The "Dividing Paradise" Story

In 1648, the French and Dutch signed the Treaty
of  Concordia dividing the island of  St. Martin/
Sint Maarten

It was an ordinary day.  Finished making the bed in one of our extra bedrooms so I could put the suitcases on the bed in preparation for packing for our upcoming vacation to our favorite Caribbean Island, St. Martin.  Starting to lay out all the necessities that we will need to take with us on our journey - bug spray, check; noodle, check; electrical adapters and converter, check; snorkel and mask, check; beach towels, check; shorts and t-shirts, check.  I'm sure there are other items that will find their way into the suitcases, but hopefully not too many more.  I'll give you a little background into the island of our choice for vacation.  St. Martin/Sint Maarten, half Dutch and half French, was called Sualouioga, or salt lands by the Amerindians.  St. Martin along with neighbors St. Barths and Anguilla were once one large island.  The Anguilla Bank outlines the shape and size of this former land mass of about 1,795 square miles of which only about 1/8 lies above sea level.  The melting of the polar ice in the glacial era  caused the sea level to rise gradually which flooded the lowlands and divided the land mass into three islands.  The Awawaks and Caibs roamed the islands between 800 and 1,500 AD.  The Awawaks were the gentler of the two tribes who lived by consuming vegetables, fruits and seafood.  Beautiful pottery relics have been found at Cupecoy, Simpson Bay, the French Quarter and Pic Paradis on St. Martin.  Years later the Caribs arrived and chased the Arawaks away.  The Caribs were hunters who ate their captives and took the women as slaves.  In 1493 Christopher Columbus began his quest from Guadeloupe in search of Hispaniola.  Along the way he discovered several islands, one of which was Sualouiga which he discovered on November 11 and renamed it Sint Martin due to the fact that it was the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours.  In the early part of the 17th century the French landed on the island and formed the first European settlement where they picked salt in the area known as Grand Case and grew tobacco in the area known as the French Quarter.  Salt, used for preserving food, was the main reason the Dutch settled on the island in 1631, making Sint Maarten the first Dutch colony in the Caribbean.  Salt was badly needed for Holland's herring industry.  Within months of their arrival the Dutch had salt picked in the Great Salt Pond (area known today as Philipsburg), cleaned it and had it ready to ship to Holland.  Until the early 1940s salt was the main export with fish and lobster following.  Their first homes were built around 1632 along with a small fort called Fort Amsterdam which still exists near the city of Philipsburg.  The Dutch were successful traders and soon were trading salt as well as tobacco that was produced by the French.  The following year the Spaniards returned and kicked out both the French and the Dutch.  1644 was the year that Dutchman Peter Stuyvesant lost his leg in a battle to try and recapture the island from the Spaniards.  Finally in 1648, after having little success of finding gold on St. Martin, the Spaniards left the island.  A struggle between the French and Dutch ensued, but an agreement was finally reached on the division of the island.  On March 23, 1648 the partition Treaty of Concordia was signed dividing the island into two colonies.  Today there are monuments at two border locations to commemorate the signing of the Treaty. Driving the roads on the island is no different that driving on the county roads around Lancaster.  Hills and plenty of curves make it a challenge, but being able to drive on the right makes it doable.  And having a Jimmy Buffett CD in the CD player of the car makes for a relaxing time while driving.  Oh, yeah!  I have to remember to pack the CDs.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.