Amazing…Sint Maarten is my 218th country to stop by the blog. I am learning every day about all the different countries that exist in this world. I have to be honest…never knew there were so many that have gotten their own country status…geography 101!
Welcome and glad you found your way around my BLOG…
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| History | |
| Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished the island of Saint Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The establishment of cotton, tobacco, and sugar plantations dramatically expanded African slavery on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries; the practice was not abolished in the Dutch half until 1863. The island’s economy declined until 1939 when it became a free port; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded beginning in the 1950s. In 1954, Sint Maarten and several other Dutch Caribbean possessions became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as the Netherlands Antilles. In a 2000 referendum, the citizens of Sint Maarten voted to become a self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The change in status became effective in October of 2010 with the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. |
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Advgrrl Motorcycle Adventures & More 
Don’t forget to mention their mad airport! http://www.amateurradiodx.com/pj7k4bdr-sint-maarten/
Your country counter may have a bug. Depending on how you count there are either 194, 195 or 196 countries in the world – or maybe it is 189, 191, 192 or 193. At least at the moment. 😉
http://www.worldatlas.com/nations.htm
I think the flag counter I use counts territories that of course are not technically countries but can be implied as part of the count. So, you are correct yet one really can’t state the exact number even when you only include countries. Seems many are confused
Adding one more St. Maartin flag to your blog visits! I was super happy to see that iPhone just added a Sint Maarten flag emoji, by the way. One very cool place here (just in case you ever visit) is Fort Amsterdam. It passed through the hands of a couple countries, became a radio station, and finally is a tourist destination and great place for photos. And if you want to know more about our 17 square miles of tropical paradise, I write about it regularly on my blog.