SIXTH
GRADER QUESTIONS PRIME MINISTER MARCEL GUMBS:
I'M I A WINDWARDER OR I'M I A LEEWARDER? Honorable Prime Minister
I'M I A WINDWARDER OR I'M I A LEEWARDER? Honorable Prime Minister
As a Dutch
Sint-Maarten elementary school sixth grader, I am very proud of the high quality
education provided by your government and I thank you for allowing me the exceptional
privilege to attend such an excellent standard of education in the preparation of my future.
I am already
thinking on my future profession and how I can effectively contribute
to the social and economic development of Sint-Maarten my
homeland.
In this perspective, I am contemplating the agribusiness, more precisely the processing of local agricultural foods and with vocation the Caribbean market.
In this perspective, I am contemplating the agribusiness, more precisely the processing of local agricultural foods and with vocation the Caribbean market.
But I have an unanswerable question relating to the
naming of my enterprise.
More precisely, my question is:
Should it be odd for me to name my enterprise “LEEWARD ISLAND AGRI-PROCESSING LTD” instead of conforming myself to our tradition and name it: “WINDWARD ISLAND AGRI-PROCESSING LTD”
My confusion between the use of the term "LEEWARD" or the term "WINDWARD" results:
Firstly,from the fact that in the 1951 constitution of the Netherlands Antilles I quote: “The Territory of the Netherlands Antilles is formed by the following island territories:....... © the island territory of the Windward islands, comprising the islands of Saba, St. Eustatius and St-Martin...”
Secondly my parents are clients of the “WINDWARD ISLAND BANK LTD” and have always pointed out to me that it is a Sint-Maarten locally created bank.
The same was pointed out to me for WINAIR or WINDWARD ISLAND AIRWAYS
And I can refer
to numerous locally created enterprises under the designation
“Windward...” instead of rightfully "Leeward..."
Thirdly, contrary to my above mentioned environmental understanding that Sint-Maarten is officially known as part of the “WINDWARD ISLANDS”, great was my deception to learn from my sixth grade geography books and my teacher's lessons, that St- Maarten is known as part of the “LEEWARD ISLANDS" of the Caribbean Lesser Antilles.
Great also was my astonishment when following the course of the recent tropical storms “Danny” and “Erika” on the weather channels maps to note that Sint-Maarten is recorded as within the “Leeward Islands.
From my research, seemingly the fact for Sint-Maarten to be known as within the “Windward Islands” even by constitution, results from an outdated usage of the Spanish, French and Dutch to designate as “Windward Islands” the entire Chain of Islands of the lesser Caribbean separating the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea, starting from the Virgin Islands down to Grenada,
And as “Leeward islands”, the only Islands along the Venezuelan coast, this includes the Netherlands Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire & Curaçao
On the contrary, it
seems that it is the English “Windward” and “Leeward”
divided designation of the Lesser Antilles dating from the end of the 17th
century, epoch when the British gained control of many of the Lesser
Antilles that is today given an universal usage, this to the only exception
of Sint-Maarten.
The English designate as
“Leeward Islands” the chain of Islands starting from Vieques
(Puerto Rico) in the northwest down to Dominica in the southeast,
And as “Windward Islands” the remaining of the chain of Islands starting from Martinique down to Grenada
And as “Windward Islands” the remaining of the chain of Islands starting from Martinique down to Grenada
As a matter of fact,
the origin of the terms “Windward” and “Leeward” goes back to
the epoch when slaves ships would seek the most favorable
trans-Atlantic current and trade winds as fastest ocean route across
from the Ivory Coast (Africa) towards the Caribbean, Central and
North America.
Vessels in their west-northwesterly routing, would set course towards the channel between the island of Martinique and the Island of Dominica. As they approached the southeastern chain of islands coast of the Lesser Antilles would encounter with the regular winds blowing all year-round from East to West between the two tropics and known as the trade winds.
The part of the chain of islands the most exposed to these trade winds and comprised of Martinique down to Grenada was designated “Windward Islands”, situated between latitude 12 and 16 and longitude 60 and 62
And the Northern balance of the chain, the less exposed to trade winds and comprised of Dominica up to Vieques and the Virgin Islands wa designated “Leeward Islands”
An other reason that justifies the southeastern islands of the Lesser Antilles to be called “Windward Islands” is the fact that moist air masses brought over land by these trade winds from the warm ocean, produce the more heavy rainfalls to lands the closest in latitude to the wet equatorial belt
It is therefore not by coincidence that the above mentioned “Windward Islands” correspond to the most “wet” region of the lesser Antilles but because they benefit the most from these trade winds, when on the contrary, the climate of further islands from the equatorial belt such as St-Martin in the “Leeward islands" is in general rather warm and dry.
Vessels in their west-northwesterly routing, would set course towards the channel between the island of Martinique and the Island of Dominica. As they approached the southeastern chain of islands coast of the Lesser Antilles would encounter with the regular winds blowing all year-round from East to West between the two tropics and known as the trade winds.
The part of the chain of islands the most exposed to these trade winds and comprised of Martinique down to Grenada was designated “Windward Islands”, situated between latitude 12 and 16 and longitude 60 and 62
And the Northern balance of the chain, the less exposed to trade winds and comprised of Dominica up to Vieques and the Virgin Islands wa designated “Leeward Islands”
An other reason that justifies the southeastern islands of the Lesser Antilles to be called “Windward Islands” is the fact that moist air masses brought over land by these trade winds from the warm ocean, produce the more heavy rainfalls to lands the closest in latitude to the wet equatorial belt
It is therefore not by coincidence that the above mentioned “Windward Islands” correspond to the most “wet” region of the lesser Antilles but because they benefit the most from these trade winds, when on the contrary, the climate of further islands from the equatorial belt such as St-Martin in the “Leeward islands" is in general rather warm and dry.
To conclude, My
Honorable Prime Minister, your enlighten on my question or
eventually your introduction into the legislative body of a bill of
clarification on the here present issue would be of the most overwhelming
satisfaction to my question.
Primarily for the
education of all, knowing that an effective assimilation of our
geography requires necessarily its harmonization with the reality of
facts in our immediate environment
And secondly my
personal assurance in my future entrepreneurial activity not to be
out of tune with local customs and practices .
I sincerely thank you, Honorable Prime Minister, for taking the time to read my present question and I remain deeply assured that you will undoubtedly share my concern on this matter of importance that we have chosen for too long to sweep under the carpet
Your most sincerely
