Pre-colonial Sint Maarten had been inhabited by the
Indigenous peoples for many centuries, with archaeological finds pointing to a human presence on the island as early as 2000 BC. These people most likely migrated from South America. Nominally Spanish territory, the island became the focus of the competing interests of the European powers, notably the French and Dutch. While the French wanted to colonize the islands between
Trinidad and
Bermuda, the Dutch found
San Martín a convenient halfway point between their colonies in
New Amsterdam (present day
New York) and
New Holland. Meanwhile, the Amerindian population began to decline precipitously, dying from introduced diseases to which they had no immunity. The Dutch built a fort (
Fort Amsterdam) on the island in 1631; Jan Claeszen van Campen became its first governor and the
Dutch West India Company began mining salt on the island. Tensions between the Netherlands and Spain were already high due to the ongoing
Eighty Years' War, and in 1633 the Spanish
captured St. Martin and drove off the Dutch colonists. At Point Blanche, they built what is now Old Spanish Fort to secure the territory. The Dutch under
Peter Stuyvesant attempted to
wrest back control in 1644, but were repulsed. However, in 1648 the Eighty Years' War ended and the Spanish, no longer seeing any strategic or economic value in the island, simply abandoned it. With Saint Martin free again, both the Dutch and the French jumped at the chance to re-establish their settlements. During the treaty's negotiation, the French had a fleet of
naval ships off shore, which they used as a threat to bargain more land for themselves. In spite of the treaty, relations between the two sides were not always cordial. Between 1648 and 1816, conflicts changed the
border sixteen times. The entire island came under effective French control from 1795 when Netherlands became a
puppet state under the
French Empire until 1815. In the end, the French came out ahead with ; 61%) against ; 39%) on the Dutch side.
18th–19th centuries To work the new cotton, tobacco, and sugarcane plantations, the French and Dutch began importing large numbers of African slaves, who soon came to outnumber the Europeans. In 1939, Sint Maarten received a major boost when it was declared a
duty-free port. In 1941, the island was shelled by a
German U-boat as part of the
Battle of the Atlantic. Tourism began growing from the 1950s onward, and
Princess Juliana International Airport became one of the busiest in the Eastern Caribbean. For much of this period, Sint Maarten was governed by business tycoon
Claude Wathey of the
Democratic Party. The island's demographics changed dramatically during this period as well, with the population increasing from a mere 5,000 people to around 60,000 people by the mid-1990s. Immigration from the neighbouring Lesser Antilles,
Curaçao,
Haiti, the
Dominican Republic, the United States, Europe, and Asia turned the native population into a minority. Sint Maarten became an "island territory" (
eilandgebied in
Dutch) of the
Netherlands Antilles in 1983. Before that date, Sint Maarten was part of the island territory of the Windward Islands, together with
Saba and
Sint Eustatius. The status of an island territory entails considerable autonomy summed up in the
Island Regulation of the Netherlands Antilles. During this period Sint Maarten was ruled by an island council, an executive council, and a lieutenant governor () appointed by the Dutch Crown.
Hurricane Luis in late August and early September 1995 hit the island, causing immense destruction and resulting in 12 deaths. Sint Maarten has been assigned the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes of SXM and SX, and the
.sx Internet
ccTLD became available to register on 15 November 2012.
Effects of Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma made landfall on 6 September 2017, causing extensive damage. Four deaths were ultimately reported, and there were 11 serious injuries out of a total of 34. Princess Juliana Airport was extensively damaged but reopened on a partial basis in two days to allow incoming relief flights and for flights to take evacuees to other islands. By 8 September, "many inhabitants [were] devoid of basic necessities" and looting had become a serious problem. Reports on 9 September indicated that 70% of the infrastructure on the Dutch part had been destroyed. A survey by the Dutch Red Cross estimated that nearly a third of the buildings in Sint Maarten had been destroyed and that over 90% of structures on the island had been damaged. The prime minister of the Netherlands,
Mark Rutte, told the news media on 8 September that the airport in Sint Maarten was ready to receive emergency flights and that aid, as well as police officers and military personnel, were on their way. The prime minister of Sint Maarten,
William Marlin, had already asked the Dutch government for extended relief assistance which began to arrive on 8 September. The government issued a tropical storm warning on 8 September since the category four
Hurricane Jose was approaching. In the aftermath of the hurricane, the extensive damage led officials to predict dramatic economic impacts. A statement by Marlin summarized the situation on 8 September: "We've lost many, many homes. Schools have been destroyed. We foresee a loss of the tourist season because of the damage that was done to hotel properties, the negative publicity that one would have that it's better to go somewhere else because it's destroyed. So that will have a serious impact on our economy." At the time, preparations were being made as
Hurricane Jose approached the island. The government estimated that on 9 September 70% of houses were badly damaged or destroyed and much of the population was living in shelters ahead of the arrival of Jose. Fortunately, this second hurricane did not have a significant impact on the island. Widespread looting and violence erupted in the wake of the recovery, and a state of emergency was announced. Two hundred and thirty soldiers from the Netherlands were sent in to stabilize the situation, with additional troops arriving in the coming days. By 10 September, approximately 1,200 Americans had been evacuated to
Puerto Rico by military aircraft. On that date,
Royal Caribbean International said that the company was sending its
Adventure of the Seas to Sint Maarten and to St. Thomas to provide supplies and to offer evacuation services. The ship arrived on the island on 10 September with water, ice, garbage bags, clothing, and canned food, and evacuated 320 people. By 11 September, King Willem-Alexander had already arrived in Curaçao and was scheduled to visit Sint Maarten, St. Eustatius, and Saba. When Willem-Alexander visited Sint Maarten for the first time post-hurricane, he was shocked by the destruction. He immediately called for support from the European Union so the island could recover swiftly. Later in the month, it was revealed that the EU would allocate €2 billion in emergency funds for immediate disaster relief to restore basic essentials on Sint Maarten, such as drinking water and sanitation. In addition to the EU's contribution, Red Cross, the government of the Netherlands, and Dutch citizens of the mainland raised money via donations and crowdfunding for the recovery efforts.
Post hurricane rebuilding On 10 October 2017, Princess Juliana International Airport re-commenced commercial flights using temporary structures, pending repairs. A report in late March 2018 indicated that the airport was able to handle some flights and some service had resumed from the US, Canada, and Europe. A new departure lounge was being used during rebuilding of the original facility. The General Aviation building was being used for passengers arriving on the island. A little over a year after Hurricane Irma, St Maarten's cruise industry had recovered to the extent that in 2018, more than 1 million cruise passengers visited the island. Telecommunications, including Wi-Fi, had been restored on the island, 95% of customers were receiving electricity and drinking water was readily available on the island. Some tourist accommodations were open, with 27 operating and 36 said to be ready sometime later in 2018. Cruise ships were arriving in 2018. The Sint Maarten Reconstruction, Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund was officially extended to December 2028 (Major projects including reconstruction of the airport were largely completed in 2024).
Political instability and snap elections Following the
January 2024 elections, the coalition government collapsed shortly after forming. This led to
snap elections in August 2024, which eventually resulted in the administration of Prime Minister
Luc Mercelina. == Geography ==