Saint Martin/St. Maarten Border Obelisk - St. Martin Island
Posted by: 
denben
N 18° 02.830 W 063° 05.180
20Q E 490862 N 1995406
The obelisk is located at the St. Maarten/Saint martin Border Crossing on a rural road named Union Road in Dutch St. Maarten and rue de Hollande in French Saint Martin.
Waymark Code: WMNDW9
Location: Saint Martin
Date Posted: 02/23/2015
Views: 6
St Martin is the smallest sea island divided between two nations with inhabitants.
The Treaty of Concordia was signed on March 23, 1648 between the French and the Dutch. Based on the terms of the agreement, the island of Saint Martin was to be divided between the French Kingdom and the Dutch Republic and that the peoples of St. Martin shall coexist in a cooperative manner. However, France and the Netherlands would continue to dispute over the ownership of the island until 1817 when the borders of the island were finally set.
The treaty included a clause stating that goods could be transported and people could circulate freely between both sides of the island. This law still applies today, and the very symbolic border crossing is only indicated by an obelisk which was erected in 1948, during a commemoration ceremony, to celebrate 300 years of peaceful cohabitation between the two nations.
On each side of the obelisk are the welcome signs: "Welcome to St. Maarten" and "Saint Martin / Bienvenue en Partie Française / Welcome to the French Side" as well as the flag of the Netherlands, the flag of St. Maarten, the flag of France and the flag of European Union.
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