Through most of the 19th century, the Dutch and French components of the 'dual-occupancy' island-St Maarten and Saint-Martin, respectively-had an agricultural-based economy, driven largely by slave labor. After slavery was abolished on the French side in 1848 and by the Dutch in 1863, agriculture declined although salt production continued until the mid-20th century. However, increasing unemployment had already forced much of the population to migrate to other Caribbean islands and France, The Netherlands, and the USA. In 1939, the government of St Maarten decided to arrest the depression and improve the economy by declaring the island a freeport, with no import or export taxes.
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