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May 24, 2024 · Virgin Islands. Virgin Islands, group of about 90 small islands, islets, cays, and rocks in the West Indies, situated some 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometres) east of Puerto Rico. The islands extend from west to east for about 60 miles and are located west of the Anegada Passage, a major channel connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
- United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands, organized unincorporated...
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British Virgin Islands, British overseas territory in the...
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History of the Virgin Islands. Pre-Columbian inhabitants of...
- Virgin Islands National Park
Virgin Islands National Park, conservation area covering...
- United States Virgin Islands
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- History of the Virgin Islands
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- Settlement and history of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the islands probably included the Arawak, who were displaced by the Caribs; the latter had reached the stage of stone polishing and pottery making when Christopher Columbus arrived. On his second voyage, in 1493, Columbus dropped anchor at what is now known as Salt River Bay, St. Croix (which he called Santa Cruz), and ...
Pre-Columbian inhabitants of the islands probably included the Arawak, who were displaced by the Caribs; the latter had reached the stage of stone polishing and pottery making when Christopher Columbus arrived. On his second voyage, in 1493, Columbus dropped anchor at what is now known as Salt River Bay, St. Croix (which he called Santa Cruz), and ...
Tortola was first settled in 1648 by Dutch buccaneers who held the island until it was taken over in 1666 by a group of English planters. In 1672 Tortola was annexed to the British-administered Leeward Islands. In 1773 the planters were granted civil government, with an elected House of Assembly and a partly elected Legislative Council, and constit...
In 1666 St. Thomas was occupied by Denmark, which five years later founded a colony there to supply the mother country with sugar, cotton, indigo, and other products. Slaves from Africa were first introduced to St. Thomas in 1673 to work the cane fields, but the first regular consignment of slaves did not arrive until 1681. In 1684 the Danes claimed neighbouring St. John, which had been used primarily as a base by buccaneers. Denmark colonized the island with planters from St. Thomas in 1717. In 1733 they abandoned St. John after slaves rebelled, staged an uprising, and held the island for six months. They then purchased St. Croix, which had been in the possession of the French since 1651. Slaves continued to be imported from Africa; by 1742 there were 1,900 on St. Croix alone, and sugar production was bringing prosperity to the islands. The group came under the Danish crown in 1754, and the following year Charlotte Amalie was made a free port. The British occupied the islands from 1801 to 1802, and in the next year, 1803, the slave trade was abolished in the Danish West Indies. The British reoccupied the islands from 1807 to 1815, after which they reverted to Danish rule until 1917. Slavery itself was abolished in 1848 after a serious uprising in that year. Sugarcane production dropped, and there was a general decline in economic activity.
U.S. interest in the islands began in the Civil War period, but the U.S. Senate refused in 1870 to approve the purchase of St. Thomas and St. John for $7.5 million. The United States moved decisively only in World War I, when it was seen to be strategically important to control the main passage through the Caribbean to the Panama Canal, as well as routes along the eastern coasts of the American continent. Denmark at that time was willing to sell to avoid the jeopardy of seizure by the Allies or conquest by Germany, which then owned Hamburg–America Line docks, warehouses, steamers, and other property in St. Thomas. In 1917 the United States purchased the three islands for $25 million and the Virgin Islands became an unincorporated territory of the United States. The treaty of cession promised U.S. citizenship to the inhabitants, except for those who chose to retain Danish citizenship.
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An act in 1927 granted U.S. citizenship to most of the Virgin Islanders, and another in 1932 provided that all natives of the Virgin Islands who on the date of the act were residing in the continental United States or any of its insular possessions or territories were U.S. citizens. The transition was accomplished smoothly by retaining the organization of the Danish government and its legal code. All military, civil, and judicial power was invested in a governor appointed by the president of the United States. Administration was the responsibility of the U.S. Navy Department from 1917 until 1931, when jurisdiction was transferred to the Department of the Interior.
The Organic Act of 1936, enacted by the U.S. Congress for the establishment of congressional government, provided for two municipal councils, one for St. Thomas and St. John, the other for St. Croix, and a council for the whole territory. A Revised Organic Act adopted in 1954 created a central government and abolished the independent municipal councils, authorized distinct executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and provided for a substantial degree of self-government. In 1968 an act was approved, which took effect in 1970, legalizing the popular election of the islands’ governor and lieutenant governor for four-year terms.
5 days ago · United States Virgin Islands, organized unincorporated island territory of the United States, situated at the eastern end of the Greater Antilles, about 40 miles (64 km) east of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The territory is geographically part of the Virgin Islands group, which also contains its near neighbour, the British ...
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United States Virgin Islands- U.S. Virgin Islands: Religious affiliation
- Coastline and offshore waters of Buck Island, part of Buck Island Reef National Monument, United States Virgin Islands.
- Sailing and other water-based activities are some of the attractions that support tourism on St. Thomas island, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The United States Virgin Islands, often abbreviated USVI, are a group of islands and cays located in the Lesser Antilles of the Eastern Caribbean, consisting of three main islands ( Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas) and fifty smaller islets and cays. [1] Like many of their Caribbean neighbors, the history of the islands is ...
Etymology. The locations of the US and UK Virgin Islands. Rigobert Bonne: Map of the Virgin Islands, 1780. Christopher Columbus named the islands after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins ( Spanish: Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes ), shortened to the Virgins ( las Vírgenes ).
Feb 25, 2021 · The U.S. Virgin Islands is an organized and unincorporated island territory of the United States of America, located between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Covering a total land area of 346.36 sq. km. As observed on the physical map of the US Virgin Islands above, the territory consists of three main islands: Saint Thomas ...
In 1493, Christopher Columbus visited these islands. He had been searching for a route to India and consequently he called the people he encountered Indians. Columbus named the beautiful islands ‘The Virgins’ in reference to the legendary beauty of St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins.
