St Martin

Island in the Leeward Islands group in the West Indies; the southern part of the island forms part of the Netherlands Antilles; area 22 sq km/8.5 sq mi; population (1990) 32,221; the northern part forms part of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe; area 53 sq km/20.5 sq mi; population (1990) 28,518. The capital of the French sector is Marigot, and Philipsburg is the capital of the Dutch sector. Sugar, cotton, and tobacco were once important, but the economy of both sections of the island is now based on tourism. The island was divided between the French and Dutch in 1648.

Christopher Columbus landed on the island during his second voyage in 1493. It was then inhabited by Caribs. The French occupied St Martin in the 17th century. In 1640, the Spaniards occupied the island for its strategic position, but abandoned it in 1648. In the same year the Dutch and French signed a treaty which divided the island between their two nations on the basis of peaceful co-existence. The British made attempts to control St Martin in 1794, and occupied it in 1799 and 1808. The present division between the Netherlands and France dates from 1816.