Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Capsule History
On November 14, 1493, Christopher Columbus
dropped anchor off Salt River on the island's
north coast. It was his second voyage to the New
World. The small group of sailors sent ashore for
water was attacked by fierce groups of Carib Indians. Co-
lumbus beat a hasty retreat. He named the island Santa
Cruz (Holy Cross) and claimed it for Spain. The Indians
called it Ay-Ay. The Spanish did little about their possession,
concentrating instead on Puerto Rico. It wasn't till 1625
that colonies appeared on St. Croix. There was an English
settlement on one end of the island, Dutch on the other and,
later, a French settlement appeared. The three were con-
stantly battling until 1649, when the French took control of
the island and renamed it St. Croix. Eventually title passed
to the Knights of Malta, a religious order that tried to estab-
lish farms here, but were unsuccessful. In 1655, St. Croix
was returned to France, who decided to abandon it, setting
fire to the houses and fields before leaving for Hispaniola.
B
Judith's Fancy
(now the island's
most exclusive residential area) has
the
best-preserved
ruin
from
the
early French settlements.
The Danes, who had colonized St. Thomas and St. John, pur-
chased St. Croix in 1773 and the island flourished by producing
sugar and rum. A slave uprising in 1848 persuaded Governor
Peter Von Scholten to grant them independence. Alas, he did so
before consulting his superiors and he was recalled to Denmark
in disgrace. Without slave labor, the economy floundered, until
the islands were purchased by the US in 1917.
Orientation
St. Croix is 23 miles long and seven miles wide
at its broadest point. It has retained much of its
Danish character, with ruins of sugar mills visi-
