Treaty of Concordia

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Treaty of Concordia
Partition Treaty of 1648
Signed23 March 1648; 375 years ago
LocationMount Concordia
SignatoriesRoyal Standard of the King of France.svg Robert de Longvilliers
Statenvlag.svg Martin Thomas
Parties

The Treaty of Concordia, or the Partition Treaty of 1648, was signed on 23 March 1648, between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic and divided the island of Saint Martin.

Contents

Signature

The treaty was signed atop Saint Martin's Mount Concordia by the two governors of the island, Robert de Longvilliers for France and Martin Thomas for the States General of the Netherlands. [1] It divided Saint Martin between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic; the peoples of St. Martin were to co-exist co-operatively.

The French kept the area that they occupied and the coast facing Anguilla, and the Dutch kept the area of the fort and the land around it on the south coast. The inhabitants would share the natural resources of the island. [1]

Despite the treaty, France and the Netherlands continued to dispute the ownership of the island until 1817, when the borders on the island were finally set.

Validity

Questions as to its validity have arisen several times in the past and continue to cause issues. Research was supposed to be undertaken by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs about it.[ citation needed ]

At the time of the treaty, agreements signed between representatives of the monarch had to be registered at the King's Council. That essential formality was never performed, but it seems that on many occasions, French civil law recognised the validity of the agreement.

The treaty has always been fairly applied in practice and is referred to in the following texts:

Abolition

There currently is a movement in both Sint Maarten and Saint Martin for the unification of the island, which would invalidate the Treaty of Concordia. It has been proposed that the freedom of movement allowed by this treaty may have made possible the development of a common identity by the inhabitants of both halves of the island. [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Henocq 2010, p. 13.
  2. Badejo, Fabian Adekunle (25 December 2004). "The reunification of St. Martin: A pipe dream or an inevitable choice?". House of Nehesi Publishers.

Sources