There are two sets of missionaries currently serving on Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, one is mostly French speaking and the other is mostly English speaking. Jonathan will be living in Philipsburg and will be mostly English speaking. (I think Elder Larsen was a little confused). The Platts are the senior couple serving in Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten.
(This is our second post this week. Be sure to check the last post for the rest of Jon's e-mail from Monday.)
Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 185 miles east of Puerto Rico. It is known as "the culinary capital of the Caribbean," and is home to approximately 77,000 English-speaking inhabitants island-wide. The island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands Antilles;
it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations.
The southern Dutch half comprises the Eilandgebied Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles.
The northern French half comprises the Collectivité de Saint-Martin and is an overseas collectivity of France.
Together, the two territories are known as "Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten".
Sint Maarten Flag
The island area of Sint Maarten is one of five island areas of the Netherlands Antilles, encompassing the southern half of the island of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten. Philipsburg, the largest city and has a population of 1,228.
The currency is the Antillean guilder but the US dollar is widely accepted.
A planned restructuring of the Netherlands Antilles on December 15, 2008 will see Sint Maarten become a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands (like Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are now).
The island area of Sint Maarten is ruled by an island council, an executive council, and an administrator appointed by the Dutch Crown.
History
In 1493, Christopher Columbus embarked on his second voyage to the New World. According to legend, Columbus sighted and perhaps anchored at the island of Saint Martin on November 11, 1493, the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours. In his honor, Columbus named the island San Martin. This name was translated to Sint Maarten (Dutch) and Saint Martin (French and English). When Columbus sailed these seas, St. Martin was populated by Carib Amerindians. The former inhabitants, the Arawaks, had been chased by the warlike Caribs coming from the North coast of South America a short time before the arrival of the Spaniards who followed Columbus. The Arawaks were a relatively cultured, agricultural people who fashioned pottery and whose social organization was headed by hereditary chieftains. The Caribs, on the other hand, concentrated on warfare. They killed and allegedly ate the Arawak men, then "married" the Arawak women. The English word cannibal is derived from an Arawak word which referred to the Caribs.
The Caribs' territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century when most of them perished during the struggle between the French, English, Dutch, Danes, and Spanish for control of the West Indies. The Dutch first began to ply the island's ponds for salt in the 1620's. Despite the Dutch presence on the island, the Spaniards recaptured St. Martin in 1633 and, one year later, built a fort, now Ft. Amsterdam, and another artillery battery at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim and control access to Great bay salt pond. The Spaniards introduced the first African slaves to the area in the 16th century but the main influx of African slaves took place in the 18th century with the development of sugarcane plantations by French protestants and Dutch Jews. When slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century the British imported Chinese and East Indians to take the place of slaves. St. Martin and the other islands of the West Indies are populated by a mixture of Amerindian, European, African, Indians, and Asian peoples.
On March 23, 1648 France and the Dutch Republic agreed to divide the island between their two nations by signing the Treaty of Concordia. Since 1975, several versions of a legend about the division have become popular. An often repeated story is that the island was divided into two sections through a race; the French-dominated community chose one person for the race and the Dutch-dominated community chose another. The two representatives were put back to back in one extreme of the island, and made to walk along the coast in opposite directions. They were not allowed to run. At the point where they eventually met, a line was drawn across the island, connecting their starting point with their meeting point. According to the legend, this became the frontier which divides Saint-Martin from Sint Maarten. The reason for the difference in size between the two sides was said to be that the French representative moved faster than the Dutch.
Geography
The main towns are Philipsburg (Dutch side) and Marigot (French side). The island has approximately a total resident population of 85,000. The official population on the Dutch side is 50,000 while on the French side is 35,000. In addition, there is an average of 1,000,000 tourist visitors per year.
There is no river on the island, but many dry guts.
The average temperature is 81°F (with lows in the low 60's°F and highs of about 95°F) and sea surface temperature 80°F.
The total average yearly rainfall is 39 inches, with 99 days of thunder.