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A Tiny Island with
Two Giant Personalities
No wonder this small landfall is such a popular destination. Where else can you go in the Caribbean (or anywhere) and experience the cultures, cuisine and architecture of two distinctly different countries?
No where. With 2 different governments, 2 different languages
and 2 very different cultures share this 37-square
mile island is the smallest landmass in the world shared by 2 independent states, the Dutch territory of Sint
Maarten and French territory of St. Martin.
Dutch St. Maarten occupies about 17-square miles,
French St. Martin a hoggish 20.
(See map) Although
thetwo territories are spelled differently, St. Maarten and St. Martin
are pronounced the same, which is convenient but also sometimes confusing.
That's why locations are referred to as the "Dutch side" and the "French side" to make things clearer.
One reason the early Dutch and French
settlers were able to live together harmoniously
is they essentially ignored each other as much as possible.
The
division of the island occurred in 1648 when Dutch
and French settlers decided to peacefully partition the island even though their homelands were at war.
Once it was done, the locals went back to business
while English, French and Dutch troops fought over
the island until 1817 when the original partition finally
went into effect.
With only
an invisible line dividing the two territories, it didn't
demand a lot of engineering skill to separate the two.
In fact a road connecting the Dutch and French sides wasn't built until the 20th century.
Today, only simple road signs let you know that you've
crossed from one country to the next.
There are no formal border
crossings. They would only hinder the thousands of tourists
who daily search out the best beaches and best bargains on both sides.
There
are quite a few good beaches to choose from, too; 37
in all.
Regardless of which side of the invisible line you intend to vacation on, all air passengers arrive at Queen Juliana Airport on Sint Maarten.
After that, you are off to either
Sint Maarten
or
Saint Martin
with lots of trips back and forth between the two.
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