11 days of sxm: a quick history of Saint Martin

To start off the 11 DAYS OF SAINT MARTIN, we will be highlighting seven eras of Saint Martin’s history and how it has shaped us as people. 

Located in the northeastern Caribbean, Sint Maarten (Dutch)/ Saint Martin (French)  is a two-state island full of vibrance. At the small size of 37 sq miles, the island plays an integral part in world history through its manufacturing of salt, as an international hub for the northeastern Caribbean, and its overall uniqueness.  

• Land of Salt, Land of Brave Women. 

In the pre-colonial era, the island was home to two main indigenous peoples. The first known inhabitants were the Awarak people from the Orinoco River in South America. They called the island ‘Soualiga’ which is translated to the land of salt due to the vast amount of salt ponds on the island.  The second known inhabitants were the Kalinago people, who also originated from the Orinoco River. They called the island ‘Qualichi’ which means the land of brave women. These two indigenous groups focused a lot on land use with the growing of crops such as cassava and skillfully fishing. They also both consistently traded with other indigenous groups within the archipelago at the time. Unfortunately, due to the arrival of Europeans and the smallness of the island, both populations no longer exist on Saint Martin.

• Spanish, English, French and Dutch, everybody want a touch. 

 The island was first spotted by top colonizer, Christopher Colombus on November 11th, 1493. November the 11th is when the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Saint Martin of Tours. With Colombus being super original, he named the small island, Saint Martin. After Colombus’ sighting, the Spanish never truly took interest in the island because they were on a search for gold. 

Couple hundred years and a ton of European wars later, the French, the English and the Dutch wanted the island due to its geographical location. In 1631 the Dutch said ‘hey this is mine now’ and built them a fort, Fort Amsterdam, at present-day Little Bay. However, in typical European fashion, war is war, and the Spanish ran the Dutch and the French (who were chilling the colonist way) and took claim of the island by building the Spanish Fort in now present Point Blanche. After some back and forth (throw in a couple of English lads), and the Spanish abandoned the island due to economic reasons. The Dutch and French ran back to take claim of the island.  

• Treaty of Concordia 

On March 23rd, 1648, the Dutch and the French decided they would peacefully live with each other on the island and would divide the island into two parts, giving the smaller southern side with the Great Salt Pond to the dutch and the larger northern side to the French. While the treaty stated they wouldn’t fight each other, in your typical European fashion, there were conflicts and the Netherlands became a puppet state for the french empire from 1795 to 1815. Oh, the Europeans. 

• Emancipation

While Europe played Europes Best Top Colonizer, the labor that pushed the lustrous salt industry and profitable sugar and indigo industries were done by enslaved Africans and their offsprings. The majority of the population were slaves, significantly outnumbering the colonizers of the time. In 1848, the french wanted to seem progressive and called for the emancipation of slaves on the 27th of April. On the other side of the island, the Dutch were like, but the salt though. During that period, there was a significant increase of runaway slaves as persons aimed to reach the French side or even the neighboring island of Anguilla (who was a British colony and ‘free’). Eventually, the dutch found a little decency and declared emancipation in their colonies on the 1st of July 1863. It only took 15 years. 

• Bye-bye salt  

After the abolishment of slavery, the sugar plantations automatically died. However, the salt industry continued because salt was in high demand to preserve food, especially the herring in the Netherlands. Then electricity happened. By the beginning of the 20th century, the salt industry frizzled away as industrialization took over the imperial world and there was no need for the major high demand for salt. With the salt pond closed, many patrons left the island to work in the oil fields in the Dominican Republic, Curacao, Aruba, and Trinidad. 

• Tourists ah come!  

With no economy, no people, and somehow still tossed around in imperial politics, Saint Martin needed a way to revive the island’s economy. With a new airport strip that served as a US base during WWII, politicians at this time, notably Claude A Wathey, pushed to marked the island a luxury tourist destination. Upgrading the harbor in Pointe Blanche to accommodate passenger boats, the island turned into the hub for both plane and boat tourists. During this development era, many persons returned home after some layoffs in the oil industry due to the Cold War. In the 70s and 80s, there was an increase of immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean as many people were looking for better living conditions due to the struggling economies in many post-independence nations. Due to this influx, Saint Martin has now embraced the ‘melting pot’ image as many people brought their identities to the island. By the early 2000s, Saint Martin was a top tourist destination, hosting vibrant beaches and luxury hotels. 

• Collectivity tings ...10, 10,10 and beyond 

On the political spectrum of things, the island on both sides was still under the heavy colonial power of the french and dutch. The French side was a commune of Guadeloupe, having to answer to those who were in charge of Guadeloupe. In 2007, the french side separated from Guadeloupe and became an Overseas Territory within the French Republic. Looking south, the Dutch side was a member of the Netherlands Antilles, which was then a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. After a series of local referendums, the population voted to become a separate entity from the Netherlands Antilles. On October 10th, 2010, the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and Sint Maarten (as well as Curacao) became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Despite this new status, the island on both sides continues to fight with the colonial powers for support. 


This was just a brief overview of the island of Saint Martin and what makes us special. For the next 11 days, IslandGalTing will be highlighting the greatness of the island through history, cuisine and creatives. Make sure to follow our twitter and instagram @islandgalting for all things Saint Martin Day and all things IslandGalTing. 

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