Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By 1917, the United States was in full control of the islands, and Denmark
retreated from the Caribbean after a legacy of nearly 2
1
⁄
2
centuries. The U.S. Navy
looked after the islands for 14 years, and in 1954, they came under the sovereignty of
the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Some money was diverted to the area during the Prohibition era, as some islanders
made rum and shipped it illegally to the United States, often through Freeport, the
Bahamas. In 1927, the United States granted citizenship to the island residents. In
1936, under Franklin Roosevelt, the first Organic Act was passed, giving the islanders
voting rights in local elections. This act was revised in 1954, granting them a greater
degree of self-government.
Jobs generated by World War II finally woke the islands from their long economic
slumber. The U.S.V.I. were used as a port during the war and visitors first started to
appear on the islands. In the postwar economic boom that swept across America, the
Virgin Islands at long last found a replacement for sugar cane.
The British Virgin Islands Develop
The British Virgin Islands were finally freed from the Leeward Islands Federation in
1956, and in 1966, Queen Elizabeth II visited this remote colonial outpost. By 1967,
the British Virgin Islands had received a new constitution. Tourism was slower to
come to the British Virgins than to the U.S. Virgin Islands, but it is now the mainstay
of the economy.
In 2000, the British government issued a report that found that nearly 41% of
offshore companies in the world were formed in the British Virgin Islands. By 2011,
the B.V.I. was one of the world's leading offshore financial centers, and the local
population boasted one of the highest incomes per capita in the Caribbean—at
around $40,000 per family.
Tourism & the Economy Today
The economy of both the British and the U.S. Virgins has been one of the most stable
and prosperous in the Caribbean. But with the worldwide economic slump, all of the
2
1834
England frees 5,133 slaves living in
British Virgin Islands.
1927
United States grants citizenship to
island residents.
1848
Under pressure, the governor of St.
Croix grants slaves emancipation.
1936
Under Franklin Roosevelt, the fi rst
Organic Act is passed, granting
voting rights to U.S. Virgin
Islanders.
1867
First attempt by the United States
to purchase the Virgin Islands
from the Danish.
1940
Population of U.S. Virgin Islands
increases for the fi rst time since
1860 because of its use as a port
during World War II.
1872
British Virgin Islands put under
administration of the Federation
of the Leeward Islands.
1946
First black governor of the U.S.V.I.,
William Hastie, is appointed.
1916
Denmark signs treaty with the U.S.
and sells islands for $25 million.
1954
Revised Organic Act passed; the
U.S.V.I. fall under jurisdiction of
Department of the Interior.
1917
Virgin Islands fall under the
control of the U.S. Navy for
14 years.
continues
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