Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tortola Highlights
Kick back on the dramatic strand of sand at
Josiah's Bay
(
Click here
)
Dance to reggae at the beach bars along
Cane Garden Bay
(
Click here
)
Knock back a beer with the board-toting crowd at
Bomba's Surfside Shack
(
Click here
)
Hike the trails at lush
Sage Mountain National Park
(
Click here
)
Ring in the new moon with fungi music, stilt walkers and fire jugglers at
Aragorn's Studio
(
Click here
)
Set sail on a charter boat from
Road Town
(
Click here
)
Check out the atmospheric copper vats and wooden casks at the
Callwood Rum
Distillery
(
Click here
)
History
Although no definitive record exists, many historians speculate that Tortola was the island
that Columbus called Santa Ursula when he sailed past in 1493. The island got its present
name around 1515, when outriders from Puerto Rico passed this way in search of gold.
They called the island Tortola, which means 'turtle dove' in Spanish, after encountering
flocks of the cooing birds. Most have since flown the coop (except on neighboring Guana
Island).
The island was formally claimed by Holland in 1648, when the Dutch West India Com-
pany established a settlement and built a fort on the site that is now the Fort Burt Hotel. In
1666, a band of British drove the Dutch out and claimed the island for England.
In the 18th century an enterprising group of English religious dissidents known as
Quakers arrived. Famed for their work ethic, business acumen and devotion to pacifism,
they established plantations throughout Tortola. Their surnames - Callwood, Lettsome etc
- are still the most common among islanders.
In the 1960s modern sailors discovered the BVI's fair winds and pristine anchorages, and
bareboat yacht-charter companies - led by the Moorings - set up shop to serve them, using
Tortola as their base. Soon sailors came by the tens of thousands from the US and Europe
to charter cruising sailboats. And so began the modern development boom. Some 90% of
the commercial buildings and homes on the island date from the last 35 years or so.
