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St. Martin/St. Maarten is a beautiful 37 square mile island located in the Windward islands of the Caribbean. It is unique because it is the smallest territory in the world shared by two sovereign states. The northern portion is a part of France. The French consider their islands in the Caribbean the same way the United States considers Hawaii. The same laws, social services and rights are available to the people on the French side as would be in Paris. It's equal to every other part of France. It just happens to be an island thousands of miles from the mainland. St. Martin is much closer to Paris than Hawaii is to Washington. Click on the map to the left to see a larger view of the island.
The southern part of the island is a little different. None of the Dutch islands in the Caribbean are actually considered part of Holland. With the exception of Aruba, all the other Dutch territories have joined in a semiautonomous entity known as the Netherlands Antilles. The Netherlands Antilles has its own Prime Minister and functions with its own government under Dutch law and guidance. Aruba has the same status on its own. |
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