Blog Post 7: Introduction

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Everyone who has been lucky enough to ever visit this small island is greeted by the blue waters, sandy beaches and the swaying palm trees. The Caribbean island of the combined countries of France and the Netherlands is known as Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten (Hook). It is a popular tourist spot for its beautiful beaches, long list of adventures, and because of its diversity and lack of conflict in the recent years, it has developed a nickname; “Friendly”. Friendly became a tagalong description for the island’s divided culture. The adjective however, only covers up the cold and violent memories it carries (Bridge). Even though there are people who believe that the island has always been peaceful compared to the others in the Caribbean, both its history and past government tell otherwise (Thesis).

www.stmartinisland.org/destination-st-martin/st-martin-history.html

Blog Post 6: Research

My research on Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten has lead me to things I didn't know before. An example of this is that though the island is nicknamed the "friendly" island, it did not have a "friendly" past. It was difficult to find any information in the beginning, because unfortunately, the island is not as well known as the others in the Caribbean. However, I was able to discover some new details about the people living there, like the traditions they have, such as Saint Martin's day or Old Halloween. The day represents a French legend about a Roman bishop who was kind to the others and shared his clothes with a beggar in the middle of winter. I also learned about the corruption issue in Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten they had after the hurricane, which encouraged me to research more about their government in the past. That's where I found out that their history shows a different version of Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten than what it is today. I plan on researching the government's effect on its people next.