Saint Martin–Sint Maarten border

The Saint Martin–Sint Maarten border, or France–Netherlands border, is the border between the Collectivity of Saint Martin, an overseas collectivity of France, and Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, on the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean. The 87-square-kilometre (34 sq mi) island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic (53 km², 20 sq mi)^[1] and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (34 km², 13 sq mi)^[2] by the 16 km (10 mi) border.^[3] However, the two parts are roughly equal in population.

Map of the island of Saint Martin

The border is completely open and can be crossed freely.^[4]

Description

The border starts in the west at Cupecoy Bay and then proceeds eastward, cutting across Rue de Terre-Basses/Rhine Road. It then runs through the Simpson Bay Lagoon between the island of Little Key (Dutch) and Grand Islet (French). Back on land it crosses Rue de Hollande/Union Road and then turns north-eastwards, running across Sint Peter Hill, Mont des Accords, Concordia Hill, Marigot Hill, Mount Reward and Mount Flagstaff. It then turns south-eastwards and then eastwards, terminating in the east at Oysters Pond bay.

History

Border monument on Saint Martin

Historically the home of native Arawak and Carib people, the island of Saint Martin was first discovered by Europeans in 1493 when Christopher Columbus sailed by on his second voyage to the Americas.^[5][6] Initially disputed between the Netherlands and Spain, the Spanish withdrew their claim in the 1640s, only for the French to begin settling on the north of the island. In order to avoid fighting over the matter, France and the Netherlands signed the Treaty of Concordia on 23 March 1648 which formally split the island into two jurisdictions.^[7] The final border was confirmed in 1817.^[8] Various local legends relate how the border was supposedly decided by a French and Dutch official walking round the island, the Dutch gaining less land due to their representative being drunk on genever.^[9][10]

In 1994, France and the Netherlands signed the Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, which improved the mutual border controls at their airports on the island.^[11]

Today there is a movement in both Sint Maarten and Saint Martin promoting the unification of the island, which would make the border between them disappear.^[12]

References

1. "Saint-Martin : Terre d'accueil et de contrastes, Synthese" (PDF) (in French). INSEE. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
2. Central Bureau of Statistics Netherlands Antilles. "Area, population density and capital". Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
3. "Saint Martin". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
4. "Saint Martin". US News. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
5. Morison, Samuel Eliot (1974). The European Discovery of America, The Southern Voyages. Oxford University Press. pp. 108-109.
6. "History of Saint Martin". Retrieved 24 July 2019.
7. Henocq, Christophe (15 March 2010), "Concordia Treaty, 23rd March 1648", Heritage, 6: 13, retrieved 17 September 2018
8. "Saint Martin". Caribbean Pet. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
9. Jacobs, Frank (24 April 2012). "One Island, Two Countries". The New York Times.
10. "Border Legend or How St. Martin Was Divided". St Maarten. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
11. The Daily Herald – Dutch Parliament ratifies Franco-Dutch Treaty
12. Badejo, Fabian Adekunle (25 December 2004). "The reunification of St. Martin: A pipe dream or an inevitable choice?". House of Nehesi Publishers.