Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands
	Satellite image, October 2008 Puerto Rico Spanish Virgin Islands (Puerto Rico) United States Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands
Geography
Location	Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	18°12′N 64°48′W / 18.2°N 64.8°W
Archipelago	Leeward Islands
	United States
Insular area	United States Virgin Islands
Insular area	Puerto Rico
	United Kingdom
Overseas territory	British Virgin Islands
Demographics
Population	150.000 (estimation) (2022)
Languages	English; Virgin Islands Creole; Spanish
Ethnic groups	Afro-Caribbean; White-Caribbean; Hispanic-Caribbean; Asian-Caribbean; Indo-Caribbean

The Virgin Islands (Spanish: Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago between the North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean islands or West Indies.

Geologically separated from the Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the Greater Antilles by the Mona passage, all the islands except for Saint Croix lie on the same carbonate platform and insular shelf, known as the Puerto Rico Bank, and same tectonic plate, known as the Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate.

Politically, the islands fall into three jurisdictions: the easternmost British overseas territory of the Virgin Islands, informally referred to as the British Virgin Islands, the central unincorporated American territory of the Virgin Islands of the United States, commonly known as the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the westernmost island-municipalities of the unincorporated American territory of Puerto Rico, officially named Vieques and Culebra but generally called the Spanish Virgin Islands or Puerto Rican Virgin Islands.

Etymology

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). The official name of the British territory is the Virgin Islands, and the official name of the U.S. territory is the Virgin Islands of the United States. In practice, the two island groups are almost universally referred to as the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

History

The Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the Arawak and Carib, many of whom are thought to have perished during the colonial period due to enslavement, foreign disease, and war brought about by European colonists.^[1]

European colonists later settled here and established sugar plantations and at least one tobacco plantation, and bought slaves from Africa. The descendants of the enslaved people remain the bulk of the population, sharing a common African-Caribbean heritage with the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean. Instead, African slaves were brought to the islands to work on sugarcane and indigo plantations. There are now no sugar plantations, but the descendants of slaves remain and make up the majority of the West Indian culture of the island's population, as well as the English-speaking population of other islands in the Caribbean.

Like mainland Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands that belonged to Spain were ceded to the United States in 1898. The United States took possession of the islands after the signing of the armistice that put an end to military operations in the Spanish–American War.

A 1916 treaty between the United States and Denmark (not ratified by the United States until 1917) resulted in Denmark selling the Danish Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million in gold.

Historical affiliations

The Virgin Islands have been under the sovereignty of several nations and groups throughout history. Below is a table which represents the affiliation of the various islands:


Rule began	present day U.S.V.I.					present day British V.I.				present day Spanish V.I. (P.R.)						Rule began
Rule began	St. Thomas		St. John	St. Croix		Tortola	Virgin Gorda	Anegada	Jost Van Dyke	Culebra	Vieques					Rule began
1493	New Spain		New Spain	New Spain		New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain					1493
1580	New Spain		New Spain	New Spain		New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	Puerto Rico (ES)*	Puerto Rico (ES)*					1580
1625	Dutch Virgin Islands			British Leeward Islands**	Dutch Virgin Islands**											1625
1625					Puerto Rico (ES)**											1625
1628							Dutch Virgin Islands									1628
1648						Dutch Virgin Islands		Dutch Virgin Islands								1648
1650																1650
1651	Danish West Indies			Knights Hospitaller												1651
1664				French West Indies												1664
1671			Danish West Indies													1671
1672						British Leeward Islands										1672
1680							British Leeward Islands									1680
1684			British Leeward Islands													1684
1685		Brandenburg-Prussia***														1685
1689											Brandenburg-Prussia					1689
1693											Puerto Rico (ES)					1693
1698				Danish West Indies							Puerto Rico (ES)					1698
1698												British Leeward Islands**	French West Indies**	Danish West Indies**	Scottish Darien Company	1698
1699																1699
1718			Danish West Indies													1718
1733																1733
1750									British Leeward Islands							1750
1754																1754
1801	British Leeward Islands															1801
1802	Danish West Indies															1802
1807	British Leeward Islands															1807
1811	British Leeward Islands															1811
1815	Danish West Indies															1815
1816						British Virgin Islands										1816
1833						British Leeward Islands										1833
1898										Puerto Rico (US)						1898
1917	United States Virgin Islands															1917
1958	United States Virgin Islands					British Virgin Islands										1958

* Largely under control of pirates.

** Coexisting claim.

*** Leased/shared territory.

Demographics

The total population of the Virgin Islands is 147,778: 104,901 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 31,758 in the British, and 11,119 in the Spanish. Roughly three-quarters of islanders are black in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, while the majority of inhabitants in Culebra and Vieques are Puerto Rican of European descent, with a significant Afro-Puerto Rican community. The main languages are English and Virgin Islands Creole in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Spanish in the Puerto Rican territory. St. Thomas is the most populous island, with St. Croix close behind (51,634 and 50,601, respectively).

Name	Sovereign State	Subdivisions	Area (km²)	Population (2005 est.)	Population density (per km²)	Capital
British Virgin Islands	United Kingdom	Districts	153.0	31,758	207.6	Road Town
Spanish Virgin Islands (Puerto Rico)	United States	Barrios	165.1	11,119	67.3	San Juan, PR
United States Virgin Islands	United States	Districts	346.4	104,901	302.8	Charlotte Amalie
Total			664.5	147,778	222.4

Traffic control

Motor vehicles are driven on the left-hand side of the road in both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although the steering wheels on most cars are located on the left side (as is the norm for drive-on-the-right localities). In the Spanish Virgin Islands, vehicles are driven on the right-hand side of the road.

Citations

^ Pereña, Luciano (1992). Genocidio en América. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE. p. 351. ISBN 84-7100-453-4.

General sources

Colin Thomas, J.; Allard, William Albert; Wolinsky, Cary (February 1981). "Paradise Comes of Age: The U.S. Virgin Islands". National Geographic. Vol. 159, no. 2. pp. 225–243.

External links

[1] Pereña, Luciano (1992). Genocidio en América. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE. p. 351. ISBN 84-7100-453-4.

[1]

Agama	Bahasa	Biografi	Budaya	Ekonomi	Elektronika
Film	Filsafat	Geografi	Indonesia	Ilmu	Lingkungan
Masyarakat	Matematika	Militer	Mitologi	Musik	Olahraga
Pendidikan	Politik	Sastra	Sejarah	Seni	Teknologi

Virgin Islands

Etymology

History

Historical affiliations

Demographics

Traffic control

See also

Citations

General sources

External links

Read other articles:

Missouri National Guard

Joutseno

Brandon Jennings

نوال السعداوي

Latar (heraldik)

Manuel Gómez Pedraza

Atrypanius scitulus

Daftar Bupati Purwakarta

Chaudhary Charan Singh College of Law

Синелобый амазон

Stasiun Iragawa

Meistriliiga (handball)

Investor

1940 United States presidential election in Wyoming

Divizia A 1973-1974

Державний комітет телебачення і радіомовлення України

Nigerian National Assembly delegation from Anambra

HXMM01

War crimes of the Wehrmacht

National Board of Review

Portal di Ensiklopedia Dunia