The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) are part of the group of thousands
of islands, inlets and cays which stand between the Atlantic Ocean
and the Caribbean Sea; they are also known as the Antilles chain. Located
at the northwestern extremity of the Leeward islands about 60 miles
east of Puerto Rico and at approximately 18 degrees latitude north
and 64 degrees west, the Virgin Islands have always been in the cross
hairs of the trading routes between North and South America, Central
America, Mexico and Europe. The island of St. Thomas is the administrative
hub of the USVI and its largest city; Charlotte Amalie is its capital.
This central location in the Caribbean sea and Charlotte Amalie's unique
natural harbor are two of the primary reasons why the Virgin Islands
have always played a major role in commerce, travel and politics throughout
this part of the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere. Traders, entrepreneurs
and pirates alike found the Virgin Islands an ideal place to dwell.
The Arawak and Carib Indians were the first documented people to inhabit
the islands. Recent archeological digs on St. John at Cinnamon Bay
have unearthed artifacts dating back to the early 1300's. The Carib
Indians had wiped out the Arawaks by the time the first explorers arrived.
Christopher Columbus was the first recorded European explorer to set
foot here, on St. Croix at Salt River during his second voyage to the
New World in 1493. He named the island Santa Cruz. He later named the
entire Virgin Island chain after Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgin
martyrs. Many of us who have made these islands our home still wish
to think he named them because of their pristine purity, untouched
beauty and enduring splendor.
Since
their discovery and the successor visits by Spanish and French
sailors in the early 1500's the Virgin Islands have been
under the jurisdiction of many states: Holland, France, England,
Spain, Denmark, the Knights of Malta and finally the United
States. Denmark took over St. Thomas in 1670 and developed
the islands into sugarcane growing plantations with slave
labor brought over from West Africa by European slave traders.
Charlotte Amalie became a major destination for laborers
enslaved by French, British and Dutch traders. France had
captured St. Croix and later Louis the 14th (the Sun King)
sold it to Denmark in 1733 to help pay for expansionary military
debts on the continent. All three islands, St. Thomas, St.
Croix and St. John then became one political and territorial
unit under the control of Denmark. The United States tried
unsuccessfully to purchase the Virgin Islands in the mid-1800's
but finally completed a transaction with Denmark in 1917
for St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John for $25 million. The
primary interest was to provide a strategic presence and
military base to protect the Eastern approaches to the Panama
Canal in addition the island of Puerto Rico, by now a US
protectorate.
The
constant trade winds of the Virgin Islands keep temperatures
in a very comfortable range of 72 to 88 degrees all year
around. Summers are a bit warmer and Winters a bit cooler,
but the National Geographic has called the weather "as close
to perfect all the time as any place on earth". The sea temperature
is also incredibly comfortable and ranges between 78 deg
in the winter and 83 deg in the summer; perfect conditions
for year around swimming, snorkeling and diving.
St.
Croix:
Of the three US Virgin Islands, St. Croix is the largest with a total area
of relatively flat 87 square miles. It is the most arable and is home to
many former plantations, sugar mills and great houses of years gone by.
Of all the Virgin Islands it is also the only one of non-volcanic origin.
Its formation is due to massive tectonic plate shifts shortly after the
main volcanic eruptions during a period of several millions of years approximately
365 million years ago. The sugar plantations and their rum producing factories
that spurred the original growth of St. Croix quickly found its demise,
partly due to the increasingly large need of slave labor from West Africa.
With the end of the slave trade in the 1830's and the end of slavery in
1848 (17 years before the abolition of slavery in the US) this way of life
eventually disappeared. Today, beautiful and historic Christiansted and
Fredericksted have become the largest centers of commerce and government.
The island's natural beauty, outdoor activities and casino gambling are
its biggest draw to tourists and vacationers the world over.
St.
Thomas:
St. Thomas, the second largest of the US Virgin Islands is also its political
capital. Charlotte Amalie (or Amalia) was once home to famous pirates and
scallywags like Blackbeard, Sir Edward Teach and Bluebeard. The town is
now a showcase of Danish style architecture and home to the Caribbean number
one cruise ship port. Its natural deep-water channels can accommodate the
world's largest cruise ships, some with accommodations large enough to
welcome over 3000 passengers and 2000 crew. The main street of Charlotte
Amalie is a beehive of commercial and entertainment activities with shops,
restaurants and nightclubs for all to enjoy. Some of the world's most beautiful
beaches are found here on the North shore with first class swimming and
sailing accommodations.
St.
John:
But it is St. John that brings the rich and famous to the US Virgin Islands.
Consistently voted as the most desirable destination in the Caribbean,
St. John boasts more world-class beaches and vistas than any other in the
Caribbean. Travel magazines and writers claim that the remoteness and solitude
of St. John have created the perfect environment for those who seek quiet
and restful vacations. One of the main reasons for this tranquility is
due to the low level of commercial and residential development on St. John.
Three quarters of the island was donated by Lawrence Rockefeller to the
US National Park Service in the mid 1900's and protection is afforded to
the shoreline, tropical forests and underwater wildlife preserves. In 2001
the US government further extended this protection by creating the first
underwater monument in the US, severely restricting and in some cases eliminating
all types of commercial fishing and anchoring in the waters off St. John
up to a limit of several miles. This has created a natural buffer zone
between pristine waters, beaches and lush mountains and residential developments.
Some of the world's most beautiful vistas can be viewed from literally
every corner of this 3 mile by 5 mile pearl of the Caribbean. A small population
of 4000 inhabitants make St. John their home. A few hundred more own vacation
homes and make St. John their second home.
The little town of Cruz Bay is the administrative
and commercial center of St. John. It is home to various shops, business
offices, bazaars and restaurants. On the other end of St. John the
village of Coral Bay is home to a few hundred families and small
businesses. It is so remote that to the visitor it looks like time
has stood still for the last fifty years in Coral Bay.
The
unspoiled and National Park protected South shore is home to
some of the islands most secluded vacation sites and luxurious
vacation villas, such as Villa Claudia at Point Rendez Vous Estates
overlooking the East end, Fish Bay, Ditlieff Point and Rendez
Vous bay.
St.
John is also home to some of the most interesting and talented
people you would ever want to meet. The works of local artists
such as Les Anderson, Amie Tracer, Mark Hanson, Gale Van Der
Bogart and Elaine Estern adorn many shops, restaurants and homes.
They are prizes for their uniqueness and fidelity to artistic
purity.
The
British Virgin Islands:
The
BVI, as they are called, consist of Tortola, Virgin Gorda,
Jost Van Dyke and Anegada Reef and nearly 60 smaller cays
and reefs. They are located to the North of the US Virgin
Islands within a quick twenty-minute ferry ride from Charlotte
Amalie or Cruz Bay. They were discovered during Christopher
Columbus' second trip to the West Indies in 1493. Except
for some copper on Virgin Gorda, the Spanish found very
little of commercial interest and eventually lost them
to the British.
Tortola,
(Spanish for turtle dove) has its capital and commercial center
at Road Town, with its difficult harbor and Sage mountain National
Park. Virgin Gorda (fat virgin) was so named by Christopher Columbus
because its outline reminded him of a reclining fat woman with
its belly and breasts sticking out. This outline is very distinguishable
coming by sea from the North. The island has an untamed and natural
beauty with remnants of old copper mines and shafts. Across the
Sir Francis Drake channel, named after the famous 16th century
British naval hero, lies a string of small and picturesque islands
with colorful and romantic histories. Norman Island is reputed
to have been the setting for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure
Island. The nearby cay called Dead Chest is where Blackbeard
supposedly abandoned his unwanted pirates, inspiring the words
to the famous pirate song "Fifteen men on a dead man's chest-Yo
Ho Ho and a bottle of rum". Between Norman and Dead Man's chest
is the home of the Peter Island resort famous for its style,
luxurious accommodations and illustrious visitors. Bill Gates,
Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Larry Ellison and Eric Clapton have been
spotted on their yachts on Peter Island. Just East of Dead Man's
Chest is Salt Island with its two evaporation ponds that have
been used for salt production ever since the days of the Carib
Indians. It has a small settlement of 30 people and on its Eastern
shore a beautifully reef-protected lagoon. On Copper Island,
east of Salt Island, is the Copper Island Beach Club, a good
swimming and snorkeling beach. 10 miles north of Virgin Gorda
is Anegada (population 250) that is a coral and limestone atoll,
one of three Virgin Islands that is not of volcanic origin. In
contrast to all the others, its highest point is only 28 feet
above sea level. It is noted for its stunning beaches, extensive
reefs and remoteness. It is a favorite of scuba divers and naturalists.
The
last and most intriguing of the BVI's is Jost Van Dyke. It lies
to the North of Tortola and is the largest of a small group of
cays and islands. It is also the only inhabited island of this
chain. It is home to Foxy's, one of the most famous beach bars
in the Caribbean.
The islands of the BVI's are the only jurisdictions under the Union Jack
with the US Dollar as its official currency and the Dollar sign on its
stamps alongside Queen Elizabeth II.
The
BVI's and their US sisters form a tightly grouped of small islands
with tranquil and unmatched beauty anywhere. They are a prime
vacation destination for travelers from all over the world. The
United States Virgins Islands bear their well-earned reputation
well: American Paradise.
Come
see for yourself!
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