St Martin History |
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In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety Two, Columbus crossed the ocean blue...and landed in St Martin. Well, probably! He may have actually landed in Nevis, but let's not spoil a good story. So, Columbus landed in St Martin a few days after landing in Dominica on the Third of November. The name is taken from Saint Martin of Tours, a Fourth Century Bishop, and (somewhat strangely) was kept by both the Dutch and the French settlers.
St Martin of Tours, for whom the island is named They arrived in 1631 and both staked their claims, at least until 1633 when the Spanish arrived and kicked them out! The Spanish fought off attempts to retake the Island, and then in 1648 decided to up and leave. The 'peaceful' settlement between the French and the Dutch to split the island didn't actually take effect completely until 1817 St Martin was a thriving economy during these years though, as a supplier of tobacco, cotton, coffee, etc to the Europeans, but all of the wealth was built on the backs of the African slave trade. The thankful abolishion of slavery, combined with the local piracy and technological advances in Europe killed this economy. The French and the Dutch continued their split governing of St Martin until the Second World War, when the Allies took control, and the US built what is now Princess Juliana Airport, thus beinging the booming tourist industry which powers St Martin today.
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