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The Virgin Islands (Spanish: Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago between the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean islands or West Indies. Geologically separated from the rest of the Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage, all of the islands except for Saint Croix lie on the same continental shelf platform as the main island of Puerto Rico, which is itself separated from rest of the Greater Antilles by the Mona Passage and Cayon.[1][2][3][4][5][6] 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.
Map of the Virgins Islands | |
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 18°12′N 64°48′W / 18.2°N 64.8°W |
| Archipelago | Leeward Islands |
| Insular area | United States Virgin Islands |
| Insular area | Puerto Rico |
| Overseas territory | British Virgin Islands |
Etymology
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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
editThe 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.[7]
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 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
editThe 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:
* Largely under control of pirates.
** Coexisting claim.
*** Leased/shared territory.
Demographics
editThe 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
editMotor 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
Citations
edit- ^ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Exploring Puerto Rico's Seamounts, Trenches, and Troughs: Background: Mission Plan: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ "Core Data From Offshore Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands | U.S. Geological Survey". www.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ "Por el camino verde: Long-term tropical socioecosystem dynamics and the Anthropocene as seen from Puerto Rico". Research Gate. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Virgin Islands" (PDF). NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Research Plan. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ "New species and new records of Cumacea (Crustacea: Peracarida: Cumacea) from mesophotic reefs of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean Sea". Research Gate. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ Lazell, James (2005). Island: Fact and Theory in Nature. University of California Press. p. 382. ISBN 9780520931596.
- ^ 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
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Virgin Islands.
