Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas
Sobriquet: Rock City
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands is located in Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Virgin Islands)
Geography
Location Caribbean Sea
Archipelago Virgin Islands, Leeward Islands
Area 31.24 sq mi (80.9 km2)
Country
United States
Insular area  United States Virgin Islands
Largest city Charlotte Amalie (pop. 18,194)
Demographics
Population 51,181 (as of 2000)
Density 632.65
Map of U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea, a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of Charlotte Amalie. As of the 2001 census, the population of Saint Thomas was 51,181[1] about 47% of the US Virgin Island total. The district has a land area of 31.24 square miles (80.9 km2).

Contents

Pre-colonial history

The island was originally settled around 1500 BC by the Ciboney people. They were later replaced by the Arawaks and then the Caribs. Christopher Columbus sighted the island in 1493 on his second voyage to the "New World". The Caribs barely survived the first decades of contact with Europeans, either due to disease, deportation or slaying.

Danish colonial period

The Dutch West India Company established a post on Saint Thomas in 1657. The first congregation was the St. Thomas Reformed Church which was established in 1660 and was associated with the Dutch Reformed Church. The Danish conquered the island in 1666, and by 1672 had established control over the entire island through the Danish West India and Guinea Company. The land was divided into plantations and sugar cane production became the primary economic activity. As a result the economies of Saint Thomas and neighboring islands of Saint John and Saint Croix became highly dependent on slave labor and the slave trade. In 1685 the Brandenburgisch-Africanische Compagnie took control of the slave trade on Saint Thomas, and for some time the largest slave auctions in the world were held there. Saint Thomas was known for its fine natural harbor, known as "Taphus" for the drinking establishments located nearby. In 1691 the primary settlement there was renamed Charlotte Amalie in honor of the wife of Denmark's King Christian V. It was later declared a free port by Frederick V. In December 1732, the first two of many Moravian Brethren missionaries came from Herrnhut Saxony in present day Germany to minister to them. Distrusted at first by the white masters, they lived among the slaves and soon won their confidence. A small Jewish community was set up in Charlotte Amalie and set up a historic synagogue Beracha Veshalom Vegmiluth Hasidim, the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the United States.[2]

While the sugar trade had brought prosperity to the island's free citizens, by the early 19th century Saint Thomas was in decline. The continued export of sugar was threatened by hurricanes, drought, and American competition. In 1848, slavery was abolished and the resulting rise in labour costs further weakened the position of Saint Thomas' sugar producers. Given its harbors and fortifications, Saint Thomas still retained a strategic importance, and thus in the 1860s the United States government considered buying the island and its neighbors from Denmark for $7.5 million, but failed to find domestic legislative support for the bid.

David Hamilton Jackson

After being poorly managed by the Danish, a local islander, David Hamilton Jackson, was instrumental in persuading the Danish to allow the USA to purchase the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. In 1915, he traveled to Denmark and convinced the King of Denmark to allow freedom of the press in the islands.[3] He began the first newspaper in the islands known as The Herald. After this, he organized labor unions among the islanders for better working conditions. The islands now have an annual celebration to honor the legacy of David Hamilton Jackson.[4]

American acquisition

Districts and subdistricts of the US Virgin Islands

In 1917 St. Thomas was purchased (along with Saint John and Saint Croix) by the United States for $25 million in gold, as part of a defensive strategy to maintain control over the Caribbean and the Panama Canal during the First World War. The transfer occurred March 31, 1917 behind Fort Christian before the barracks which now house the Legislature of the U.S Virgin Islands. The baccalaureate service for the transfer was held at the St. Thomas Reformed Church as it was identified as the American church in the Danish West Indies. John Morris, a U.S. Naval officer, designed the flag that now represents the United States Virgin Islands. Sparks married a local U.S Virgin Island woman, Grace Joseph Sparks; when Sparks' superior, Rear Adm. Summer Ely Wetmore Kitelle, commissioned the design for the flag, P.W. Sparks asked his wife and her sister, Blanche Joseph (later Sasso) to sew the first flag. That flag was used until such time as a factory produced flag could be acquired. The flag's inspiration came from the U.S. Presidential seal. Sparks decided to have the eagle facing the olive branches (which represented peace) rather than the arrows (which represented the three islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John). (At the request of the Sparks family, this piece of history was entered into the Congressional Record in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 1986, vol.132, No.56, by the congressional delegate, Ron de Lugo.) Every year Transfer Day is recognized as a holiday which celebrates the acquisition of the islands by the United States in 1917.

U.S. citizenship was granted to the residents in 1927. The U.S. Department of the Interior took over administrative duties in 1931. American forces were based on the island during the Second World War. In 1954, passage of the U.S. Virgin Islands Organic Act officially granted territorial status to the three islands, and allowed for the formation of a local senate with politics dominated by the American Republican and Democratic parties. Full home rule was achieved in 1970.

The post-war era also saw the rise of tourism on the island. With relatively cheap air travel and the American embargo on Cuba, the numbers of visitors greatly increased. Despite natural disasters such as Hurricane Hugo (1989) and Hurricanes Luis and Marilyn (1995), the island's infrastructure continues to improve as the flow of visitors continues.

Climate

Climate data for Saint Thomas, VI
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: weather.com [5]

Demographics

Saint Thomas is divided into the following subdistricts (with population as per the 2000 U.S. Census):

  1. Charlotte Amalie (pop. 18,914)
  2. Northside (pop. 8,712)
  3. Tutu (pop. 8,197)
  4. East End (pop. 7,672)
  5. Southside (pop. 5,467)
  6. West End (pop. 2,058)
  7. Water Island (pop. 161)

Transportation

The island is serviced by the Cyril E. King Airport.

The United States Virgin Islands is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. This was inherited from what was the then-current Danish practice at the time of the American acquisition in 1917. However, because St. Thomas is a U.S. territory, most cars are imported from the mainland United States and as a result, the steering column is located on the left side of the vehicle.

There are open-air cabs, also known as the "safaris". It costs two dollars and is the cheapest way to navigate the island. There are set routes that they follow. One passes by every drop-off location about every 5–10 minutes.

The island has many regular taxis from compact size to large vans, as well as open-air, covered trucks called "safari cabs" with bench seats. The latter usually operate only between high-traffic points, e.g., cruise ship terminals at Havensight and Crown Bay and downtown Charlotte Amalie.

Passenger and limited car ferry services to neighboring islands such as Water Island, St. John, St. Croix, and the British Virgin Islands run regularly out of the Red Hook Terminal, Charlotte Amalie, and Crown Bay Marina.

Education

St. Thomas Harbor, USVI

St. Thomas-St. John School District operates public schools on Saint Thomas.

Private Schools on St. Thomas:

Parochial Schools on St. Thomas:

Colleges and universities on St. Thomas:

Notable people

Points of interest

Gallery

The port at Charlotte Amalie March 2008

"Beautiful Harbor of St. Thomas, West Indies", stereoptical view, c. 1900

Magen's Beach as seen from Drake's Seat, St. Thomas, USVI

References

  1. ↑ 2000 Population Counts for the U.S. Virgin Islands, United States Census Bureau
  2. ↑ Arts & Culture US Virgin Island Tourism
  3. ↑ Virgin Islanders in History - David Hamilton Jackson Here.VI
  4. ↑ Liberty Day festivities to include parade, re-enactment about D. Hamilton Jackson, The Virgin Islands Daily News
  5. ↑ "Average Conditions Saint Thomas, VI". weather.com. http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/00801. Retrieved May 16, 2010. 

External links

Official sites
Map
 Territory of United States Virgin Islands
Charlotte Amalie (capital)
Topics

Geography | Economy | Demographics | Communications | Transportation | History | Visitor Attractions
Government

Politics | Governors | Congressional Delegates | Senators | Elections
Cities

Charlotte Amalie | Charlotte Amalie West | Christiansted | Frederiksted | Cruz Bay | Anna's Retreat
Islands

Saint Croix | Saint John | Saint Thomas | Water Island | Other
Parks

Virgin Islands NP | Virgin Islands Coral Reef NM | Buck Island Reef NM | Christiansted NHS | Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve