Like every year, the population of Sint Maarten celebrates Emancipation Day on July 1, the date of the abolition of slavery in the colonies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in 1863, fifteen years after France.
Emancipation Day was the first public holiday established by the Parliament of Sint Maarten since it became a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Emancipation Day is also a time to honor freedom fighters who fought for their human rights to be free people throughout the period of slavery, until they reached their objective.
The Saint-Martinois of the time, strong and resistant, were aware that the former slaves of the north of the island had been free since 1848 and many of them fled the deplorable conditions in which they had been forced to live. These actions by slaves seeking freedom culminated in the proclamation of the abolition of slavery in 1863. Freedom for enslaved ancestors was inevitable. There are many testimonies of rebellion and resistance to the oppressive slave system, such as the Diamond 26 freedom race and expressions of Ponum dance and song.
The memorial day will begin in Philipsburg with an ecumenical church service at 5:30 a.m. at Backstreet Anglican Church, followed by a 'freedom march' to the boardwalk (sports park) for the 'Born Free' cultural event. _AF
https://faxinfo.fr/en/sint-maarten-la-population-invitee-a-celebrer-le-160eme-anniversaire-de-l-emancipation-day/
