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SPREADING OUT FROM THE VIRGIN PASSAGE, 50 MILES (80 KM) EAST c)1. Puerto Rico, the 100-plus Virgin Islands lay a ragged trail across 1,000 square (2,600 sq km) at the northeastern corner of the Caribbean Sea. Only a few of the greenest islands are inhabited: the rest are Robinson Crusoe islets and secretive cays once favored h, pirates, rocky outcrops colonized by seabirds, and razor. sharp wave-washed reefs.

At dawn and dusk, the hazy horizon of the Virgin Islands is a magical thing broken by layer after layer of superimposed outlines: Unless you are a "belonger," as the local residents are called, or possess a cartographer's eye and a relief map, it is almost impossible to get your bearings.

Christopher Columbus first sailed into this nautical maze on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. Struck by their beauty (and profusion), he named the islands Las Once Mil Virginess after the legend of St. Ursula and the 11,000 virgins (see below). The tiny islands held little attraction for the major European powers as they set about carving up the region, but their numerous secluded harbors and safe anchorages were a godsend for pirates, smugglers, and privateers such as Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596), who played hide-and-seek with the Spanish fleet and gave his name to the Sir Francis Drake Channel, one of the most picturesque maritime channels in the world.

The earliest European settlers were mid17th-century Dutch boucaniers, who moved onto Tortola and raised cattle to supply passing ships with dried meat cured in smoke called boucans. The British snatched control of the island in 1672 and laid claim t, the 60 or so cays and crags at the eastern end of the archipelago, now the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Meanwhile, the Danes secured the western islands of St. Thomas (1665 and St. John (1684) and purchased St. Croix from the French in 1733. St. Thomas they transformed into a flourishing free port; St John and St. Croix were carpeted with sugar I cane. In 1917, the Danish possessions were sold to the United States  25 million dollars. Today together with 70 more rocks and reefs, they comprise the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Only 2 miles (3 km) separate the islands of St. John (U.S.V.I.) and Tortola (BVI),but the Americans and the British islands are light years apart part in style. St. Thomas and St. Croix, indubitably American, upbeat and among the most developed and prosperous islands in the region. The American Paradise welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors a year and has fast food franchises, icy air-conditioning, and standards of service rarely encountered elsewhere in the Caribbean. St. John is altogether quieter and boasts an unspoiled national park that covers two-thirds of the island.

A 40-minute ferry ride away are the relaxed British Virgin Islands, laid back to the point horizontal.  With a population of around 18,000 compared to the 113,000 on the U. S. Virgin Islands, the islands have a more traditional rural West Indian feel, and local life proceeds at a distinctly leisurely pace. Here, the tourism industry has been kept deliberately low key and pitched at an upscale but casual market. Yachting is a top attraction and many visitors simply use the islands as a jumping-off point for a sailing trip

INTRODUCTION

Virgin Islands of the United States, a group of 3 islands and about 50 islets, most of which are uninhabited, in the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies, east of Puerto Rico and lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The three islands, with their areas, are Saint Thomas (83 sq km/32 sq mi), Saint John (52 sq km/20 sq mi), and Saint Croix (207 sq km/80 sq mi). The capital is Charlotte Amalie (population, 1990, 12,331), on Saint Thomas. Other communities in the group are Christiansted and Frederiksted, both on Saint Croix. The total area is 344 sq km (133 sq mi), and the total population (1990) is 101,809.

LAND AND RESOURCES

The islands are generally hilly to mountainous. Crown Mountain (474 m/1556 ft) on Saint Thomas is the highest point. The climate is tropical, moderated by prevailing trade winds. The average annual temperature is 26.7° C (80° F). Vegetation is luxuriant and diverse. Mineral resources are lacking, although sand and stone are mined for local construction.

Economy

Tourism is vital to the economy of the Virgin Islands. Some 32 percent of all paid employees are engaged in retail sales or in services provided by recreation, motels, hotels, and restaurants. The number of tourists visiting the islands rose from about 200,000 in 1960 and 1961 to some 1.5 million in 1986; in the same period, spending by tourists grew from $26 million to more than $500 million. Products manufactured in the islands include rum, watches, textiles, and pharmaceuticals. The islands also have petroleum and alumina processing plants. The annual budget in the late 1980s exceeded $303.5 million.

The islands form the easternmost outpost of the United States. The United States Marine Corps maintains an air base on Saint Thomas and an airfield on Saint Croix.

EDUCATION AND GOVERNMENT

Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16. Free schooling is provided in elementary and secondary schools. In the late 1980s the islands' 70 public elementary and secondary schools had an annual enrollment of about 29,000 pupils. The College of the Virgin Islands (1962), a public institution on Saint Thomas, had an annual enrollment of about 2550 students.

From 1917, when the United States acquired the Virgin Islands, to 1931 the islands were governed by the Department of the Navy. In 1931 jurisdiction was transferred to the Department of the Interior, and a civil governor was appointed by the president. Since 1970 the governor has been popularly elected. The unicameral legislature is elected for two-year terms and is composed of 15 senators, 5 each from Saint Croix and Saint Thomas, 1 from Saint John, and 4 at large. Executive power is vested in an elected governor and lieutenant governor, an attorney general appointed by the governor, and other officials. The government comptroller is appointed by the secretary of the interior, and the judge of the district court is appointed by the president of the United States.

HISTORY

Christopher Columbus discovered the Virgin Islands on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He named the islands for Saint Ursula and the other virgin martyrs associated with her. Columbus attempted to land at Saint Croix in November 1493 but was driven away by fierce Carib Native Americans who inhabited the island. The Carib Native Americans were annihilated, but no permanent settlements were made. The Virgin Islands remained a Spanish possession throughout the 16th century.

First Settlements

Denmark colonized Saint Thomas in 1666. The Danish West Indies Company controlled the group until 1755, when Frederick V, king of Denmark, bought the islands. In 1800, during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain blockaded Saint Thomas and in 1801 occupied the island. In 1802 Saint Thomas was returned to Denmark. From 1807 to 1815 the British again occupied the Danish West Indies; in 1815 the islands were once more restored to Denmark.

Danish Rule

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Virgin Islands flourished as a center for the slave trade and as a producer of sugar. To harvest the sugar, the Danes began to depend on slavery and started importing slaves from Africa in 1673. The slave trade was prohibited by the Danish government in 1792. A slave revolt on Saint Croix in 1848 led to the slaves' immediate emancipation. The slaves had the tacit support of the Danish governor of the islands, Peter von Scholten, who was opposed to slavery. After the emancipation of the slaves, the economy of the Virgin Islands disintegrated. The population of the islands dwindled. It was not until the 1940s that the economy began to recover.

American Colony

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union began to negotiate with Denmark for the purchase of the Virgin Islands in order to establish naval bases in the Caribbean. Nothing came of the negotiations, however, until World War I (1914-1918). In 1917 the United States bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million and built a naval base in order to protect the Panama Canal and to prevent Germany's seizure of the islands.

Virgin Islanders have been U.S. citizens since 1927. After World War II (1939-1945), the Virgin Islands began to prosper again. Federal aid, local industry, and the growth of tourism helped improve the islands' economy. In 1946 William Henry Hastie became the first appointed black governor of the islands. The Organic Act, which was passed in 1954, created a 15-member senate. Then in 1968 the Congress of the United States passed a law granting the people of the Virgin Islands the right to elect their own governor. Melvin Evans, appointed in 1969, was the first native-born black governor of the territory and in 1971 became its first elected governor; he served until 1975. In 1975 Cyril E. King became governor and served until his death in 1978. King was succeeded by his lieutenant governor, Juan Luis. Luis was elected governor in the 1978 and 1982 elections. Alexander Farrelly was elected in 1986 and again in 1990. Roy Schneider became governor after the 1994 elections.

In September 1989, Hurricane Hugo caused at least $500 million in damage, and 1000 U.S. troops were sent in to suppress looting and unrest. The islands were damaged again when Hurricane Marilyn struck Saint Thomas and Saint John in 1995. The islands were declared a disaster area and the National Guard was called to help.

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