St. Maarten Info: Useful Travel Info On St. Maarten | St. Martin

A little island in the D.W.I(Dutch West Indies) which consist of two colonies French and Dutch . The area of the Island was recorded to be only 37sq.miles, with the French side (Saint.Martin) being 21sq.miles and the Dutch side (Sint.Maarten) being 16sq.miles.

The island is said to be one of the smallest island in the world to be divided between two nations. The capital of Dutch Sint.Maarten is Philipsburg and the capital of French Saint.Martin is Marigot. In 1493, Christopher Columbus embarked on his second voyage to the New World. According to legend, Columbus sighted and perhaps anchored at the island of Saint Martin on November 11, 1493, the feast day or national day of Saint Martin of Tours. In his honor, Columbus named the island San Martin. This name was translated to Sint Maarten (Dutch), Saint Martin (French and English).

When Columbus sailed these seas, St.Martin was populated, if populated at all, by Carib amerindians. The former Arawaks had been chased by the warlike Caribs coming from the North coast of South America a short time before the arrival of the Spaniards who followed in Columbus' wake.The Caribs, on the other hand, concentrated on warfare. They killed and, allegedly, ate the Arawak men, then "married" the Arawak women.

The Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century when most of them perished in the struggle between the French, English, Dutch, Danes and Spanish for control of the West Indies. The Dutch first began to ply the island's ponds for salt in the 1620s. Despite the Dutch presence on Sint.Marten, the Spaniards recaptured St. Martin in 1633 and, one year later, built a fort (now Ft.Amsterdam) and another artillery battery at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim and control access to Great bay salt pond.

The Spaniards to the area introduced the first African slaves in the 16th century but the main influx of African slaves took place in the 18th century with the development of Sugarcane plantations by the French protestants and some Dutch Jews. Slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century, whereupon the British imported Chinese and East Indians to take the place of slaves. Thus, a mixture of Amerindian, European, African, Indians and Asian peoples St. Martin and the other islands. West Indian cultures such as in St. Martin are, consequently, exceedingly rich and varied.

Some 71,000 persons now populate the island, which is divided almost equally between the two sides(Sint.Maaren,Saint.Martin). It takes approximately 1hr and 15minutes to drive around the entire island. The main attractions that bring in some 1,000,000 tourists annually are the beaches, good weather, clubs, casinos and mostly the duty free shopping.

The island of Sint.Maarten is wonderful place to go and unwind with a total of 36 beaches you can easily find a empty beach and make it your own private beach for the day or you can go to the more famous le-gallion or orient beach to socialize. If you are a more adventureous person then the hills are excellent for hiking the tallest hill on the island is on Saint.Marten and it is Pic Paradis which is  total of 414m.

There isn’t much if any wild life on the island you may see a few mongooses and iguanas but nothing too exotic.

Come visit us on the "Friendly Island', our shores await you.