Huh, which island was it? Was it this one? No. It wasn't that one. The Spanish had discovered modern day Nevis Island. However, they accidentally transferred this name to modern day St Martin when mapping the Leeward Islands. Nowadays, St Martin is divided between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Even though the French control 60% of the island, the Dutch part is more populated. Saint-Martin, the northern part is considered an overseas collectivity of the French Republic and part of the European Union. Sint Maarten, the southern part, is one of the four countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands and it’s not part of the EU. The French side is known for its outdoor markets, beaches and overall relaxing lifestyle, and the Dutch side is known for its nightlife, drinks made with native guavaberry liquors and casinos. You can already guess why the Dutch side is more populated. The fact that both sides are so different begs the question: How did they end up sharing an island? This is, after all, the only land border shared by France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands so, it must be a good story. And it is. The date is 1631, and the Dutch were looking for a halfway point between their colonies in New Amsterdam (present day New York) and Brazil. They stumbled upon the Spanish island of San Martín, which had a very small Carib population, if any, and decided to claim it. But not only did they secure a checkpoint between both colonies, they also discovered that the island was rich in a certain resource, it’s a white powder, it’s addictive and it can kill you if you take too much of it: salt. The Dutch West India Company wasted no time and began salt mining operations. Naturally, the French and the British wasted no time either, and settled on the island shortly after. After hearing about the salt in Saint Martin, the Spanish found the island much more appealing, so they kindly asked the Dutch if they could maybe- I’m kidding, they invaded it. Spanish forces captured St Martin in 1633. The Dutch tried to win back St Martin several times, but they failed every one of them. However, 15 years later, in 1648, after barely turning a profit, the Spanish decided to abandon the island. With the island free from the Spanish, the Dutch and the French dolphin dived into it to rebuild their settlements. There was just one problem, both of them wanted the island for themselves. After some initial disputes, both sides realized that they weren’t going to yield. Preferring to avoid a war they instead resolved the issue like real countries: by organizing a drinking contest. Well, not exactly but bear with me. They signed the Treaty of Concordia that same year, which gave the French the north area and the Dutch the south area. Now this is where the drinking contest comes into play, in order to draw the exact division of the island, legend says that first, a Frenchman from the north and a Dutchman from the south had to drink a typical beverage from their country. The Frenchman chose wine and the Dutchman chose jenever, which is a Dutch gin. They then had to walk along the coast in opposite directions starting from Oyster Pond. With the Frenchman heading north and the Dutchman heading south, wherever both of them met, was where they would draw a dividing line from Oyster Pond. They met at this point and drew the border like this, with the Dutch side being happy with the outcome. No, of course not, they accused the Frenchman of cutting through the northeastern part of the island. Meanwhile, the French side said that the Dutchman had fallen asleep, thus covering less land. Either way, they resolved the conflict by drinking instead of war. Aren’t humans wholesome? They later imported slaves to the island. But luckily, slavery was abolished in 1848! Just on the French side, though. The Dutch side abolished it in 1863. What took you so long, guys? Now bear in mind, this is just a legend, the most reasonable explanation for the French having more land was probably the presence of the French fleet off shore, which was likely used as a threat to bargain more land for themselves. The island stayed this way for the unfathomable amount of 3 years, when the French sold their part to Malta. But they bought it back 14 years later, in 1665 so it’s all good. The border remains to this day, making the Treaty of Concordia one of the oldest treaties still enforced nowadays. I bet you think this has to be one of the weirdest borders on Earth, but wait until you see Alaska’s border with Canada, click here to learn how this came to be and I’ll see you in the next one!
