On his second voyage to the New World in 1493, Christopher Colombus encountered a very special corner of the Caribbean. Dozens of virtually untouched islands dotted the landscape – so many as a matter of fact, that he let his imagination go a bit wild and named them “Las Once Mil Las Virigines” after the legendary St Ursula, and the 11,000 virgins who, threatened by the marauding Huns in 4th century Cologne, sacrificed their lives rather than submit to a fate worse than death.
Located 18 degrees north of the equator and 1,150 miles from Fort Lauderdale, the island chain is close together and the islands themselves are high and volcanic, rising steeply from the crystal clear water. As with almost all of the islands ringing the Caribbean Basin, the Virgin Islands owe their existence to a series of volcanic events that built up layers of lava and igneous rock, creating islands with three geographical zones: the coastal plain, the coastal dry forests and the central mountains. Except where houses perch precariously on impossible steep slopes, the mountain slopes are dense subtropical forests. All of the timber is second or third growth; the islands were stripped for sugar, cotton and tobacco plantations, products of which they exported along with rum in the colonial era. The weather is reliably balmy with daily highs ranging between 25 degrees in winter and 28 degrees in summer. Easterly trade winds blow across the ocean from Portugal keeping the humidity lower than on most other Caribbean islands. There are no rivers and very few freshwater streams. If not for the desalination plants, the islands couldn’t support even a quarter of their population, let alone visitors. When a hurricane strikes, power and diesel facilities shut down. Islanders with enough foresight and money keep rainwater cisterns for such emergencies, but folks without suffer.
The Virgin Islanders hail from all over the world and fall mainly into four groups: the African descendants, the French (who emigrated from French Islands), Puerto Ricans, and the continental transplants from the United States Mainland in the US Virgin Islands and from the UK in the British Virgin Islands. Also “down islanders” from the southern islands of the Antillean chain and a sizeable number of East Indians. Blacks outnumber whites by more than four to one. The descendants of former slaves, Blacks now dominate the political and professional arenas on the islands.
The USVI’s are an unincorporated territory of the USA. All citizens of the USVI are US citizens, but they cannot vote in presidential elections. Though the USVI wear a veneer of mainstream American culture, with conveniences like shopping malls and fast food, West African culture is a strong presence. The US archipelago consists of about 50 islands of which there are three main islands, St Thomas, St Croix and St John. St Thomas, where the capital of the USVI’s, Charlotte Amalie is located, has a population of 60,000 people and is just 19km long. Where St Thomas is loaded with homes and businesses, St John is largely wilderness with almost ¾ of the island being National Park. St Croix is 64km south of the other Virgin Islands and is distinctly “relaxed”. The island turns to industry as well as tourism. The Hovensa Oil Refinery on the south shore is the fifth largest in the world. Most of the oil comes from Venezuela, is refined and exported, along with sulphur and other by-products.
The BVI’s is largely autonomous, covers 59 square miles and comprises of over 50 islands, islets and cays, many of which are uninhabited or sparsely populated. There are four main islands in this idyllic group, the largest of which is Tortola (‘Turtledove’ in Spanish) with a population of 23,500. It is the centre of the territory’s commerce and Government. Virgin Gorda (The ‘Fat Virgin’) has a population of 3,900 and is the next largest island in the chain, followed by Jost Van Dyke, and the BVI’s only coral atoll, Anegada, with about 300 people on each.
The history of the Virgin Islands is woven into a rich tapestry of tales! Since their discovery, the Virgin Islands have been governed by seven different nations: Spain, England, Holland, France, Knights of Malta, Denmark and the United States. Proximity to major trade routes, numerous safe anchorages and availability of supplies made conditions for piracy ideal during the late 1500’s, early 1600’s. Pirates are thought to have made port in the Virgin Islands to repair and supply their vessels. Around 1595, the famous English privateers Sir Francis Drake and Jack Hawkins were using the Virgin Islands as a staging ground for attacks on Spanish shipping. In 1682 the French pirate Jean Hamil captured the merchant vessel La Trompeuse. Then there are legends, the most famous and colourful being Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard’s Tower, located directly above Charlotte Amalie, was built in 1689. Another so-called buccaneer stronghold was Bluebeard’s Tower, also located directly above Charlotte Amalie. The islands are scattered with the remains of forts, sugar mills, rum distilleries, and slaves’ living quarters. The pirates’ towers of Blackbeard and Bluebeard are in very good condition and are major features of the Charlotte Amalie landscape.
Our stay in the Virgin Islands lasted ten weeks and during that time, we explored most of the main islands and anchored off many the smaller islands. Here are some of the highlights of our time there.
