History of Saint Martin Facts for Kids

St. Martin is an island in the Caribbean with a long and interesting history. Like many islands in the area, its first people were Native Americans. Later, Europeans arrived, and they brought enslaved people to work on plantations.

Early History of St. Martin
Colonial Era and European Arrival
20th Century and Beyond
See also

Early History of St. Martin

Scientists have found old items that show the first people lived on St. Martin about 3,500 years ago. These early settlers were likely the Ciboney, a group related to the Arawaks. Around 800 A.D., another group of Arawaks came from the Orinoco River area in South America. They called St. Martin "Soualiga," which means "Land of Salt," because of its natural salt ponds.

The Arawaks were mostly farmers and fishers. They lived in villages with straw-roofed homes that were strong enough to survive hurricanes. They were a peaceful people who enjoyed art and spiritual activities.

However, their peaceful lives changed when the Carib Indians arrived. The Caribs were a warrior group from the same region as the Arawaks. They often fought the Arawak men and enslaved the Arawak women. By the time Europeans started exploring the Caribbean, the Caribs had largely taken over from the Arawaks.

Colonial Era and European Arrival

In 1493, during his second trip to the West Indies, Christopher Columbus saw the island. He named it Isla de San Martín after Saint Martin because it was November 11, which is St. Martin's Day. Even though he claimed the island for Spain, Columbus never actually landed there. Spain didn't see the island as a high priority for settlement.

However, both the French and the Dutch wanted the island. The French hoped to set up colonies between Trinidad and Bermuda. The Dutch saw San Martín as a useful stop between their colonies in New Amsterdam (now New York City) and Brazil.

Since few people lived on the island, the Dutch easily started a settlement in 1631. They built Fort Amsterdam to protect themselves. Jan Claeszen Van Campen became the first governor. Soon, the Dutch West India Company began mining salt. French and British settlements also appeared on the island.

The Spanish then realized how successful these colonies were. They wanted to control the salt trade and saw St. Martin as much more important. The Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands also gave Spain a reason to attack.

Spanish Control and the Treaty of Concordia

Spanish forces captured St. Martin from the Dutch in 1633. They took control and forced most or all of the colonists off the island. The Spanish built Old Spanish Fort at Point Blanche to secure the area. The Dutch tried several times to get St. Martin back, but they failed.

Fifteen years after the Spanish took the island, the Eighty Years' War ended. Spain no longer needed a base in the Caribbean, and St. Martin wasn't making much money. So, in 1648, the Spanish left the island.

With St. Martin free, both the Dutch and the French quickly returned. Dutch colonists came from St. Eustatius, and French colonists came from St. Kitts. After some initial disagreements, both sides realized that neither would give up easily. To avoid a full war, they signed the Treaty of Concordia in 1648. This treaty divided the island into two parts.

During the treaty talks, the French had naval ships offshore. They used this as a threat to get more land for themselves. The treaty was signed by the two governors: Robert de Longvilliers for France and Martin Thomas for the States General of the Netherlands. The French kept the northern area they occupied and the coast facing Anguilla. The Dutch got the area around the fort and the land on the south coast. The people on both sides agreed to share the island's natural resources.

Even with the treaty, relations between the two sides were not always friendly. Between 1648 and 1816, conflicts caused the border to change sixteen times.

A Story About the Border

There's a fun story often told on the island about how the border was drawn in 1648. It tries to explain why the French side is larger. The story says a Frenchman and a Dutchman were chosen by their communities. They were given a special drink, stood back to back in Oysterpond, and walked in opposite directions around the shoreline. The line between where they started and where they met was supposedly declared the border.

The French side explains its larger territory by saying the Dutchman stopped to spend time with a woman. Or, they say the Frenchman drank wine and the Dutchman drank Jenever (Dutch Gin), which supposedly made him sleepy and need a nap. The Dutch side explains its smaller territory by saying the Frenchman cheated by running or taking a shortcut through the northeastern part of the island.

Slavery and Its Abolition

Although the Spanish were the first to bring enslaved people to the island, their numbers were small. But with the new farms growing cotton, tobacco, and sugar, many enslaved people were brought to work on the plantations. The population of enslaved people quickly became much larger than the landowners.

Enslaved people were treated very cruelly. They often rebelled, and their large numbers made it impossible for the authorities to ignore them. In 1848, the French ended slavery in their colonies, including the French side of St. Martin. Enslaved people on the Dutch side of the island protested and threatened to escape to the French side to find freedom. The local Dutch authorities agreed and freed the enslaved people in their colonies. While this was respected locally, it wasn't until 1863 that the Dutch officially ended slavery in all their island colonies, making all enslaved people legally free.

20th Century and Beyond

After slavery ended, the plantation way of life declined, and the island's economy struggled. In 1939, St. Martin received a big boost when it was declared a duty-free port. This meant goods could be bought and sold without extra taxes, making it attractive for trade.

The Dutch side began focusing on tourism in the 1950s. It took the French side another twenty years to start developing their tourism industry. Today, tourism is the most important part of the economy for both sides of the island.

On September 5, 1995, Hurricane Luis hit the island very hard, causing a lot of damage. This was 35 years to the day after Hurricane Donna also caused damage.

In 1994, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and France signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls. This treaty allows them to work together on border checks for certain "risk flights." After some delays, the treaty was approved in the Netherlands in November 2006 and officially started on August 1, 2007. As of 2016, the treaty had not been fully put into action due to some disagreements from the Dutch side about stricter French controls. A group has been meeting to work out the details.

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma, a very powerful Category 5+ storm with winds over 180 miles per hour (290 km/h), devastated the island. It caused severe damage everywhere. The Netherlands and France created special funds to help the island's economy recover. The Netherlands provided over 550 million euros, managed by a recovery planning office called the NRPB.

History of Saint Martin facts for kids

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