Virgin Islands History

The Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by Arawak, Carib and Ciboney native American peoples.

Christopher Columbus encountered the islands and named them in 1493 during his second voyage. For the next few hundred years, control of the islands would switch between many European nations including Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France, the Knights of Malta and Denmark.

The Danish West India Company settled Saint Thomas in 1672, Saint John in 1694, and purchased Saint Croix from France in 1733.

Denmark attempted to sell the islands to the US in the early 20th century, but a deal could not be reached. However, during World War, the US began to fear that the islands might be seized by Germany, and a deal was eventually negotiated whereby the United States purchased the islands for $25 million in 1917. United States citizenship was granted to the islands' inhabitants in 1927.

America's Virgin Islands: A History of Human Rights and Wrongs

By William W. Boyer

Carolina Academic Pr
Hardcover

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The colonial coinage of the U.S. Virgin Islands;: An illustrated history and guide to the coins, tokens and paper money issued for the U.S. Virgin Islands under Danish and United States administration

By Lincoln W Higgie

Whitman Pub. Co
Paperback (61 pages)

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