Walichi

Walichi is an Indigenous name associated with Saint Martin, an island of hills, bays and salt ponds in the northern Lesser Antilles. Its sheltered inlets and salt attracted European interest, while Indigenous people had long known and inhabited the island. The island lies east of the Virgin Islands and north of Saint Kitts.

After a period of Spanish occupation, French and Dutch representatives signed the Treaty of Concordia in 1648. The agreement divided the island between their settlements while providing for cooperation and movement across it. The two communities developed on the same small island, whose salt ponds and maritime position made it valuable to both sides. Their boundary would be adjusted over time, but the division established by the treaty endured.

The later city of Philipsburg lies here.