal), Saint Louis, São Cristóvão, Fort Schoonenborch (Fortaleza), Sirinhaém, and Olinda.

Fort Amsterdam (Sint Maarten)

Fort Amsterdam (Sint Maarten)

Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, near the Sint Maarten town of Philipsburg.

Dutch West India Company

Dutch West India Company

The Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx (1567–1647) and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the Dutch West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over Dutch participation in the Atlantic slave trade, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America.

Eighty Years' War

Eighty Years' War

The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, taxation, and the rights and privileges of the nobility and cities.

Capture of Saint Martin (1633)

Capture of Saint Martin (1633)

Part of the Eighty Years' War, the Capture of Saint Martin was a Spanish naval expedition against the island of Saint Martin, then occupied by the Dutch Republic. The island, claimed by Spain since Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, lies a few hundred miles east of Puerto Rico. Its capture prevented Dutch privateers using it as a base for operations in the Caribbean.

Geography

Detailed map showing Sint Maarten
Detailed map showing Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten occupies the southern part of the island of Saint Martin in the Leeward Islands; the northern half forms the French territory of Saint Martin. To the north across the Anguilla Channel lies the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla, to the south-east of the island lies the French island of Saint Barthélemy, and further south are the Dutch islands of Saba and Saint Eustatius.

Sint Maarten is 34 km2 (13 sq mi).[5] The terrain is generally hilly, with the highest peak being Mount Flagstaff at 383m.[5] The area to the west around the airport is flatter, and contains the Dutch section of the Simpson Bay Lagoon. The Great Salt Pond lies to north of Philipsburg. Several small islands lie off the coast. Little Key lies in the Simpson Bay Lagoon.

There are ten total islands in Sint Maarten, including:[38]

Climate

Sint Maarten has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw),[39] and is drier than most parts of the northeastern Caribbean because of a rain shadow from the island's mountains, drying the trade winds. The driest months are from January to July, and the wettest from September to November, when hurricanes can strike the island.

Climate data for Philipsburg, Sint Maarten (Princess Juliana Airport) 1971–2000
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.7
(90.9) 		31.6
(88.9) 		32.6
(90.7) 		33.6
(92.5) 		33.5
(92.3) 		33.9
(93.0) 		34.2
(93.6) 		35.1
(95.2) 		34.8
(94.6) 		34.3
(93.7) 		33.9
(93.0) 		32.1
(89.8) 		35.1
(95.2)
Average high °C (°F) 28.6
(83.5) 		28.7
(83.7) 		29.2
(84.6) 		29.8
(85.6) 		30.4
(86.7) 		31.3
(88.3) 		31.6
(88.9) 		31.7
(89.1) 		31.6
(88.9) 		31.2
(88.2) 		30.2
(86.4) 		29.2
(84.6) 		30.3
(86.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.5
(77.9) 		25.4
(77.7) 		25.7
(78.3) 		26.5
(79.7) 		27.4
(81.3) 		28.2
(82.8) 		28.3
(82.9) 		28.6
(83.5) 		28.5
(83.3) 		28.2
(82.8) 		27.3
(81.1) 		26.1
(79.0) 		27.2
(81.0)
Average low °C (°F) 23.2
(73.8) 		23.1
(73.6) 		23.5
(74.3) 		24.1
(75.4) 		25.1
(77.2) 		25.2
(77.4) 		26.1
(79.0) 		26.2
(79.2) 		26.0
(78.8) 		25.7
(78.3) 		24.9
(76.8) 		23.9
(75.0) 		24.8
(76.6)
Record low °C (°F) 18.6
(65.5) 		19.2
(66.6) 		19.5
(67.1) 		19.3
(66.7) 		20.2
(68.4) 		22.3
(72.1) 		22.1
(71.8) 		21.4
(70.5) 		22.0
(71.6) 		22.1
(71.8) 		21.2
(70.2) 		20.0
(68.0) 		18.6
(65.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 66.0
(2.60) 		50.7
(2.00) 		45.2
(1.78) 		64.0
(2.52) 		93.3
(3.67) 		61.8
(2.43) 		71.6
(2.82) 		98.8
(3.89) 		139.6
(5.50) 		113.0
(4.45) 		149.3
(5.88) 		93.8
(3.69) 		1,047.1
(41.22)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 11.9 9.3 9.0 11.8 10.3 8.4 12.2 13.9 13.5 13.8 14.8 13.3 142.0
Average relative humidity (%) 74.7 74.1 73.6 75.0 75.9 75.1 74.8 75.4 76.3 76.8 77.4 76.6 75.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 257.2 235.2 271.6 265.4 251.0 245.1 257.2 288.1 232.4 244.6 235.0 246.7 3,009.4
Percent possible sunshine 73.5 72.7 72.2 70.6 62.4 62.0 63.2 67.7 62.8 67.0 68.3 71.4 67.8
Source: Meteorological Department Curaçao[40]

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Saint Martin (island)

Saint Martin (island)

Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 square kilometres (34 sq mi) island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but the Dutch part is more populated than the French part. The division dates to 1648. The northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic. As part of France, the French part of the island is also part of the European Union. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Dominica, is called the Windward Islands. Dominica was originally considered a part of the Leeward Islands, but was transferred from the British Leeward Islands to the British Windward Islands in 1940.

Collectivity of Saint Martin

Collectivity of Saint Martin

The Collectivity of 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 Saint Martin. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.

Anguilla Channel

Anguilla Channel

The Anguilla Channel is a strait in the Caribbean Sea. It separates the island of Anguilla in the north from the Collectivity of Saint Martin, an overseas collectivity of France on the island of Saint Martin, in the south.

Anguilla

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla, approximately 16 miles long by 3 miles (5 km) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The territory's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 35 square miles (91 km2), with a population of approximately 15,753 (2021).

Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of the island of Saint Martin; it is northeast of the Dutch islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius, as well as north of the independent country of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Saba (island)

Saba (island)

Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the active volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands.

Simpson Bay Lagoon

Simpson Bay Lagoon

Simpson Bay Lagoon is one of the largest inland lagoons in the West Indies of the Caribbean. It is located on the island of Saint Martin. The border between the French and Dutch halves of the island runs across the centre of the lagoon. There are two small islands that lie in the lagoon: the larger, Grand Ilet to the north, is within the French region of Saint-Martin; the smaller, Little Key, to the south, is on the Dutch Sint Maarten side.

Great Salt Pond, Sint Maarten

Great Salt Pond, Sint Maarten

Great Salt Pond is a 188 ha water body in the country of Sint Maarten on the island of Saint Martin in the Dutch Caribbean. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports a large seasonal aggregation of laughing gulls. It borders the capital city of Philipsburg and is the largest pond on the island. It has a high salinity and suffers pollution from landfill and urban runoff.

Köppen climate classification

Köppen climate classification

The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, German climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification.

Rain shadow

Rain shadow

A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.

Sunshine duration

Sunshine duration

Sunshine duration or sunshine hours is a climatological indicator, measuring duration of sunshine in given period for a given location on Earth, typically expressed as an averaged value over several years. It is a general indicator of cloudiness of a location, and thus differs from insolation, which measures the total energy delivered by sunlight over a given period.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Sint Maarten
The European Union and the UK (prior to the latter's departure) in the world with overseas countries and territories and outermost regions
The European Union and the UK (prior to the latter's departure) in the world with overseas countries and territories and outermost regions

Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and as such the monarch of the Netherlands is head of state, represented locally by a governor.[5] Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, the Constitution of Sint Maarten was unanimously adopted by the island council of Sint Maarten on 21 July 2010. Elections for a new island council were held on 17 September 2010, since the number of seats was increased from 11 to 15. The newly elected island council became the Estates of Sint Maarten on 10 October.[41] Sint Maarten is largely autonomous in internal affairs, with the Netherlands responsible for foreign diplomacy and defence.[5] The first woman to be the president of Sint Maarten was Gracita Arrindell, who was first elected in 2010.[42][43]

There currently is a movement in Sint Maarten aiming for the unification of island of Saint Martin,[44] which has its own flag.[45]

Foreign policy and defence

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has overarching responsibility for foreign relations, defence and Dutch nationality law in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom.[46] A detachment of the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is present on Sint Maarten and the Royal Netherlands Navy deploys a guardship, normally a Holland-class offshore patrol vessel, in the Caribbean on a rotational basis together with the support vessel HNLMS Pelikaan which operates out of Curacao.[47] Additionally, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, directed by the commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean, is operational and funded by the four constituent countries of the Kingdom.[48]

Environmental laws

The beach policy (as of 1994)[49] views the beach from the perspective of being an ecosystem service for recreational activities. This is because the economy on Sint Maarten is tourism-driven and many tourists come to the island to enjoy the 37 beaches on the island. The policy has three main points: the beach must be usable for everyone, developments negatively affecting recreational use will be prevented, and beaches should be protected against human influences that could impair their recreational function. The policy's main purpose is to protect the recreational value of the beach. The laws do not consider the protection and ecological value of this habitat in regard to protecting nesting sea turtles, preserving the beach line, or preserving the plants that live in and along the beach line.

The hillside policy, as of 1998,[49] is mainly concerned with residential development. On the hillside, only residential development is permitted, certain hillsides with important “visual impact” are protected and conserved for their general landscape. A natural park is projected for the following hills: Cole Bay Hill, Sentry Hill, St. Peters Hill, Concordia Hill, Marigot Hill, Waymouth Hill, and Williams Hill. The policy stated the main objective was to conserve and maintain the green hillside and restore any natural habitats if needed. However, as of 2020, these natural parks have not yet been established.

Corruption

In 1978, the government of the Netherlands Antilles installed a Research Committee on the Windward Islands (Dutch: Commissie van Onderzoek Bovenwindse Eilanden) to investigate claims of corruption in the island government. Even though the report issued by this commission was damaging for the island's government, measures were not put into place to curb corruption, arguably because the government of the Netherlands Antilles depended on the support of Wathey's Democratic Party in the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles. In August 1990, the public prosecutor of the Netherlands Antilles started an investigation into the alleged ties between the island government of Sint Maarten and the Sicilian Mafia, and in 1991 the Court of Audit of the Netherlands Antilles issued a report which concluded that the island government of Sint Maarten was ailing.[50]

In the government and parliament of the Netherlands, the call for measures became louder. With Dutch pressure, the government of the Netherlands Antilles installed the Pourier Commission tasked with investigating the state of affairs of the island government of Sint Maarten in December 1991. Its report concluded that the island was in a severe financial crisis, that rules of democratic decision-making were continuously broken, and that the island government constituted an oligarchy. In short, the island government failed completely according to the report. After long negotiations, the Kingdom government enacted a General Measure of Kingdom Administration (Dutch: Algemene Maatregel van Rijksbestuur) in early 1993, placing Sint Maarten under direct supervision of the Kingdom. Although originally meant for one year, the Order-in-Council for the Kingdom was eventually extended until 1 March 1996.[51]

Though much has changed since, allegations of criminal activities continue to plague Sint Maarten. In 2004, the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles asked the Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (Dutch: Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum (WODC)) of the Dutch Ministry of Justice to conduct research into organized crime in Sint Maarten. The report concluded that money laundering and cocaine trade are widespread on Sint Maarten. It also alleged that money from the island was used to finance Hamas, its associate Holy Land Foundation, and the Taliban.[13][52]

In April 2009, former Commissioner Louie Laveist was convicted, and sentenced to an 18-month prison sentence, by the Sint Maarten Court-of-First-Instance, on account of forgery, fraud, and bribery.[53] He was later acquitted of forgery and of fraud by the Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, but not of bribery.[54]

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Politics of Sint Maarten

Politics of Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has a government formed by the monarch, represented by the governor, and the ministers. The prime minister presides the council of ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The minister plenipotentiary is not part of the government and represents the Sint Maarten government in the Netherlands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The country is a parliamentary representative democratic country with a multi-party system. Sint Maarten has full autonomy on most matters, with the exceptions summed up in the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the title "Kingdom affairs". The Constitution of Sint Maarten was ratified in September 2010, and entered into force on 10 October 2010.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as simply the Netherlands, is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with 98% of its territory and population in Western Europe and with several small West Indian island territories in the Caribbean.

Governor of Sint Maarten

Governor of Sint Maarten

The governor of Sint Maarten is the representative on Sint Maarten of the Dutch head of state. The governor's duties are twofold: he represents and guards the general interests of the kingdom and is head of the government of Sint Maarten. He is accountable to the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As the head of the government, the governor is immune. The governor exercises the executive power under the responsibility of the ministers, who are responsible to the Estates of Sint Maarten. The governor does not have political responsibilities and is not part of the cabinet. During the formation of a cabinet the governor plays an important role. The governor is appointed by the monarch for a period of six years. This period can be prolonged for one more term of six years. The governor is supported by his secretariat the cabinet of the governor, and is advised by the Council of Advice, consisting of at least five members, appointed by the governor, advising him on the drafts of state ordinances, state decrees, kingdom acts and general administrative orders.

Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.

Constitution of Sint Maarten

Constitution of Sint Maarten

The Constitution of Sint Maarten was unanimously adopted by the island council of Sint Maarten on 21 July 2010.

Gracita Arrindell

Gracita Arrindell

Gracita Arrindell is a Dutch politician, writer and women's rights activist, who was the first woman to be appointed President of the Parliament of Sint Maarten, a role she held for two terms.

Royal Netherlands Navy

Royal Netherlands Navy

The Royal Netherlands Navy is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Holland-class offshore patrol vessel

Holland-class offshore patrol vessel

The Holland-class ocean-going patrol vessels are a class of four ocean-going patrol vessels constructed for the Royal Netherlands Navy. They are designed to fulfill patrol and intervention tasks against lightly armed opponents, such as pirates and smugglers, but have much higher level electronic and radar surveillance capabilities which are used for military stabilization and security roles, short of outright war. Without sonar or long range weapons, they utilize the surveillance capabilities of the Thales integrated mast, which integrates communication systems and two 4-faced phased arrays for air and surface search.

HNLMS Pelikaan (A804)

HNLMS Pelikaan (A804)

HNLMS Pelikaan (A804) is a logistic support vessel of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship was built and designed specially for the Caribbean Sea, and is permanently based at Curaçao. She entered service on 12 June 2006. The vessel has the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Classification 1A1 E0 NAUT-OC ICS CRANE. Pelikaan provides search and rescue and disaster and humanitarian relief to Dutch operations in the Netherlands Antilles. The vessel can also be used for amphibious warfare.

Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard

Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard

The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) is the coast guard of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Dutch Caribbean. The unit is a joint effort between all constituent countries within the Kingdom. Prior to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, it was known as the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Coast Guard and was a division of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Sea turtle

Sea turtle

Sea turtles, sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, and olive ridley sea turtles. All six of the sea turtle species present in US waters are listed as endangered and/or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The seventh sea turtle species is the flatback, which exists in the waters of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Sea turtles can be separated into the categories of hard-shelled (cheloniid) and leathery-shelled (dermochelyid). There is only one dermochelyid species which is the leatherback sea turtle.

Dutch language

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. Afrikaans is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter language spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa. The dialects used in Belgium and in Suriname, meanwhile, are all guided by the Dutch Language Union.

Ecology

Plants

Sint Maarten is home to many distinctive plants such as hibiscus, yellow sage (seen on the flag), flamboyant trees, mahogany, and cacti. An estimated 522 wild plants are present, mainly being seed plants and a few ferns. The Calyptranthes boldinghgii and Galactia nummelaria are “island-endemic” and it is suspected that they have already gone extinct. Much of the hilltops are semi-evergreen seasonal forests which are rare in region.[55]

The categorization of native, introduced, and invasive plant species is not as well documented for the island. Some of the introduced plant species include: manila grass (Zoysia matrella), Spanish bayonet ( Yucca aloifolia), Singapore almond (Terminalia catappa), true aloe (Aloe vera). Some of the native species are west Indian holly (Tunera ulmifolia), spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus), bell pepper (Capsium pulcherrima), salt heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum), bay rum tree (pimento racemose), and sourbush (pluchea carolinesis). One of the invasive species on the island is crowfoot grass (Dactyloctenium aegyptium).[56]

Mullet Pond

Mullet Pond, a section of the inland lagoon Simpson Bay Lagoon, is home to 70% of Sint Maarten's mangrove population on the Dutch side of the island. Mangroves are a nursery for many young fish and during hurricane season they provide coastal protection. The area, however, is at risk due to dredging, tourism activities, and the yacht industry on the island.

Mullet Pond is the 55th Ramsar site since 2016[57] and therefore protected according to the Ramsar Treaty, a global commitment to protect ecologically significant wetland areas.

Challenges

The effects of climate change are felt on Sint Maarten. According to the Netherlands Antilles Coral Reef Initiative the coral reefs were fragmented due to a temperature rise to 30 °C in 2005.[58] Twenty years ago, the sea grass beds were much larger. Natural disasters (hurricanes), development, and a tourism-based industry caused a significant decrease over the years. The seagrass beds are important for anchoring the sand in place as well as hurricane protection.[58] Without the seagrass bed sand can easily be moved by a hurricane resulting in the loss of beaches or sand accumulates in one area, impacting marine life.

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Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics, but its native range is Vanuatu.

Delonix regia

Delonix regia

Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name royal poinciana, flamboyant, phoenix flower, flame of the forest, or flame tree.

Terminalia catappa

Terminalia catappa

Terminalia catappa is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almond, tropical almond, beach almond and false kamani.

Aloe vera

Aloe vera

Aloe vera is a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. It is widely distributed, and is considered an invasive species in many world regions.

Turnera ulmifolia

Turnera ulmifolia

Turnera ulmifolia, the ramgoat dashalong or yellow alder, is a species of plant of family Passifloraceae, native to Mexico and the West Indies. A recent study found that yellow alder potentiated the antibiotic activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Amaranthus spinosus

Amaranthus spinosus

Amaranthus spinosus, commonly known as the spiny amaranth, spiny pigweed, prickly amaranth or thorny amaranth, is a plant that is native to the tropical Americas, but is present on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It can be a serious weed of rice cultivation in Asia.

Heliotropium curassavicum

Heliotropium curassavicum

Heliotropium curassavicum, commonly called salt heliotrope, a species of flowering plant in the borage family (Boraginaceae). It is native to much of the Americas, from Canada to Argentina, including the West Indies and Hawaii. It can be found as an introduced, and sometimes invasive, species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It thrives in salty soils, such as beach sand, alkali flats, and salt marshes. It is often found in disturbed coastal sites.

Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Dactyloctenium aegyptium, or Egyptian crowfoot grass is a member of the family Poaceae native in Africa. The plant mostly grows in heavy soils at damp sites.

Simpson Bay Lagoon

Simpson Bay Lagoon

Simpson Bay Lagoon is one of the largest inland lagoons in the West Indies of the Caribbean. It is located on the island of Saint Martin. The border between the French and Dutch halves of the island runs across the centre of the lagoon. There are two small islands that lie in the lagoon: the larger, Grand Ilet to the north, is within the French region of Saint-Martin; the smaller, Little Key, to the south, is on the Dutch Sint Maarten side.

Mangrove

Mangrove

A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several plant families. They occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics and even some temperate coastal areas, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area within 5° of the equator. Mangrove plant families first appeared during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs, and became widely distributed in part due to the movement of tectonic plates. The oldest known fossils of mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago.

Ramsar site

Ramsar site

A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an intergovernmental environmental treaty established on 2nd February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran by UNESCO, which came into force from 21st December,1975. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources. Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, especially those providing waterfowl habitat.

Seagrass meadow

Seagrass meadow

A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and long green, grass-like leaves. They produce seeds and pollen and have roots and rhizomes which anchor them in seafloor sand.

Demographics

Catholic Church St. Martin of Tours in Philipsburg
Catholic Church St. Martin of Tours in Philipsburg

In the 2011 Netherlands Antilles census, the population of the island territory was 33,609.[59] In the 2017 census the total population of the country was 40,535.[60]

Settlements

  • Philipsburg (1,894 inhabitants)
  • Lower Prince's Quarter (10,833 inhabitants)
  • Cul de Sac (8,588 inhabitants)
  • Cole Bay (7,194 inhabitants)
  • Upper Prince's Quarter (4,595 inhabitants)
  • Little Bay (Fort Amsterdam) (5,581 inhabitants)
  • Simpson Bay (1,142 inhabitants)
  • Lowlands (708 inhabitants)

Religion

Religions of Sint Maarten[61]
Religions percent
Roman Catholic
 
 33.1%
Pentecostal
 
 14.7%
Methodist
 
 10.0%
None
 
 7.9%
Seventh-day Adventist
 
 6.6%
Hindu
 
 5.2%
Christian
 
 4.1%
Baptist
 
 4.7%
Anglican
 
 3.1%
No response
 
 2.4%
Other Protestant
 
 2.8%
Jehovah's Witness
 
 1.7%
Evangelical
 
 1.4%
Other (includes Buddhist, Sikh, Rastafarian)
 
 1.3%
Islam/Jewish
 
 1.1%

Languages

Languages of Sint Maarten[61]
Languages percent
English
 
 67.5%
Spanish
 
 12.9%
Creole
 
 8.2%
French
 
 6.6%
Dutch
 
 4.2%
Other
 
 3.5%
Papiamento
 
 1.5%

English is the everyday language of communication in Sint Maarten, and also the first language of native Sint Maarteners.[5] A local variety of Virgin Islands Creole is spoken in informal situations by Sint Maarteners between themselves. Most Sint Maarteners learn Dutch as a second language, and only use it when communicating with other Dutch speakers.

The government uses the Dutch language when communicating with the Dutch government and also formerly did so with the Netherlands Antilles government.

Local signage uses both Dutch and English.[62] The main languages are English and Dutch. There were English-medium and Dutch-medium schools on Sint Maarten, and the Dutch government policy towards St. Maarten and other SSS islands promoted English medium education.

As per the 2001 census there were far more Spanish speakers than Dutch speakers, amounting to 14.8% and 4.2% of the population, respectively. Sint Maarten is a polyglot society, most are simultaneously bilingual in Dutch and English, and among them are also speakers of Spanish and French. Linguist Linda-Andrea Richardson stated in 1983 that Dutch was a "dead language" in Sint Maarten.[63]

Some residents, including Arubans and St. Martiners who lived in Aruba, speak Papiamento.[64]

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Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Philipsburg is the main town and capital of the country of Sint Maarten. The town is on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Saint Martin island, whereof Sint Maarten encompasses the southern half. As of 2017, it has 1,894 inhabitants.

Lower Prince's Quarter

Lower Prince's Quarter

Lower Prince's Quarter is a town in Sint Maarten, in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 8,143 making it the largest settlement on the island of Saint Martin.

Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma, a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is Vaidika Dharma, the dharma related to the Vedas.

Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.4 billion followers representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible and chronicled in the New Testament.

Anglicanism

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the largest branches of Christianity, with around 110 million adherents worldwide as of 2001.

Sikhism

Sikhism

Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, around the end of the 15th century CE. It is the most recently founded major organized faith and stands at fifth-largest worldwide, with about 25–30 million adherents as of the early 21st century.

Islam

Islam

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered around the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 1.9 billion globally and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.

Judaism

Judaism

Judaism is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established with the Israelites, their ancestors. It encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization.

Creole language

Creole language

A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable natural language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form, and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fledged language with native speakers, all within a fairly brief period of time. While the concept is similar to that of a mixed or hybrid language, creoles are often characterized by a tendency to systematize their inherited grammar. Like any language, creoles are characterized by a consistent system of grammar, possess large stable vocabularies, and are acquired by children as their native language. These three features distinguish a creole language from a pidgin. Creolistics, or creology, is the study of creole languages and, as such, is a subfield of linguistics. Someone who engages in this study is called a creolist.

French language

French language

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French (Francien) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French.

Economy

A proportional representation of Saint Maarten exports, 2019
A proportional representation of Saint Maarten exports, 2019
Many tourists come to use Sint Maarten's beaches.
Many tourists come to use Sint Maarten's beaches.

Sint Maarten, along with Curaçao, uses the Netherlands Antillean guilder as its currency. The economy is heavily dependent on tourism, either from long-stays or day-trippers from the many cruise lines that dock in the Philipsburg Harbour; around 80% of the workforce is employed in this sector.[5] Some limited agriculture occurs, however most food is imported.[5]

In 2014, St. Maarten had more gaming machines per resident than any other country in the world.[65]

Hurricane Irma severely affected the economy in 2017. In a 2019 report, it was revealed that the island's GDP had dropped by 4.7%, with an increase in inflation.[66] This drastic hit to the economy was due to lessened tourism, real estate, trade, and business activities.[67]

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Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of the Venezuela coast. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Together with Aruba and Bonaire, it forms the ABC islands. Collectively, Curaçao, Aruba, and other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. It is the largest of the ABC islands in both area and population as well as the largest of the Dutch Caribbean.

Netherlands Antillean guilder

Netherlands Antillean guilder

The Netherlands Antillean guilder is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 cents. On 1 January 2011, in the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, the guilder was replaced by the United States dollar. In Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the Netherlands Antillean guilder was proposed to be replaced by a new currency, the Caribbean guilder, but this was stalled indefinitely by negotiations over the establishment of a separate central bank for Curaçao. In November 2020, the Central Bank announced the introduction of the replacement guilder, which was planned to be implemented in the first half of 2021; however, implementation was delayed several times.

Cruise line

Cruise line

A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though cruise packages provided by cruise lines vary, there are some features most have in common, such as accommodation, all meals and entertainment. They may include alcohol and shore excursions, sometimes on additional payment.

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Philipsburg is the main town and capital of the country of Sint Maarten. The town is on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Saint Martin island, whereof Sint Maarten encompasses the southern half. As of 2017, it has 1,894 inhabitants.

Culture

See also: Culture of Saint Martin
Courthouse on Sint Maarten
Courthouse on Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten's culture is a mix of African, European and North American influences. Ank Klomp wrote in Saint Martin: Communal Identities on a Divided Caribbean Island that Sint Maarten lacked a Dutch cultural identity.[62]

Festivals

An annual regatta is held over three days culminating in the first weekend in March. Among the leading cultural artists of the island are Isidore "Mighty Dow" York (kaisonian, panman), Roland Richardson (Impressionist painter), Nicole de Weever (dancer, broadway star), Ruby Bute (painter, storyteller, poet), Clara Reyes (choreographer), Susha Hien (choreographer), Lasana M. Sekou (poet, author, independence advocate), Drisana Deborah Jack (visual artist, poet), and Tanny and The Boys (string band music group). The annual St. Maarten Carnival starts in April and ends in May. The Grand Carnival parade that takes place on the Dutch side is the largest parade of the island's two carnivals. The annual St. Martin Book Fair takes place during the first weekend of June, featuring emerging and famous authors from the island, the Caribbean region, and from around the world.[68]

Sport

Popular team sports in Sint Maarten include baseball, basketball, volleyball, cricket, and soccer. Recreational fishing, golf, and water sports (including diving, kayaking, snorkelling, and yachting) are popular amongst tourists.[69]

The Sint Maarten Soccer Association was founded in 1986. The organisation is not a member of FIFA, but became an associate member of CONCACAF in 2002, and a full member in 2013.[70] The national football team debuted in 1989, and plays its home games at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex, which has a 3,000-spectator capacity. After an initial period of popularity during the 1990s, including an appearance at the 1993 Caribbean Cup, interest in football declined, with the national team playing its last official match in 2000 (against Dominica).[71] However, Sint Maarten returned to international competition in March 2016, for the 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification tournament.[72]

The Sint Maarten Cricket Association is a member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA), which is, in turn, a member of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). With rare exceptions (for instance, the Stanford 20/20), the national cricket team plays only against other LICA members, though Sint Maarteners may go on to play for the Leeward Islands team at regional level and are eligible for both the West Indies and the Netherlands internationally. The primary venue for cricket is the Charles Vlaun Cricket Field.[73] Colin Hamer was the first Sint Maartener to play first-class cricket,[74] while Daniel Doram was the first islander to play at international level, debuting for the Netherlands against Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup in July 2013 at the age of 15, also becoming the first St. Maartener to take a first-class five-wicket haul. In 2016 Keacy Carty became the first St Maartener to play representative cricket for the West Indies (for the West Indies under-19s).[75] Carty was the man of the final at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, and was later described by the prime minister, William Marlin, as having "brought the name of St Maarten to international acclaim".[76]

Prior to cricket becoming popular, baseball was preferred. No national team existed, although Sint Maarteners were eligible to play for the Netherlands Antilles baseball team before its dissolution.[77] Several Sint Maarteners have passed through the American baseball system, playing at college level or in the minor leagues. Allen Halley played college baseball for the South Alabama Jaguars and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 30th round of the 1995 draft, reaching Class A-Advanced in the minor leagues. Three others, Rene Leveret, Marc Ramirez, and Rafael Skeete, were signed as free agents by major league teams during their careers, but played only in the minor leagues.[78]

The Sint Maarten Volleyball Association is part of the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association, which hosts championship qualifiers with countries within its zone. Countries that are part of the ECVA are: Anguilla, Antigua, Bermuda, Virgin Islands, Dominica, Dutch St.Martin, French St.Martin, Grenada, Montserrat, Saba, St. Eustatius, St.Kitts, St.Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.[79] Over the past 8 years, volleyball in St.Maarten on a National level has been developing and showing results. In 2016, the Sint Maarten Men's National Team went on to win the championship in their pool for the round 1 World Championship Qualifiers winning the gold along with many individual awards. The local awardees were; Nicholas Henrietta (Best Setter); Leonardo J Jeffers (Best Outside Hitter); Stephan Ellis (Best Middle); Allinton Augustine (Best Defence); Riegmar Valies Courtar (Best Opposite), and Riegmar Valies Courtar (Best Scorer) and MVP Most Valuable Player.[80]

Popular culture

Tourists watch a low flying plane over the beach
Tourists watch a low flying plane over the beach

The island is famous for its runway at Princess Juliana International Airport, in which landing aircraft pass within 35 metres (38 yd) of Maho Beach below, due to the close proximity of the runway to the ocean. The planes appear to land dangerously close to beach goers so the beach and airport have become a popular place for people to view aeroplane landings. In July 2017, a New Zealander died from head injuries after being propelled backwards from a jet engine blast.[81]

Sint Maarten is also known for its festive nightlife, expansive beaches, precious jewelry, traditional cuisines, and plentiful casinos.[82]

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Kaiso

Kaiso

Kaiso is a type of music popular in Trinidad and Tobago, and other countries, especially of the Caribbean, such as Grenada, Belize, Barbados, St. Lucia and Dominica, which originated in West Africa particularly among the Efik and Ibibio people of Nigeria, and later evolved into calypso music.

Nicole de Weever

Nicole de Weever

Nicole de Weever is a dancer and choreographer from Sint Maarten. After completing her primary schooling in the Caribbean, she moved to the United States, completing education. She has performed in film, on television and appeared on Broadway in the musical Fela! during its initial run in 2009 and reprise in 2012, after a world tour. She was honored as a cultural ambassador by the government of Sint Maarten in 2009.

Lasana M. Sekou

Lasana M. Sekou

Lasana M. Sekou is a poet, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and publisher from the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.

Baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate.

Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.

Volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced to the programme at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. The adapted version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is sitting volleyball.

Cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striking the ball bowled at one of the wickets with the bat and then running between the wickets, while the bowling and fielding side tries to prevent this and dismiss each batter. Means of dismissal include being bowled, when the ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side either catching the ball after it is hit by the bat, but before it hits the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease in front of the wicket. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by a third umpire and match referee in international matches. They communicate with two off-field scorers who record the match's statistical information.

Recreational fishing

Recreational fishing

Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival and livelihood.

Golf

Golf

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.

Underwater diving

Underwater diving

Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on context. Immersion in water and exposure to high ambient pressure have physiological effects that limit the depths and duration possible in ambient pressure diving. Humans are not physiologically and anatomically well-adapted to the environmental conditions of diving, and various equipment has been developed to extend the depth and duration of human dives, and allow different types of work to be done.

Kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and then the other in rotation. Most kayaks have closed decks, although sit-on-top and inflatable kayaks are growing in popularity as well.

FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération internationale de football association is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations. These national associations must each also be members of one of the six regional confederations into which the world is divided: CAF (Africa), AFC, UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF, OFC (Oceania) and CONMEBOL.

Education

Previously residents had to complete secondary studies in Aruba or Curaçao.[63] Prior to 1976 Sint Maarten had two secondary schools: the government secondary school John Phillips School and the Catholic secondary school Pastoor Nieuwen Huis School. Philips was both a MAVO/ETAO school while Huis was a MAVO school. The foundation Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs van de Bovenwindse Eilanden, established on February 20, 1974,[83] was created as the neutral governing body for a new school created by the merger of Phillips and Huis schools.[84] MPC, the merged school, opened on August 17, 1976.[83]

The Caribbean International Academy (CIA), founded in 2003 is a preparatory private boarding and day school on the island of St. Maarten. Catering to children from Kindergarten to Grade 12, CIA is also the only school offering Canadian/Ontario High School Diploma (OSSD) and 90% of their graduates go on to attend universities in Europe, Canada and the United States.[85] Learning Unlimited Preparatory School (LUPS) is an American accredited institution, that established a Caribbean location in St.Maarten in 1991.[86] The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[87]

Most residents who attend tertiary institutions do so in Curaçao or European Netherlands.[62]

The American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC), founded in 1978, was previously located on Montserrat. Because of the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1995, AUC moved its campus to St. Maarten later that year. A permanent campus was completed in 1998 in Cupecoy.

The University of St. Martin is located in Philipsburg. The University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine, founded in 1999, was previously located on Sint Eustatius. In September 2013, the University of Sint Eustatius moved its campus to Cole Bay, St. Maarten.

Philipsburg Jubilee Library in Philipsburg was the most prominent library in Sint Maarten.[88] However, after Hurricane Irma hit the island in 2017, the library was forced to shut down. As of February 2019, Philipsburg Jubilee Library still lacks the funding necessary for it to be rebuilt,[89] but has recently reopened in a temporary location until further notice.[90]

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Aruba

Aruba

Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the Venezuela peninsula of Paraguaná and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Curaçao. It measures 32 kilometres (20 mi) long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and 10 kilometres (6 mi) across at its widest point. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, these and the other three Dutch substantial islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean, of which Aruba has about one-third of the population. In 1986, it became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and acquired the formal name the Country of Aruba.

Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of the Venezuela coast. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Together with Aruba and Bonaire, it forms the ABC islands. Collectively, Curaçao, Aruba, and other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean. It is the largest of the ABC islands in both area and population as well as the largest of the Dutch Caribbean.

Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs van de Bovenwindse Eilanden

Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs van de Bovenwindse Eilanden

Stichting Voortgezet Onderwijs van de Bovenwindse Eilanden is a nonprofit organisation that operates two secondary schools on Sint Maarten: Milton Peters College (MPC) in South Reward and Sundial School in Philipsburg. They are both subsidised by the Sint Maarten government.

American University of the Caribbean

American University of the Caribbean

The American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) is a private for-profit medical school. Its main basic science campus is located in Sint Maarten, and administrative offices are located in Miramar, Florida, in the United States. AUC is owned by Adtalem Global Education.

Montserrat

Montserrat

Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about 16 km (10 mi) long and 11 km (7 mi) wide, with roughly 40 km (25 mi) of coastline. It is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants. Montserrat is the only non-fully sovereign full member of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

University of St. Martin

University of St. Martin

The University of St. Martin (USM) is a university in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten founded in 1989. It closed on October 31, 2017. As of 2018 it has reopened. Its specialization was the hospitality program, through which it offers the UK accredited Higher National Diploma. The USM had about 350 part and full-time students, and more than 500 alumni. Its president was Dr. Francio Guadeloupe.

Sint Eustatius

Sint Eustatius

Sint Eustatius, also known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality of the Netherlands.

Transportation

Landing at the airport
Landing at the airport

Sint Maarten is served by Princess Juliana International Airport, serving destinations across the Caribbean, North America and France and the Netherlands. It is well known for its very low final approach landings close to a popular beach at the end of the runway.[91][92] Winair has its headquarters on the grounds of the airport.[93]

Source: "Sint Maarten", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 23rd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sint_Maarten.

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Further Reading

Geography of the Netherlands Antilles

Saint Martin (island)

Princess Juliana International Airport

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Collectivity of Saint Martin

Flag of Sint Maarten

Claude Wathey

Index of Netherlands Antilles–related articles

Visa policy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean

Dutch Caribbean

Postage stamps and postal history of Sint Maarten

Economy of Saint Martin (island)

Red Cross Sint Maarten
See also
Notes
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "St Martin".

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