Its current boundary the result of numerous wars between the great European powers in the 17th century. Ownership of the island is split between the Dutch and French, yet no rift exists between the peoples of these two cultures. Martin in 1633 and one year later built a fort at Pointe Blanche to assert their claim. After a month of futile fighting, the Dutch retreated. As a reward for successfully defending the island, the Spanish commander was granted his request that he and his men be allowed to leave.
Legend has it that five French and five Dutch prisoners escaped and stayed behind.
These Frenchmen and Dutchmen were the first of their respective countrymen to share the island. After a period of uneasiness with neither side really gaining the military advantage, a truce was enjoined. The Dutch received 16 square miles and the French received 21 square miles, owing to the latter' s superior naval presence in the region when the treaty was signed. The French and Dutch were not always as neighborly as they are today. The territory underwent 16 changes of flag from 1648 to 1816, with France, Holland and even Britain claiming it at times.