Sint Maarten/ Saint Martin
Updated: Sep 18, 2022
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Country Name
Saint Martin.
The Dutch name is Sint Maarten.
The French Name is The Collectivity of Saint Martin.
Location
Saint Martin island, lying at the northern end of the Leeward group of the Lesser Antilles in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, approximately 300 km east of Puerto Rico. The island is divided between the French republic and the kingdom of the Netherlands.
It comprises the southern 40% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 60% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin.
The neighboring islands are Anguilla, Saba, and Saint Barthelemy.
Capital
Philipsburg (The Dutch territory capital),
Marigot (The French territory capital).
Reason for naming the country
The island was named by Christopher Columbus in honor of St Martin of Tours, as he first sighted it on the saint's feast day on 11 November 1493.
Flag
The island of St. Martin is split into two territories, French, & Dutch territories.
The Dutch territory (Sint Marteen) has the flag of the Netherlands The flag was adopted on June 13, 1985. The flag is similar to the Netherlands flag with its red, white, and blue colors. The flag consists of horizontal stripes and a triangle in the left section with the point facing in. The top stripe is red, the bottom blue, and the triangle is white. In the center of the triangle is the coat of arms.
Sint Maarten's coat of arms is made up of a shield with a rising sun above, and the island motto is displayed on a ribbon below. The Sint Maarten courthouse is displayed in the middle of the shield, with an orange-yellow sage (the national flower) to the left, and the border monument to the right. Flying above the shield, in front of the sun, is a brown pelican (which is the national bird).
The French territory its official flag is the French Tricolore, which consists of three vertical bands of blue, white, and red.
St. Martin's coat of arms consists of a shield containing a ship, palm tree, sun, and pelican. The top reads, "Collectivité de Saint-Martin." (Collectivity of Saint Martin.)
Language
The split of the island created a situation where none of the colonists were influential enough to force their language as the only language to be used on the island.
The Dutch and French parts of the island used their mother languages as official languages and English as the second official language for communication between the residents.
As a result, 67.5% of the population speaks English. Spanish is still spoken due to the Spanish heritage, and 12.9% of the population speaks the language.
Dutch is the second official language in the country and is spoken by 4.2% of the population. Virgin Island creole is a local English-based creole and is spoken by 8.2% of the population.
About 1.5% of the population speaks Papiamento, which is a West Iberian creole language and is common throughout the entire Dutch West Indies. Scholars believe the language was derived from Spanish, Portuguese, African languages, Judeo-Portuguese, Judeo-Spanish, Dutch, English, and indigenous languages. Another 3.5% of the population speaks various languages.
Religion
The religion practiced on the island Protestant 41.9% (Pentecostal 14.7%, Methodist 10.0%, Seventh Day Adventist 6.6%, Baptist 4.7%, Anglican 3.1%, other Protestant 2.8%), Roman Catholic 33.1%, Hindu 5.2%, Christian 4.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.7%, Evangelical 1.4%, Muslim/Jewish 1.1%, other 1.3% (includes Buddhist, Sikh, Rastafarian), none 7.9%.
Currency
Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)
Euro (€) (EUR) (in the French Territory)
US Dollar is also accepted in both (US$) (USD).
Time Zone
-04:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy. (Sint Maarten- Dutch Territory).
Devolved parliamentary dependency (Saint Martin- French Territory)
Climate
The climate of Saint Martin is tropical, hot, and sunny all year round: the average daily temperature ranges from 25 °C (77 °F) in the coolest period, from January to March, to 28 °C (82 °F) in the hottest and most humid period, from June to October.
The best to visit is from June to November (but more likely from August to October).
International Phone Code
+1-721 (Sint Maarten).
+590 (Saint Martin).
Internet Code
For Sint Maarten (Dutch Territory)
.sx (Sint Maarten)
For Saint Martin (French Territory)
.mf
.fr
.gp
NOTE
The French side (St. Martin), is more relaxed and sophisticated, The first-class resorts and white sand beaches are mostly isolated. Marigot is Mediterranean resort-like, with yachts in the harbor, and open-air markets and shops lining the waterfront. A bit to the north, Grand Case is known for the island's best restaurants.
The Dutch side (Sint Maarten) is a lively destination of white sand beaches, casinos, historical sites, shopping venues, and a lot of nightlife. Philipsburg, a duty-free port, is the main entry point, and it vibrates with Caribbean colors, sounds, and cruise ship passengers.
The island is also known for having an airport runway extremely close to the beach.
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