St. Maarten
The island of Sint Maarten is located in the Caribbean and is named after the Patron Saint Martin. It is located 240 kilometers east of Puerto Rico and belongs to the lesser Antilles. The island, with a total surface of 37 square mile and has about 71,000 inhabitants.
Sint Maarten is divided into a French and a Dutch side. The official languages are Dutch and French but English is predominantly spoken because of tourism and immigration.
The French part was, until 2007, under the Department of Guadeloupe, but chose via a referendum for their own government on December 7th 2003. With a surface of 20.5 square mile the collectivité de Saint-Martin covers most of the island. In 2007, this part -with the capital Marigot-, had about 40,000 inhabitants. Maurica Michaud is the prefecture of the French part of Sint Maarten.
The Dutch part of Sint Maarten belongs to the Windward Islands and is part of the Dutch Antilles. In 2007 45.000 inhabitants where living on this area of 16.5 square mile. The capital of the Dutch part is Philipsburg and Mr. Franklyn Richards is Governor.
Besides Sint Maarten’s vulnerability to hurricanes (in 1995 it was badly hit by Hurricane Luis), the island is a major holiday destination, especially among Americans. Each day several cruise ships dock in the local harbor. Passengers who travel by plane, will land at the airport on the Dutch side (Princess Juliana International) or the French part (Aero Gare de l'Esperance). The sun shines almost everyday, the average temperature is 86 º F/ 27 º C and there is a constant trade wind. The average rainfall in Sint Maarten is 40 inch per year.
History
Sint Maarten has been occupied by approximately 800 the Arowak Indians who settled on the island 4000BC. In the 14th century, the Carib Indians settled on the island, they were a warlike and cannibalistic tribe. They named the island Soualiga, which means Land of Salt. Around 1630 French and Dutch established themselves there, attracted by the stock salt.
On March 23 1648 France and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands signed The Treaty of Concordia. This was an agreement to divide Sint Maarten. This agreement did not become final before 1817. The island has changed of ownership about 16 times.