Philipsburg, St Maarten — from Celebrity Today
The island of Sint Maarten or Saint Martin – only 37 square miles [~96 sq km] in size – is the smallest land mass in the world to be shared by two different nations. It is owned by both France and the Netherlands Antilles, thanks to a treaty signed over 350 years ago.
With the Concordia Agreement (1648), the Dutch and the French agreed that residents of either side of the island can be commercially active on the other side without any red tape or border difficulties. This contract of peaceful coexistence turns out to be the oldest active, undisputed treaty on our planet. The friendly partition of Sint Maarten/St Martin remains to this day and the separate life-styles – charming vignettes of their respective homelands – coexist in complete contrast but perfect harmony.
The southern half (actually slightly less than half: 16 square miles [~41 sq km]) is Sint Maarten (sint mare-ten), ruled by the Dutch, and the northern 21-square mile [~54 sq km] area is Saint Martin (san mar-tan), the French side. The main towns are Philipsburg (Dutch side) and Marigot (French side). The island has a total resident population of approximately 85,000. The official population on the Dutch side is about 50,000 while on the French side it is roughly 35,000.
The French territory covers about two thirds of the island and is technically a part of Europe and the European Community. The Dutch side is a member island of the Netherlands Antilles and part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but not considered European territory. There is no real border, just modest monuments and signs.
Though Dutch is the official language of Sint Maarten, and French of St Martin, English is widely spoken throughout the island, but more prevalently on the Dutch side. The oft-heard Caribbean patois is Papiamento, a mixture of Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, English, and native Indian. It is spoken primarily on the south side.
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