An island of only 38 square miles, with 2 countries! The St Martin side of the island is governed by France, and the St Maarten side is governed by the Netherlands. Talk about a contentious history – check this out:
1493 — Claimed for Spain by Columbus.
1624 —French cultivate tobacco.
1631 — Dutch start small colony to collect salt.
1648 — Divided into French and Dutch sides.
1679–1689 — French occupy entire island.
1690–1699 — English occupy entire island.
1699–1702 — French occupy entire island.
1703–1717 — Dutch occupy entire island.
1779 –1781 — French occupy entire island.
1781 –1792 — British occupy entire island.
1793 – 1794 — Dutch occupy entire island.
1795 – 1801 — French occupy entire island.
1801 – 1802 — British occupy entire island.
1810–1816 — British occupy entire island.
1816 — French and Dutch zones restored.
How did the French and Dutch partition the island? Supposedly, the two groups held a contest in 1648. Starting on the east coast, they would walk westwards — the French along the northern edge, the Dutch along the southern — and where they met they would draw a dividing line across the island. The French set off, having fortified themselves with wine, the Dutch with gin. The ill effects of the gin, however, caused the Dutchmen to stop along the way to sleep off their drunk; consequently, the French were able to cover a much greater distance. The border has changed a little, but French side is still about 60% of the island.
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