Pointe Blanche is located at the Southeastern tip of Sint Maarten, next to Philipsburg and Great Bay. There is a tiny beach there, and some Pointe Blanche residents go there for a walk, for collecting shells or for surfing. From the top of the hill, there are spectacular views of the cruise ships coming into Great Bay, and leaving the pier, and also to the neighboring islands, such as St. Barths. On the postcard are also the statues of Peter Stuyvesant and Albert Claudiud Wathey.
Peter Stuyvesant (c.1612-1672) was director of the Dutch West India Company's colony of Curaçao from 1642 to 1644. In April 1644, he attacked unsuccessful the Spanish-held island of Saint Martin and lost the lower part of his right leg to a cannonball. After that, he served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York.
Albert Claudius Wathey (1926-1998) was a prominent politician of the Democratic Party from the island of Sint Maarten. He was knighted by the Dutch Crown for his political longevity. Wathey championed political independence for the island in 1989, but was later convicted on charges of perjury; however, many on Sint Maarten felt the trial was nothing more than a witch hunt conducted by his rivals and adversaries in Curaçao and the Netherlands in order to break his monopoly on political power in Sint Maarten and to destroy his credibility.
About the stamps
The first stamp, depicting Collared Forest Falcon (Micrastur semitorquatus), is one of the twelve of the series Birds, about which I wrote here. The second, depicting Neptunea contraria, is part of the series Shells, issued on February 11, 2015.
References
Pointe Blanche - sint-maarten.net
Sender: Denise
Sent from Philipsburg (Sint Maarten / Netherlands), on 16.09.2015
Photo: Cyril Exbrayat
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