Culture

A short history of St. Martin: from Soualiga to two governments

How one island ended up with two governments, two currencies and two legal systems: the key dates in St. Martin's history, from Columbus in 1493 to Hurricane Irma in 2017.

By SXM Daily · October 14, 2026

St. Martin is one island shared by two governments, and much of what makes life here different from other Caribbean islands goes back to a handful of dates. This overview follows the island's story from its Indigenous name to Hurricane Irma, with each point checked against an official record or a published history.

Photo: R.F. van Raders (1863), British Library / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Before Europeans

The island's Indigenous name, Soualiga, is identified as meaning "land of salt". Text by the director of the Sint Maarten Archaeological Center (SIMARC), published by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, says the salt ponds were probably already important in prehistoric times.

This overview does not give dates for early Indigenous settlement. SXM Daily has not been able to verify them, so they are left out rather than guessed.

1493: a saint's name

Christopher Columbus sighted the island on 11 November 1493 and named it after St. Martin of Tours, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The 1630s: salt brings the Dutch

Salt is what drew the Dutch. They built Fort Amsterdam in the early 1630s, but their hold did not last: Spain held the island from 1633 to 1648.

1648: one island, two nations

On 23 March 1648, the agreement known as the Treaty of Concordia divided the island between France and the Dutch.

That split is where the island's dual arrangement begins. Today it shows up as two governments, two legal systems and two currencies: the Caribbean guilder (XCG) on the Dutch side and the euro (EUR) on the French side.

Plantations, slavery and freedom

In the 18th and 19th centuries, sugar plantations on the island were worked by enslaved Africans.

Freedom came at different times on each side. On the French side, enslaved people were freed on 28 May 1848. The next day, 29 May, 26 people fled Diamond Estate, an episode documented by UNESCO. On the Dutch side, slavery was abolished on 1 July 1863, as recorded by the Dutch National Archives (Nationaal Archief).

Salt on an industrial scale

Salt remained big business. By 1850, the island's salt output had reached 337,000 barrels a year.

The 20th century and the Netherlands Antilles

From 1954 to 2010, Sint Maarten was part of the Netherlands Antilles.

2007 and 2010: new status on both sides

On the French side, 2007 brought a change of status. Under organic law 2007-223, the French part of the island became the Collectivité de Saint-Martin. The new body replaced the commune of Saint-Martin and took the place of Guadeloupe's département and région there.

Three years later, on 10 October 2010, Sint Maarten became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as published in the Dutch official gazette (Staatsblad 2010, 333).

2017: Hurricane Irma

On 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall on the island as a Category 5 storm, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

Why it matters today

For anyone living, working or doing business on the island, this history is practical, not just background. Which side you are on still decides which government you deal with, which legal system applies and whether the official currency is XCG or EUR. All of that traces back to the division of 1648.

Key dates

11 November 1493: Columbus sights the island.
Early 1630s: the Dutch build Fort Amsterdam.
1633 to 1648: Spain holds the island.
23 March 1648: the Treaty of Concordia divides the island.
28 May 1848: enslaved people are freed on the French side.
1850: salt output reaches 337,000 barrels a year.
1 July 1863: slavery is abolished on the Dutch side.
1954 to 2010: Sint Maarten is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
2007: the Collectivité de Saint-Martin is created.
10 October 2010: Sint Maarten becomes a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
6 September 2017: Hurricane Irma makes landfall as a Category 5 storm.

Sources

https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Martin-island-West-Indies
https://mass.cultureelerfgoed.nl/great-salt-pond-saltpans
https://www.dcnanature.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/StMaartenMarinePark2007ManagementPlan.pdf
https://axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/amsudant/traite_1648_stmartin.htm
https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/route/root-freedom-case-study-how-enslaved-africans-gained-their-freedom-dual-national-island-sint
https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/beleven/onderwijs/bronnenbox/afschaffing-slavernij-in-suriname-en-het-caribisch-gebied-1863
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000465963
https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stb-2010-333.html
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf

Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Martin-island-West-Indies