subject: St Maarten History, a Story Like No Other [print this page] St Maarten History, a Story Like No Other
St Maarten history cannot be compared with any other!
The first individuals to settle on the isle around 500 AD were known as the Arawak Indians from South America. They named it 'Sualouiga', meaning Land of Salt, simply because of the many salt ponds they found here. Nevertheless they were soon violently subjugated by another tribe of Indians from northern Amazonia, the Caribs, after whom the entireCaribbean would be named.
Christopher Columbus firstly sailed past the isle on 11th November 1493, St Martin's feast day and gave the isle the name of that day. He of course claimed the island as Spanish, but they neveractually took a lot of interest in it right up until the Dutch made a decision to settle on the island in 1631. The Spanish quickly got rid of them all wanting to reclaim their dominion in the location.
The Dutch fled to Curacao, but produced several attempts to get St Martin back. After 15 years the Spanish had had too much of becoming besieged and they gave up the tropical isle.
The French (who had also staked a claim to the area) and the Dutch fought to it until finally they realized neither would give up and in 1648 they signed the Treaty of Concordia sharing the tropical isle among the two nations.
It is said that the two nations put on a contest to make a decision how to divide the island. A French guy and a Dutch man positioned back to back, and told to walk round the isle in opposite directions. The tropical isle would be divided along the line in which they began, and in which they met once again.
The French being somewhat sneaky, made the decision to present drinks to both these men, as they had been bound to get thirsty throughout their hike. So the Frenchman was provided with his national drink, a bottle of wine, and the Dutchman something a bit stronger - a bottle of gin! So it figures that the Frenchman made far better progress, and claimed considerably much more of the isle for his nation! A fascinating tale about the St Maarten history!
St Martin St Maarten must be one of the most loved islands in the Caribbean, if not in the world! Many visitors choose to return to St Martin St Maarten time and time again.
There are lots of explanations for this. Many appreciate the variety of nationalities on SXM. The seashores are really varied and unique. The food is simply top notch. St Maarten history can make you want to find out more.
Loads of details that would take all night to give! People just need to discover the place for themselves. At the end of the day St Maarten history is undoubtedly fascinating!
