Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, situated between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, comprise the US Virgin Islands (St. John, St. Croix, and St. Thomas) and the British Virgin Islands. The US Virgin Islands is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States, managed by the US Department of the Interior. The islands have a rich and complex history marked by colonial conflicts, the exploitation of enslaved individuals for plantation agriculture, and the annihilation of indigenous populations. The United States acquired the islands from Denmark in 1917, recognizing their strategic importance during World War I.
The population of the US Virgin Islands is diverse, with a majority of residents identifying as Black, alongside significant Hispanic, White, and Asian communities. The islands boast stunning natural landscapes, characterized by beautiful beaches and a subtropical climate, making tourism the primary economic driver. In 2023, the islands welcomed over 2.3 million visitors, with the cruise industry playing a significant role in tourism. The local economy also features construction and manufacturing sectors, as well as public services in education and health care. Notable sites include Virgin Islands National Park on St. John, which preserves both natural beauty and cultural heritage.
Virgin Islands
Between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico, lay the US Virgin Islands: St. John, St. Croix, and St. Thomas. The 171-square-mile organized, unincorporated territory of the United States is under the jurisdiction of the US Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs.
History
The history of the islands is turbulent, filled with warring colonial powers, slavery, and the annihilation of its native people. The islands were visited by Christopher Columbus in 1493, and later by Spanish forces, which defeated the native Carib people and claimed the territory in 1555. By 1596, the native population had been annihilated.
The Danes established the first permanent settlement in the territory in 1672 and set up plantations, and later enslaved Africans, to produce sugar, cotton, indigo and other products for Denmark. With islands owned at times by the Spanish, Dutch, Danes and English, there was intense territorial warfare among the colonial powers. Pirates also used the islands as bases to prey upon Spanish treasure ships, galleons and visiting merchant ships. Henry Morgan, Sir John Hawkins and Blackbeard are among the famous pirates who sailed the Caribbean waters.
During the seventh century, the Danish and the English divided the archipelago into two territorial units. The sugarcane produced on the plantations was central to the islands' economy during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. When slavery was abolished in 1848 and the slaves were emancipated, the plantations went into economic decline.
In 1917, the United States purchased the islands from Denmark, largely because of their strategic position in the Caribbean passage to the Panama Canal, and because the US feared the Germans might try to use the islands. St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John and fifty smaller islands now make up the US territory. US citizenship was granted to the islanders in 1927, and in 1970, they elected a governor in a popular election. Since 1973, the Virgin Islands also send one non-voting member to the US House of Representatives.
Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria laid waste to much of the US Virgin Islands in September 2017. Electricity and telecommunications were knocked out for weeks, or longer in some areas, and over 75 percent of the islanders' homes were damaged.
Island Life
According to the CIA World Factbook, the population of the US Virgin Islands was estimated to be 104,917 in 2023. As of the 2020 Census, the racial-ethnic composition of the islands was 71.4 percent Black, 13.3 percent white, and 1 percent Asian, with West Indian, French, and Hispanic ethnic groups being among the most common. At that time, the population was predominantly Baptist, Roman Catholic, and Episcopalian.
St. Thomas has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the Caribbean. All of the islands boast beautiful beaches and a subtropical climate, with gentle trade winds and a pleasant constant temperature, although seasonal hurricanes do occur. With more than 2.3 million visitors per year, tourism is the primary industry in the islands in terms of both economics and employment. Although the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic severely impacted the economy, by 2023 it had rebounded. A significant contributor to the tourism economy of the islands is the cruise industry, which in 2023 delivered more than 1.6 million visitors. Construction and manufacturing, including pharmaceuticals, rum, watches, and electronics, dominate the rest of the islands' industry. As of 2020, most Virgin Islanders were employed in education, health care, and social services; arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services; construction; and retail trade.
Virgin Islands National Park, with its renowned beaches, reefs and forests, covers more than half of St. John, and includes Hassel Island and part of St. Thomas. The park's natural beauty is matched only by the islands' cultural artifacts, ranging from pre-Colombian civilization to the enslaved Africans whose labor made the plantation system possible. Christiansted National Historic Site, the Buck Island Reef National Monument, and Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve are nearby.
Bibliography
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"Current Monthly Reports." USVI Bureau of Economic Research, Dec. 2023, usviber.org/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.
Eaton, Collin. "St. Croix Oil Refinery Gets $1.4 Billion Investment, Plans to Restart." Reuters, 2 July 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-virginislands/st-croix-oil-refinery-gets-1-4-billion-investment-plans-to-restart-idUSKBN1JS1TZ. Accessed 29 Apr. 2019.
"Occupational Employment and Wages in the U.S. Virgin Islands—May 2020." New York–New Jersey Information Office, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dept. of Labor, 11 June 2021, www.bls.gov/regions/new-york-new-jersey/news-release/occupationalemploymentandwages‗virginislands.htm. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.
"2020 Island Areas Censuses: U.S. Virgin Islands." US Census Bureau, 20 Oct. 2022, www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/dec/2020-us-virgin-islands.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.
"Virgin Islands." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 5 Feb. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.