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).

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 / 18.2; -64.8
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.

Political map of the Virgin Islands

## Etymology

[edit]

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). 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]

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.[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.

Like 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]

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

|
|
|
|

St. Thomas  | St. John  | St. Croix  | Tortola  | Virgin Gorda  | Anegada  | Jost Van Dyke  | Culebra  | Vieques
1493  |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain |
New Spain | 1493
1580  | Puerto Rico (ES)*  | Puerto Rico (ES)*  | 1580
1625  | Dutch Virgin Islands |  | British Leeward Islands**  | Dutch Virgin Islands**  |  |  |  |  | 1625
Puerto Rico (ES)**
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 | 1698
| British Leeward Islands**  | French West Indies**  | Danish West Indies**  | Scottish Darien Company
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  |  | 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  | British Virgin Islands | 1958

* Largely under control of pirates.

** Coexisting claim.

*** Leased/shared territory.

## Demographics

[edit]

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

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]

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]

* Caribbean portal
* Puerto Rico portal
* United States portal
* United Kingdom portal

* 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]

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

## General sources

[edit]

* 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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Virgin Islands.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for 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
* U.S. Virgin Islands: Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress
* "Virgin Islands" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. XXIV (9th ed.). 1888.

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