The island of Saint Martin was split between France and the Netherlands in 1648.[4] The Dutch part, together with Sint Eustatius and Saba, became a single Dutch colony in 1815 as Sint Eustatius and Dependencies (Sint Eustatius en Onderhorigheden).[5] In 1828, this colony was merged with the colonies Curaçao and Dependencies (the ABC islands) and Surinam, with Paramaribo as its capital.[6] When this merger was partly reversed in 1845, the Dutch part of the SSS islands became part of Curaçao and Dependencies, with Willemstad as its capital.[7] This colony became the Netherlands Antilles in 1954.
As part of the Netherlands Antilles, the SSS islands initially formed a single island territory (eilandgebied) as the Windward Islands.[8] In 1983, it was split up into three separate island territories, each with a separate island council.[8] After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010, Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands, while Sint Maarten became an independent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[9]
^Ghosh, Diptarka (16 May 2021). "Netherlands Antilles". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 18 April 2022. The islands that are situated in the Leeward Islands are Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. These islands are collectively referred to as the "SSS Islands"
^"Netherlands Antilles (Windward Islands): Political Parties Material". Archives Hub. Jisc. Retrieved 18 April 2022. With reference to the Netherlands Antilles, 'Windward Islands' (Bovenwindse Eilanden) means the north-eastern islands of Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius, as opposed to the south-western islands of Aruba (which seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986), Bonaire and Curaçao. Note that, confusingly, the Dutch 'Windward Islands' are considered to be part of the Leeward Island group, not the Windward Island group, in British English usage.
†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.
#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlanticoceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
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