Daniella JEFFRY

Geology of Saint Martin

Modern geological studies have shown that continents rest on separate drifting plates. The separation of two plates creates a fracture in the earth’s crust and the appearance of a new ocean. The meeting of two plates, on the other hand, causes new reliefs due both to folding of the rocky layers forcing on each other and the creation of volcanos.The Atlantic ocean started opening up over 200 million years ago, and Europe and Africa get further from the Americas by a few inches per year. This motion can be compared to that of a conveyor belt, the solid earth crust being the belt moving on fused lava. As the Atlantic plate reaches the Antilles, it hits against, and slides under the Caribbean micro-plate, this is called an area of subduction.

All along these plates’ borders, the solid rock ocean floor go down deep and melt into lava. Through fractures in the earth’s crust, called faults, the lava gets back to the surface and create volcanos. This is how the Caribbean Arc islands were created as an archipelago indicating the junction of two plates. From this process appeared the island of St Martin about 17 million years ago. The lava coming to the surface hardened quickly as they cooled down and produced massive volcanic rock, such as basalt, andesite and dacite. These rock contain small size minerals, some invisible to the naked eye.

The magmatic chamber where the lava forms in the depths has also partly come to the surface through the fault, but much slower, cooling down slowly and thus permitting the formation of crystals. These crystalline rocks found on the surface are called quartz diorite. They are commonly found in the area of Grand Case and Cul-de-Sac shaped as large, eroded balls. The mass of quartz diorite has caused the rise and folding of rocks that had settled at the bottom of the ocean. The tremendous pressure exerted by the different rocks against each other caused the formation of new minerals and metamorphic rocks. These rocks, which had been 12,000 ft. deep had emerged from the water. They are made of plankton debris whose skeletons accumulated for millions of years and aggregated. They are known as chert, radolarite and shellmarl., and they can be easily recognized, because of their angular aspect and their appearance of piled up pates.

The emergence of St Martin allowed the development of coral reefs, which were only waiting for lesser ocean depth and a hard substrate to start developing gigantic underwater calcareous plateaus. Due to faults or a decrease in sea level, these plateaus emerged and produced what is now the Lowlands, Anguilla and Tintamarre whose rocks sometimes give out fossils of sea creatures..

These rocks are the origin of the carved cliffs at Cupecoy and Plum Bay. Tropical rains sometimes dissolved them, creating caves which were exploited n the last century for extraction of phosphates from guano produced by birds and bats. For a few hundred thousand years, wave, tides and wind action have eroded the present-day underwater reefs, producing billions of calcareous particles which now form the sand of our beaches. Shore movements have created sand banks between the hard rock masses, isolating marshes and lagoons behind the beaches. Thses lagoons gather at their bottom the clay washed off the hills by rain.

Thus, St Martin, like most Caribbean islands, presents a large variety of rocks and minerals of various origins, metamorphic, volcanic or sedimentary, which were exploited, at one time or another, by its inhabitants.

C. HENOCQ

Christopher Colombus and St. Martin

Christopher Columbus never set foot on Saint Martin. On his second voyage, which started on September 25, 1493, Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 21 days with a fleet of 17 ships, carrying about 1000 colonists, all men, to the New World. The fleet reached the West Indies on November 3, 1493 at an island which Columbus named Mariagalante, situated off the south coast of Guadeloupe. From there, Columbus sailed () north in the direction of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
According to Columbus's doctor, Diego Alvarez Chanca, who kept the ship’s log during the trip, it appears that on November 11, 1493 the fleet was anchored at Redonda, a small island situated to the south of Nevis. The next morning Tuesday, November 12, 1493 Columbus sailed past an island which he named San Martin. It was Nevis, according to a 1500 World Map, drawn by one of Columbus's voyage companions Juan de la Cosa, who had gathered the information to draw this first map of the Western Hemisphere during the trip.
On Wednesday November 13, 1493 Columbus saw another island which he named Gorda. It was St. Christopher's or St. Kitts. Once past St. Kitts, Columbus must have seen St. Eustatius which he called Santa Maria de la Nieve, a name which was later passed to Nevis. Saba was named San Christobal, a name which was later passed to St. Kitts.
We know now that Columbus may have sighted this island but it was not clearly distinguished. His doctor's record of the voyage did not mention anything about it, and Juan de la Cosa did not draw an island here on his first World Map of 1500.
The island appeared for the first time on a map dated 1516, the so-called Reinel map, under the name Sam Mtim. The Reinels, Father Pedro Reinel and son Jorge Reinel, worked in Spain and were accomplished map and globe makers. The map in question mentioning Sam Mtim is considered to be one of the best maps of the Caribbean area. It is also known as the Carta Atlantica.
The Spaniards who were the first Europeans to claim ownership of this island, referred to it as San Martin. Coincidentally, after Spain abandoned the island, in 1648, it was shared between the Dutch and the French, and this partition was sealed in a Treaty dated March 23, 1648.
It was probably from then on that the island has been associated with the patron saint Saint Martin of Tours. The first catholic church of the island, situated in French Quarter as early as the end of the 17th century, was dedicated to Saint Martin. Later on, the catholic church in Great Bay was also dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours.
Saint Martin of Tours lived in the 4th century and was bishop of Tours in France. He became famous for sharing his cloak with a beggar who was barely dressed. Thereupon Christ appeared to him dressed in a piece of the cloak.
It was in 1936 that the Dutch side officially adopted the Dutch spelling Sint Maarten.

Daniella JEFFRY

The 1648 Treaty of Concordia

In 1624, centuries after the island’s discovery, the Dutch, in search of salt () after the closing of Araya in Brazil, visited the West Indies. In 1627 the West India Company sent two ships to inspect the salt pans in Saint Martin. In 1629, 14 Frenchmen, driven out of St. Kitts, set foot in what is now the French Quarter area. From 1631 to 1633 a group of Dutch people together with 40 Africans picked salt in the Great Salt Pond in Great Bay until they were driven out by the Spaniards. They built a fort at Little Bay and were not yet aware that a small colony of Frenchmen lived in the northeast of the island. From 1638 to 1648 the Spaniards regained control of the island, during which period a mulatto called Sebastiano lived in a hut outside the Spanish military camp at Fort Amsterdam.

It is recorded that Spaniards came from Puerto Rico with laborers from the settlement there to destroy the entire fort on Saint Martin which they could not afford to maintain. Among the laborers from Puerto Rico were Fichot and two other Frenchmen who decided to run away into the bush and wait there until the Spaniards left. Meanwhile, they met with a mulatto, probably Sebastiano, who joined them. When they reached () the seashore, they found five Dutchmen who had also run away. They talked and agreed to inform their nearest respective governors that the Spaniards had abandoned the island.
St. Eustatius was the nearest island, so the five Dutchmen offered to go over there to inform their governor and they promised the Frenchmen they would go to St. Kitts the following day to inform the French governor, General de Poincy. The five Frenchmen remained on the island to guard it until the return of the Dutchmen. Immediately, Abraham Andriensen, the Governor of St. Eustatius commissioned Captain Major Martin Thomas to take possession of the island as Governor of Saint Martin on February 14, 1648.

As Fichot got no news from Governor de Poincy of St. Kitts, he realized that the Dutch messengers had not notified the French governor, so he took the first opportunity to do so since he felt that the French had as much claim to the island as the Dutch. As soon as Governor de Poincy heard the news, he dispatched De la Tour with 30 men, but the Dutchmen on the island refused to let one single man come ashore, claiming that they had been commissioned by their governor in St. Eustatius to occupy the island since, according to them and overlooking the fact that Sebastiano was living on the island, it was not inhabited and the first comer was the owner.
De la Tour returned to St. Kitts with a copy of the Dutch governor's commission stating that the Dutch were the only masters of the island. De Poincy then reinforced his men and sent back 300 soldiers to fight the Dutch and settle down. De Lonvilliers was given a written ordinance dated March 16, 1648.

On March 17, 1648 Robert de Lonvilliers, anchored off the shore of Great Bay, ordered one of his officers to go to the Dutch governor to inform him of their ordinance to occupy the island. The Dutch were warned to accept it peacefully or the island would be taken by force. Governor Martin Thomas had to allow them to come ashore.

A few days later, on March 23, 1648 the officers of both nations gathered on a hill, which was to be called Poincy's Heights or Concord Mount, and reached an agreement which is known as the Partition Treaty.
In 1756 and 1764 the demarcation line was more clearly defined, and in 1772 Jan de Windt, Jr., Commander of St. Eustatius, received a letter from the Board of the Netherlands West India Company asking him to clearly mark the boundaries in Saint Martin. A dry stone wall was built by the black laborers to mark the frontier between the two sides. This wall can still be seen at the border marker between Marigot and Cole Bay.
Although at various times between 1672 and 1801 during periods of instability, both European nations repeatedly violated this treaty, the people of this island were able to weave close cultural and historical ties. Consequently, the people are the permanent binding factor that has made Saint Martin what it is today: an island of two nations but one people, one culture, one language, one history.
Upload the Text of the Treaty


Economic Interests Salt and Agriculture

The history of the island of Saint Martin is intimately linked with the story of salt. The first inhabitants, the Amerindians or Smarindians, called it Soualiga, the 'Land of Salt' or Oualichi, the land of women. The Dutch were attracted to the salt island essentially because of their need for salt for their herring industry. It was also used in the butter and cheese industry of Holland and for curing victuals for use on long voyages. During the 17th and 18th centuries, their main interest in Saint Martin was in salt and trade, as well as in cotton and sugar.
The island had 3 large salt pans capable of supplying 400 boat loads of salt per year. The largest salt basin was located in the Great Salt Pond. However, the island had no fresh water, and so was not an ideal place for a permanent colony. Drinking water was obtained from St. Kitts. The first Dutch colonies settled at Great Bay where they picked salt for two years from 1631 to 1633. Salt was in great demand in Holland, and in 1631 more than 90 ships loaded salt there. In 1632, 100 ships loaded salt and there was still enough salt for 300 ships per year. When the French settlers noticed the presence of the Dutch, they also began to ship their production of tobacco and salt through Great Bay.
The exploitation of salt and the development of agriculture were motivated entirely by the needs of the European colonial countries

1629 – 1648 : The Tobacco Era
Agriculture started as early as 1629 when the first 14 Frenchmen fleeing from St. Kitts settled in the northeast of the island in the area known as French Quarter. They started to grow tobacco there, and they also picked salt in the area where Grand-Case is now situated, quite unnoticed by the Spaniards. It is believed that the first French settlers never left the island. Tobacco was grown on both sides of the island and it is reported that Saint Martin produced more of it that any neighboring island. Tobacco was exported to the Netherlands, the Baltic countries, and Scandinavia. In 1658 the island population numbered only 300 people.

1648-1786 : The Cotton Era
Another short-lived agricultural activity was the growing of a shrub for its blue dye called indigo. There were 22 indigo gardens on the French side. No record is given of its production on the Dutch side. This dye was in great demand in Europe for the military and naval garment industry. In 1697 there were still 20 indigo gardens. The first settlers planted all kinds of food produce, and raised fowl and cattle, which were sold to St. Kitts. They lived from their garden produce and from fishing.
Cotton also started to be grown around the same period and, after 1700, it became the most important crop until it was supplanted by sugar cane in the 1780s. However it did not entirely disappear. Cotton was grown in Marigot, Colombier, French Quarter, Dutch Cul de Sac and the Bottom Lands.
An official report from the French side states the following:

In 1772 there were 11 sugar mills (7 in Marigot and 4 in Colombier). In 1775 there were 17 sugar mills. The largest plantation, which was owned by Jacob Gumbs in Marigot, had 31 slaves. Both large and small plantations were mostly devoted to cotton and food crops, such as cassava, sweet potato, tania seed, yam, pigeon peas, and banana.

In Grand-Case there was 1 sugar plantation in 1772, and 2 in 1775. In 1772 there was a total of 31 plantations in Grand-Case, 27 in Marigot, 27 in Colombier, and 24 in French Quarter. However, there was no sugar plantation in French Quarter.
On the Dutch side there were 90 to 95 cotton and food plantations, and only 35 to 40 small sugar plantations.

1786-1848 : The Sugar Era
The introduction of sugar cane took place as early as 1763, and until 1769 there were only 2 sugar mills on the French side. By 1784 an official report numbered 23 sugar mills, and in 1786 sugar cane was the main resource on the French side. From then on, there was a rapid growth of the number of black people who were imported as slaves. In 1786 there were 24 sugar mills and 2572 blacks while the number of whites had decreased to 431. Ten years earlier, in 1776, there were only 772 blacks on the French side. On the Dutch side at the same period – 1775 – there were 3500 blacks and 650 whites. Black people were more numerous there because of the salt picking which had always been the major activity of the Dutch side. Consequently, from the 1770s on, Saint Martin became a predominantly black island.
Most sugar plantations were located on the French side. In 1786, 2250 acres were planted with sugar cane representing 65.8% of the cultivated land. 650 acres were planted with food crops, and 450 acres with cotton. There were 35 sugar mills. In 1818 there were still 32 sugar mills and 2500 acres were planted with sugar cane representing 80.9% of the cultivated land, 415 acres were planted with food crops, and 80 acres with cotton.
Commander John Philips, who was in office from 1735 to 1746 – after whom Philipsburg was named – put William Zagers in charge of sugar plantations and subsequently plantation activities expanded considerably on the Dutch side. Zagers had his own plantation called Industry in Dutch Cul de Sac where most plantations were situated. Others were located at Upper and Lower Prince's Quarter, Cole Bay, and Little Bay. In 1789 the Dutch side had 92 plantations, 35 of which grew sugar as their main crop.
After 1800, because of political instability, the number of sugar plantations decreased, and in 1818 there were only 23 sugar mills on the Dutch side. In 1829 the French side produced 2 200 000 lbs of sugar and the Dutch side produced 330 000 lbs of sugar.
Sugar was exported mainly to North America, the French colonies and France, and rum was exported to Guadeloupe. From 1775 to 1850, some 75 years, Saint Martin was a true sugar island and the French side exceeded the Dutch side by far. Most sugar plantations were situated in Marigot and Colombier. Cotton plantations were located in the dry parts (Grand-Case, French Quarter) and the food crop plantations were scattered on the hill slopes and were called "grounds".
In 1847 there were 32 plantations on the French side of which 19, in Marigot, Colombier, Mount Vernon, and Orleans exported sugar; 14 exported rum; 13 exported molasses; and 19 exported cotton. An official report in the year 1847 indicated that these products were exported to Guadeloupe, together with 1227 cows, 180 horses, 80 donkeys, 42 mules, 2260 sheep, 1029 goats, and 685 pigs.
The same report stated that other products, such as arrowroot starch, fresh butter, the bark of the gum tree and maby, door mats made from dried banana leaves, and corn were the main resources from which the blacks gathered their revenues. They sold these products or exchanged them for products they needed. Arrowroot starch was sold on the Dutch side as it was scarce there, but the other products made little profit when sold locally since the blacks from the Dutch side had the same products. Arrowroot starch was also exported to St. Thomas and to Guadeloupe, where it was more expensive than the local product.
The last sugar mill stopped its activity in 1895.

Daniella JEFFRY


The Inhabitants of St Martin

1493 -1648 : The Spanish period

There was no Carib settlement on the island during this period, but it is inferred that the Caribs came now and again. In 1624 it is mentioned in a report that there were no Amerindians nor Spaniards, the island was a real "no man's land", a refuge for numerous English, Dutch, Irish, and French seafarers scouring the Caribbean sea.

In 1624, fourteen Frenchmen found refuge in the northeastern part of the island where they produced tobacco and picked salt after being chased from St. Kitts. In 1631 a group of Dutch people together with 40 blacks picked salt in the Great Bay area, and were chased by the Spaniards in 1633.

Although the island was officially in the hands of the King of Spain since 1493, the first Spanish settlement only lasted 10 years from 1638 to 1648. Spaniards built a fort and a garrison, and settled in the south part of the island. They abandoned the island in 1648 and brought back unskilled workers from Puerto Rico to destroy the fort.

During those 155 years of Spanish occupation, nothing eventful took place on the island.

1648-1764 : The colonial wars

After the signing of the Partition Treaty on March 23, 1648, the French Governor of St. Kitts bought St. Martin, St. Barths and a few other islands in 1651 for the Order of Malta, a religious and military order, also called Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

No report was made of the population during the first two years of French settlement, but according to Historian Father Du Tertre, there were 150 French people under Mr. De Poincy and 300 under Mr. de Salles, that is from 1651 to 1665.

The island suffered ruin and desolation during the French colonial wars on sea, which considerably hindered the settlement up to 1764.

1672-1678 : The Dutch War. Saint-Martin was occupied by the English. The French took back the island at the Nimegue Peace in 1678, although they had no means of insuring its defense.

1687-1697 : The Augsbourg League War. That is the reason why in 1689 the inhabitants of St. Martin were evacuated to St. Kitts when the French and the English waged war in the Caribbean sea during the Augsbourg League war. In 1687 there were 720 whites, 278 blacks and 1 free Carib They did not stay there long as the English took over St. Kitts in 1690 and they had to come back to their island.
St. Kitts was given back to France in 1697 at the Ryswick Peace, but was taken back by the English in 1702.

1701-1713 : The Spanish Succession War. In 1703, the Dutch Governor in St. Eustatius chased the French from St. Martin. The entire island was thus occupied by the Dutch until 1706 when the northern side was conquered once more by a French expeditionary corps.
Meanwhile in August 6, 1704 a royal ordinance confirmed the "50 pas du Roy" (a strip of land bordering the seashore of 81.20 meters wide) in the French colonies of America for purposes of military security and coastal defense. But St. Martin was not under French rule and this ordinance was never implemented. All concessions granted were bound to the seashore and were private property.

1706-1744: Period of calm. St. Martin was momentarily stable although France had to give up St. Kitts to the English in 1713, thus the security of the island was threatened.

1740-1748 : The Austrian Succession War. St. Martin was taken back by a small English detachment coming from Anguilla. The French took refuge in the Dutch side. They were given over to the enemy who ransacked their properties.
After each war, the settlers from the Dutch side and those from the English island of Anguilla as well had thatched-huts built for their slaves on the French side and took over land for cultivation.
St. Kitts was given over to France in 1748 at Aix-la-Chapelle Treaty.

1756-1763 : The Seven Year War. St. Martin was again occupied by the English of Anguilla from 1744 to 1764. Although St. Martin nor St. Barths was mentioned in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the government of Guadeloupe still claimed these islands from the English of Anguilla.
At that time, the Dutch governor offered the Administrator in Martinique to buy the French side for one hundred thousand piastres, but the governor of Guadeloupe asked the English to give back the island of St. Martin, which they did with no difficulty.

1764-1848:Population growth and beginning of paid labor

During the previous period, St. Martin was successively administered by
- The Company of St. Kitts from 1635 to 1636
- The Company of the Isles of America, from 1636 to 1651
- The Company of Malta from 1651 to 1674
- The Royal Domain in France and rattached to the government of Guadeloupe

In 1674, even though St. Martin was rattached to the government of Guadeloupe, the authority of Guadeloupe was hardly felt. Because of the war devastations, there was no garrison on the island, nor any commander from 1713 to 1763, when Mr. Descoudrelles, a very dynamic commander was appointed to St. Martin and St. Barthelemy directly by the royal court.

In 1764 there were 350 blacks, 40 whites among whom 10 or 11 French or from French descent, the others were Irish, Italian, Dutch, and English.The white and black population increased considerably up to 1786. In 1766 there were 772 blacks, which means that the black population doubled in two years, and the white population increased sixfold, passing thus from 40 to 251. It reached 431 in 1786, three years before the French revolution, then went down to 300 at the turn of the century (1800).

In the meantime, the black population gradually increased passing from 2 572 in 1786 to 2 940 in 1818. By 1848, there were about 3 000 blacks and 300 whites, the whites formed 10% of the total population. When slavery was abolished in 1848, there was no longer any racial distinction in population statistics.

The prosperity of this period was partly due to the dynamic Governor Descoudrelles who had the great idea to grant concessions to the foreigners more numerous on the island. He was ordered by the Governor of Guadeloupe, Knight of Bourlamaque, to only grant concessions to those foreigners who had owned property in St. Martin under the French before the Seven Year War.

The increase in population is directly related to the increase in agricultural development, favored by fertile soils in Marigot, Colombier, French Quarter, and Dutch Cul de Sac which enabled the development of the sugar-mills, the exploitation of the salt ponds of Grand-Case, Chevrise, and Orleans, the raising of livestock, the cultivation of cotton, and more essentially the free labor of the black people. Without them, this economic development would not have been possible.

The French failed in their attempt to settle in St. Martin. At the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 when France had to give over some Caribbean islands to England (St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent, The Grenadines), the French settlers from those islands, increased momentarily the white population, but without slaves, they could not work. The custom was that when settlers were chased from an island, the slaves remained in the possession of the new settlers. This was also the case when St. Martin changed hands from French to English or Dutch, the permanent element on the island was always the black people who had no civil status. Yet, as human beings they can be considered as the stable element in the population growth.

In an official report dated October 1764, Descoudrelles specifically stated:

Nearly all of them [French settlers] could not afford to provide for their first necessities. I was therefore obliged to advance them money which I lost for the most part, because most of them left without having been able to work.

Commander Descoudrelles granted concessions to the English-speaking planters as they form the essential part of the population with the black people. They had to pay a tax of 1 piastre gourd for each square of land bought and 1 piastre gourd for each laborer from 14 to 60 years old. The rule was that all foreign landowners should swear allegiance to the King of France and present a detailed report of their possessions to the Royal Domain. Besides, the small quantity of French on the island is also due to the fact that after each war, the English ransacked and burnt everything down before chasing them. So they never felt secure there.

In 1769, the English and Dutch owned the greater part of the land. There were 2 sugar plantations on which 350 blacks worked as free laborers. During one of his inspection to St. Martin in 1769 the governor of Guadeloupe, Count d'Ennery, decided to grant more concessions to foreigners in order to develop the French side. Many planters who were established on the Dutch side were English planters from Anguilla, so they took advantage of the opportunity to increase their possessions by accepting those concessions, and therefore owning property on the French side. Consequently, the English planters of Anguilla owned land on French and Dutch St. Martin and their black laborers worked on both sides when it was necessary. Those planters from the Dutch side also manifested solidarity with the few French people who had come without any laborers by passing them over some laborers from their plantations. This is how St. Martin was established with a black and white population speaking English on both sides of the island.

The division of land was quite fair: no large estate and the possibility for Black people to exploit their plot of land for their livelihood on Saturdays. In fact, it was a custom among the Dutch to allow the black people to cultivate a plot of land to provide for their family. This custom was largely applied on the Dutch side, which explained why most black people were the owners of their plots of land.

Around 1778, the English took back possession of St. Martin and on February 25, 1779 an agreement or capitulation was reached between the Knight of Troleng Durumain, Captain of the Lively, a frigate of the King of France, and the honorable John Fahie, president of the French side for Her Majesty, King of England. The fort, batteries and warehouses were to be handed over to Mr. Duzant, major of the milicia, who was appointed Commander of the French side for the King of France until the arrival of another Commander appointed by the Generals of the French Windward Islands of America. The oath of allegiance paid to the King of England by the planters were lifted.

In 1789, St. Martin had a governor, a fort which was built in 1767, and a milicia formed by the inhabitants to execute the governor's orders and insure police and security services. It was a military type of government without a garrison.

In 1844 the practice of paying the black people for their services was also initiated by Navy Commander François Perrinon, a mulatto from Martinique He had acquired the concession of the salt ponds in St. Martin, paid both slaves and free blacks to work in the salt-picking industry. He did not use any form of corporal punishment, treated his workers as human beings and regularly paid them their wages. In his History of Slavery during the last two years (Book II), Victor Schoelcher reported the following comments :

This meaningful fact, "the impact of which some would vainly try to destroy by saying it is an exception, already demonstrates, Mr. Perrinon said, that with some goodwill the settlers, after the emancipation of slaves, would find free blacks to cultivate their plantations, if they are willing to give them fair wages, and most importantly if they treat them with respect.

This testimony reflects the kind of labor relations which already existed on the salt ponds because of François Auguste Perrinon, before the official abolition of slavery in 1848.

Daniella JEFFRY


The French Revolutionary Period in St Martin

May 6, 1790 : The March on Great Bay
Commander Salomon Gibbes of the Dutch side was in office until January 1790 when he was forced to resign by the Netherlands West India Company. On February 12, 1790 Dr Willem Rink, a Dutch lawyer, was appointed Commander in his place, but he only took office on June 10, 1790. Meanwhile, about one month earlier on May 6, an incident occurred in Great Bay.

A Frenchman, Barthelemy Curet, the Secretary-Registrar of the French side was locked up because he was in debt with a businessman of Great Bay, Mr. Runnels. On the following day, May 7, a mob of 20 to 25 people, among whom were a few soldiers, marched from Marigot to Great Bay with flying colors and drums beating in order to deliver to Commander Gibbes, who was still on duty, a letter from the French Commander Descoudrelles.This letter was requesting that Barthelemy Curet be set free. However, Commander Descoudrelles had advised the messengers to wait after the delivery of the letter, so that Commander Gibbes could call a Council meeting to decide upon the matter.Things happened quite differently. Quickly after delivering the letter, the mob walked from Commander Gibbes's house where his office was located, to the jail. They took out Curet, together with another prisoner and they all marched back triumphantly to Marigot.

There were two jails, one at Fort Amsterdam and the other one in Great Bay, both in bad condition, with no permanent guard, which made it easy for the mob to rescue Curet.

This incident, however, was immediately condemned by the French Commander. The major of the milicia, together with some 30 residents including Curet, signed a letter of apology for the incident.

This letter dated May 28, 1790 stated that the incident was motivated by the revolutionary turmoil stirring up the minds in the entire French Empire. They promised to release to the Dutch a Mr. Andrew Weare who was imprisoned in Marigot. They recommended that Barthelemy Curet settle the dispute by making arrangements to reimburse his debt to Mr. Runnels. They finally expressed the wish that the Commissaries of Guadeloupe should seal this peace with a written agreement in order to put an end to the division between the two sides.

This meeting took place in the Catholic Church of Marigot.

New attempt to purchase the French side

The Dutch colonies were still owned by the Netherlands West India Company until the end of December 1791, when the company was dissolved. So the States General of the Netherlands acquired the islands. The economic situation of the Dutch side was quite favorable. The 1789/1790 salt harvest enabled the government to collect a tax of 3 pennies per barrel of salt exported. Governor Rink was able to pay all public debts immediately.

In 1790 Governor Rink saw the need for locally born persons to be trained as administrators to fill in the positions in government and the administration of justice, so he requested a capable teacher who knew both Dutch and English, and in 1791 the first teacher Andries Vis came from Amsterdam.

In those days, the Dutch side had already a well structured system of administration, much more advanced than the French side, and it also had a garrison of 250 men. The population was larger, over 600 whites and 3 500 blacks.

Civil and criminal cases were judged by a Council composed of the Governor, the secretary, the Civil Captain, and six Council members. A Court Marshall implemented the sentences pronounced by such a court. All offenses were punished with fines, which constituted part of the income of the governor. When these fines exceeded a certain amount, they had to be decided by the Council.

Most planters were English and the English language and customs were common on the island. The influence of the Dutch government was hardly felt, and the planters felt offended when they were referred to as Dutch. There were only two major towns, Great Bay with about 350 houses and Simpsonbay with about 90 houses, most of them inhabited by fishermen. The name Philipsburg was only used sometimes in legal or administrative documents.

The Simpsonbay Lagoon was the commercial link between the Dutch and French sides. It did not produce any salt because of communication with the sea. It was a very convenient thoroughfare for those merchants who had their places of business along its banks. It also served as a refuge for boats.

The French side was particularly coveted by the English of Anguilla and by the officials of the Dutch side. The many invasions suffered by the unprotected French side were significant of the desires of the English and the Dutch to own that side. The neglect of that side by the French, and its defenselessness had made it a prey for its neighbors.

Already in 1963, after the Treaty of Paris, the governor of St. Eustatius had made a proposal to Mr de la Rivière, Administrator of Martinique, requesting him to facilitate his purchase of the French side. He was offering 100 000 piastres in his personal name with some other associates, and not in the name of the Netherlands West India Company. Later on, he added 10 000 piastres, but the offer was not given any consideration.

In those days, the French side was of no interest to the government of Guadeloupe, whereas the Dutch side was of great interest to the Netherlands West India Company, because it needed to expand its possessions due to the prosperous trade of St. Eustatius. In fact, the Dutch possessions of Saba and St. Eustatius were known for their trading facilities in time of war, and all the land was already conceded in those colonies.

In time of peace, the numerous merchants and traders of St. Eustatius had nothing to do, so the purchase of the French side by Dutch buyers would have enabled them to double their capital, only with the sale of land on the French side - which was of better quality than the Dutch side - to the traders.

With these speculations in mind, the government of Guadeloupe did not honor the purchase offer, considering that the price was too low, compared to the enormous profit that the purchasers would have derived from it later on.

One of the reasons why the government of Guadeloupe would have sold the French side if the offer was acceptable was the tough trade competition for St. Martin created by St. Eustatius in time of peace. And in time of war, the fact that they could not afford proper defence for St. Martin in the form of a permanent garrison and a properly built fort. Furthermore, the French islands were too distant to provide St. Martin with food and rescue it from the enemy.

The Seven Year War (1756-1763) had proved that France could not keep the two possessions of St. Martin and St. Barths. In fact, St. arths was sold to the King of Sweden in 1784. The English invasions constituted a serious threat for the French side, due to the proximity of St. Eustatius and the numerous resources that it provided to the Windward Islands in time of war. The French had rather cede the French side to the States General than to the English, in exchange for a substantial indemnity.

Another reason was that the government of Guadeloupe did not want to spend money to establish a milicia in order to defend a small group of foreign planters. The only paid official was the Commander, and the planters could hardly maintain a priest for the two islands.

By 1790 no decision was made to sell the French side, since most of the land was conceded and sold, and the profit would go to the landowners.

The French Revolutionaries : 1493-1802

In 1793, the Dutch were particularly concerned about the events in Paris and the possible invasion of the French part by the French revolutionaries, which would threaten also their security. Taking advantage of the state of war between France and the Netherlands, the 28 year old Lieutenant of Civil Defence, Abraham Heyliger, unaware to the Captain of Civil Defence, his superior, and to Commander Rink, secretly invaded Marigot together with Engle James Richardson, Johan Willem Worm, and 19 armed burghers in the night of May 18 and 19, after walking through the hills. They took possession of Fort St. Louis, at sunrise hoisted the Dutch flag, and named the fort Willem Frederick, whose father became King Willem I.

Astonished, Commander Rink and the Captain of Civil Defence, had to accept and support the move. Together with some burghers, military men and free colored men they all walked to Marigot, but De Durat had already surrendered on condition that everything would remain as it was. The terms of the surrender were sealed in a document signed by De Durat and 36 burghers. De Durat surrendered in order to strenghten his position against the French revolutionaries. Apparently De Durat was a royalist and feared the invasion of the revolultionaries, already in Guadeloupe.

Rink took possession of the French part in the name of the States General of the Netherlands without annexing it and De Durat swore allegiance to this authority, together with 116 persons. The French part remained administratively separate from the Dutch part but Rink appointed a commander and two commissioners in Marigot.

The Liberty Tree

In 1795 the United Provinces of the Netherlands became a satellite state of France, the Batavian Republic, so the authorities of Guadeloupe claimed back the French part from the Dutch. Rink withdrew his occupation on Sunday, April 5, 1795. Immediately after, on April 29, 1795 the revolutionaries arrived from Guadeloupe.
La Bruyere was appointed to the post of administrator of the French part and Conseil, a Navy officer, to the post of military commander by Victor Hugues stationed in Guadeloupe. They confiscated the properties of 21 out of 35 English planters and 16 Frenchmen, who were deported to Guadeloupe. They proclaimed that all slaves were free. In 1798 under the Directory slavery was restored.
They also occupied the Dutch part and planted the liberty tree in front of the Courthouse that also served as Town Hall. The French revolutionaries were in control of both sides until 1801.

Repeated English invasions : 1801 1814

Six years later, on March 24, 1801, 3 300 English men landed unopposed on the beach at Little Bay. The French had built a fort with 2 guns on the hill (Fort Hill) in 1795 which they called Bel-Air, in order to control both Little Bay and Great Bay. However, the fort was too high and the range of the guns fell into the sea beyond the British troops. The French revolutionaries withdrew and Rink went to the Netherlands

One year later at the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, France got back the French part. The English left the island on December 1, 1802, and Rink, having returned from the Netherlands, accepted the post of governor, with a salary, and was granted the rank of Lieutenant.
In May 1808, 200 Englishmen invaded the French part through Grand Case and Marigot and with the help of the Dutch, in accordance with article 7 of the 1648 Treaty, they were able to put up a good defence.
In 1810, the English occupied St. Martin and Guadeloupe once again until 1814.
During this period of English and Dutch repeated occupation, of battles, and devastation, only the French colonists had to flee and would come back afterwards. The slaves remained on the island at the service of the conquering nation, Dutch or English.

Daniella JEFFRY