Virgin Islands

Island group of the Caribbean Leeward Islands

This article is about the group of islands in the Caribbean. For other uses, see Virgin Islands (disambiguation).

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Virgin IslandsFile:SVG Map of Virgin Islands.svg

Spanish Virgin Islands (of Puerto Rico)

United States Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

Puerto Rico

Geography
Location| Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates| Coordinates: Missing latitude
Coordinates: Coordinates: Missing latitude
Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function
Archipelago| Leeward Islands

United States

Insular area| United States Virgin Islands
Insular area| Puerto Rico

United Kingdom

Overseas territory| British Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands (Spanish: Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles,[1] the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix being a displaced part of the same geologic structure. Politically, the British Virgin Islands have been governed as the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is separated from the true Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the main island of Puerto Rico by the Virgin Passage.

The islands fall into three different political jurisdictions:

* British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory,
* United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States,
* Spanish Virgin Islands, the easternmost islands of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, itself an unincorporated territory of the United States.

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 History
* 2.1 Historical affiliations
* 3 Demography
* 4 Traffic control
* 5 See also
* 6 Citations
* 7 General sources
* 8 External links

## Etymology[edit | edit source]

File:Virgin Islands-map-CIA.jpg

The locations of the US and UK Virgin Islands

File:Rigobert-Bonne-Atlas-de-toutes-les-parties-connues-du-globe-terrestre MG 0031.tif

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). 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[edit | edit source]

Main articles: Danish West Indies, History of the United States Virgin Islands, History of the British Virgin Islands, and History of Puerto Rico

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.[2]

European colonists later settled here and established sugar plantations, at least one tobacco plantation, and purchased people for slavery taken 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.

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[edit | edit source]

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:

present day U.S.V.I.  | present day British V.I.  | present day Spanish V.I. (P.R.)

|
|

St. Thomas  | St. John  | St. Croix  | Tortola  | Virgin Gorda  | Anegada  | Jost Van Dyke  | Culebra  | Vieques
New Spain
(1493–1625)  | New Spain
(1493–1671)  | New Spain
(1493–1625)  | New Spain
(1493–1648)  | New Spain
(1493–1628)  | New Spain
(1493–1648)  | New Spain
(1493–1750)  | New Spain
(1493–1580)  | New Spain
(1493–1580)
Puerto Rico (SP) (1580–1898)*  | Puerto Rico (SP) (1580–1689)*
Dutch Virgin Islands (1625–1651)  |  |  | Dutch Virgin Islands (1625–1650)**  |  | Dutch Virgin Islands (1628–1680)  |  |
British Leeward Islands (1625–1650)**
|  | British Leeward Islands (1650)  | Dutch Virgin Islands (1648–1672)  |  | Dutch Virgin Islands (1648–1680)  |  |  |
|  | Puerto Rico (SP)
(1650)  |  |  |  |  |  |
Danish West Indies (1651–1801)  |  | Knights Hospitaller (1651–1664)  |  |  |  |  |  |
| French West Indies (1664–1733)  |  |  |  |  |  |
Danish West Indies (1671–1684)  | British Leeward Islands (1672-1816)  | British Leeward Islands (1680-1816)  | British Leeward Islands (1680-1816)  |  |  | Brandenburg-Prussia (1689–1693)
| Brandenburg-Prussia (1685–1721)***  | British Leeward Islands (1684–1718)  | Puerto Rico (SP) (1693–1698)
Danish West Indies (1651–1801) | Danish West Indies (1718–1801)  | Danish West Indies (1733–1801)  | British Leeward Islands (1750–1816)  | Scottish Darien Company (1698)
| Danish West Indies (1698–1811)**
British Leeward Islands (1801–1802)  | British Leeward Islands (1801–1802)  | British Leeward Islands (1801–1802)  |  |  |  |  |  | British Leeward Islands (1698–1811)**
Danish West Indies (1802–1807)  | Danish West Indies (1802–1807)  | Danish West Indies (1802–1807)  |  |  |  |  |  | French West Indies (1698–1811)**
British Leeward Islands (1807–1815)  | British Leeward Islands (1807–1815)  | British Leeward Islands (1807–1815)  |  |  |  |  |  | Puerto Rico (SP) (1698–1811)***
Danish West Indies (1815–1917)  | Danish West Indies (1815–1917)  | Danish West Indies (1815–1917)  | British Virgin Islands (1816–1833)  | British Virgin Islands (1816–1833)  | British Virgin Islands (1816–1833)  | British Virgin Islands (1816–1833)  |  | Puerto Rico (SP) (1811–1898)
|  |  | British Leeward Islands (1833–1958)  | British Leeward Islands (1833–1958)  | British Leeward Islands (1833–1958)  | British Leeward Islands (1833–1958)  |  |
Puerto Rico (US) (1898–present)  | Puerto Rico (US) (1898–present)
United States Virgin Islands (1917–present)  | United States Virgin Islands (1917–present)  | United States Virgin Islands (1917–present)
British Virgin Islands (1958–present)  | British Virgin Islands (1958–present)  | British Virgin Islands (1958–present)  | British Virgin Islands (1958–present)

*Largely under control of pirates

**Coexisting claim

***Leased/shared territory

## Demography[edit | edit source]

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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[edit | edit source]

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.

## See also[edit | edit source]

* Culture of the Virgin Islands
* Danish Virgin Islands
* Dutch Virgin Islands
* Music of the Virgin Islands
* Virgin Islands Creole
* Virgin Islands patch reefs

## Citations[edit | edit source]

1. ^ Lazell, Dr James (2005). Island: Fact and Theory in Nature. University of California Press. p. 382\. ISBN 9780520931596.
2. ^ Pereña, Luciano (1992). Genocidio en América. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE. p. 351\. ISBN 84-7100-453-4.

## General sources[edit | edit source]

* 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[edit | edit source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Virgin Islands.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Virgin Islands.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Virgin Islands

* BVI.gov: British Virgin Islands government website
* U.S. Office of Insular Affairs: United States Virgin Islands government website
* Digital Library of the Caribbean: University of the Virgin Islands information

* v
* t
* e

Caribbean

West
Indies|

| Antilles|

| Greater
Antilles|

* Cayman Islands
* Cuba
* Jamaica
* Navassa Island
* Puerto Rico

| Hispaniola|

* Dominican Republic
* Haiti

|

Lesser
Antilles|

| Leeward
Islands|

* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Guadeloupe
* La Désirade
* Les Saintes
* Marie-Galante
* Montserrat
* Saba^*
* Saint Barthélemy
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Sint Eustatius^*

| Saint Martin
Island^|

* Saint Martin
* Sint Maarten

|

Virgin Islands|

* British Virgin Islands
* Spanish Virgin Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

Southern
Caribbean|

| Leeward
Antilles|

* Insular Venezuela
* Federal Dependencies
* Nueva Esparta

| ABC islands|

* Aruba
* Bonaire*
* Curaçao

|

Windward
Islands|

* Dominica
* Grenada
* Carriacou and Petite Martinique
* Martinique
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

* Barbados†
* Trinidad and Tobago†

Lucayan
Archipelago|

* Bahamas
* Turks and Caicos Islands

Caribbean
Sea|

| Scattered
islands|

* Aves Island
* San Andrés and Providencia
* Bajo Nuevo Bank~
* Serranilla Bank~

|

Caribbean
continental
coast|

* Quintana Roo
* Cozumel

| Central America|

* Belize
* Honduras
* Bay Islands
* Izabal
* Limón
* Corn Islands
* North Caribbean Coast
* South Caribbean Coast
* Panama

|

South America|

* Colombian Caribbean
* Venezuelan Caribbean

Wider
groupings
may include:|

* Bermuda#
* Costa Rica
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Nicaragua

| Yucatán Peninsula|

* Campeche
* Petén
* Yucatán

|

The Guianas |

* Amapá
* French Guiana
* Venezuelan Guayana
* Guyana
* Guayana Esequibaǂ
* Tigri Areaǂ
* Suriname

N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies.

^These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean, of which *the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of the Netherlands.

†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.

ǂDisputed territories administered by Guyana. ~Disputed territories administered by Colombia.

#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlantic oceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.

* v
* t
* e

Caribbean articles

History|

| Timeline|

* Spanish Caribbean (1492–1898)
* Piracy (1500s–1830)
* Dutch Caribbean (1554–1863)
* British Caribbean (1586–1834)
* French Caribbean (1625–1817)
* Baltic-German Caribbean (1654-1689)
* Danish Caribbean (1672–1917)
* German Caribbean (1685-1693)
* Swedish Caribbean (1784–1878)

|

By topic|

* Afro-Caribbean
* Caribbean Court of Justice
* Indigenous people
* Taíno
* Arawak
* Influx of diseases, Malaria
* Territorial evolution

Geography|

| Regions|

* Antilles
* Greater Antilles
* Lesser Antilles
* Leeward Islands
* Leeward Antilles
* Windward Islands
* Caribbean Basin
* Caribbean Lowlands
* Caribbean Plate
* Caribbean Sea
* Caribbean South America
* Latin America and the Caribbean
* Southern Caribbean
* Western Caribbean zone

|

By topic|

* Bioregion
* Earthquakes
* Extreme points
* Islands (by area)
* Mammals
* Cetaceans
* Metropolitan areas
* Mountains
* Populated places
* Rivers
* Trees
* Ultras
* Sovereign states
* Dependent territories
* World Heritage Sites

Politics|

* Afro-Caribbean leftism
* Association of Caribbean States
* Caribbean Community
* CARIFORUM
* Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

Economy|

* Airlines
* Airports
* Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act
* Caribbean Development Bank
* Central banks and currencies
* Citrus
* Companies
* Fishing
* Hotels
* Stock exchanges
* Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange
* Sugar
* in Cuba
* in the Danish West Indies
* Tourism

Culture|

* Art
* Beer
* Caribbean people
* Carnivals
* Cuisine
* Literature
* Music
* Poetry
* Radio stations
* Sport
* Central American and Caribbean Games
* Stadiums
* Television stations

Demographics|

* Languages
* Pre-Arawakan
* Population
* Religions

* Outline

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Danish overseas empire

Colonies and trading posts of the Danish East India Company (1620–1777)

| East Indies|

| Governorate General|

* Fort Dansborg

|

Settlements|

* Frederiksnagore (Serampore)
* Danmarksnagore (Gondalpara)
* Oddeway Torre (Malabar Coast)
* Frederiksøerne (Nicobar Islands)

Factories|

* Calicut (Kozhikode)
* Colachel
* Masulipatnam

Trading posts|

* Balasore
* Oddeway Torre (Malabar Coast)
* Pipli

Colonies and trading posts of the Danish West India Company (1668–1776)

| West Indies|

| Colonies in the Caribbean|

* St. Thomas
* St. John
* St. Croix

|

Colonies and trading posts of the Crown (1658–1850)

| Gold Coast|

| Trading posts in Africa|

* Augustaborg
* Carlsborg
* Christiansborg
* Frederiksborg
* Fredensborg
* Kongensten
* Prinsensten
* William

|

Settlements of the Bergen Greenland Company (1721–1727)

| Settlements|

* Haabets Colonie

|

Colonies and trading posts of Hans Egede (1727-1747?), Claus Paarss (1728-1730), the Moravian missions (1733-1900), Jacob Severin (1734-1949) and the General Trade Company (1747–1774)

| North Greenland
and
South Greenland|

| Trading posts|

| Egede and Paarss|

* Godt-Haab
* Haabets Ø

|

Moravian missions|

* Lichtenfels
* Neu-Herrnhut

Severin|

* Christianshaab
* Frederikshaab
* Jacobshavn

General Trade Company|

* Christianshaab
* Claushavn
* Egedesminde
* Fiskenæsset
* Frederikshaab
* Godhavn
* Godt-Haab
* Holsteinsborg
* Jacobshavn
* Julianehaab
* Lichtenfels
* Neu-Herrnhut
* Ritenbenck
* Sukkertoppen
* Umanak
* Upernavik

Colonies of the Kingdom of Denmark (1536–1953)

| Until 1850|

* Gold Coast

|

Until 1869|

* East Indies

Until 1874|

* Iceland3

Until 1917|

* West Indies

Until 1948|

* Faroe Islands3

Until 1953|

* Greenland3

* 3 Became autonomous countries of the Kingdom of Denmark; Iceland gained full independence in 1944.

Royal Coat of Arms of Denmark (1903-1948)

no Kingdom of Denmark (1948–present)

| The unity of the Realm|

* Denmark
* Faroe Islands
* Greenland

|

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