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Virgin Islands

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Virgin Islands

Spanish Virgin Islands (of Puerto Rico)   United States Virgin Islands   British Virgin Islands   Puerto Rico
Geography
Location	Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates	18°12′N 64°48′W / 18.2°N 64.8°W / 18.2; -64.8
Archipelago	Leeward Islands
United States
Insular area	United States Virgin Islands
Insular area	Puerto Rico
United Kingdom
Overseas territory	British Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands (Spanish: Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles,^[1] While the British Virgin Islands are officially designated as “The Virgin Islands”, the name is most often used to refer to the entire international grouping of the British and United States Virgin Islands together with the Spanish Virgin Islands, which, contrary to their name are in fact officially part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, itself an unincorporated territory of the United States. Geographically, the northern islands lie along the Puerto Rico Trench. St. Croix is a displaced part of that same geologic structure. Politically, the British Virgin Islands have been governed as the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is separated from the true Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the main island of Puerto Rico by the Virgin Passage.

The islands fall into three political jurisdictions:

• Virgin Islands, informally referred to as British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory,
• Virgin Islands of the United States, an unincorporated territory of the United States,
• Spanish Virgin Islands, the easternmost islands of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, itself also an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Christopher Columbus named the islands after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins (Spanish: Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes), shortened to the Virgins (las Vírgenes). The official name of the British territory is the Virgin Islands, and the official name of the U.S. territory is the Virgin Islands of the United States. In practice, the two island groups are almost universally referred to as the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the Arawak and Carib, many of whom are thought to have perished during the colonial period due to enslavement, foreign disease, and war brought about by European colonists.^[2]

European colonists later settled here and established sugar plantations, at least one tobacco plantation, and bought slaves from Africa. The descendants of the enslaved people remain the bulk of the population, sharing a common African-Caribbean heritage with the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean.

Like mainland Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands that belonged to Spain were ceded to the United States in 1898. The United States took possession of the islands after the signing of the armistice that put an end to military operations in the Spanish–American War.

A 1916 treaty between the United States and Denmark (not ratified by the United States until 1917) resulted in Denmark selling the Danish Virgin Islands to the United States for $25 million in gold.

The Virgin Islands have been under the sovereignty of several nations and groups throughout history. Below is a table which represents the affiliation of the various islands:

Rule began	present day U.S.V.I.					present day British V.I.				present day Spanish V.I. (P.R.)						Rule began
	St. Thomas		St. John	St. Croix		Tortola	Virgin Gorda	Anegada	Jost Van Dyke	Culebra	Vieques
1493	New Spain		New Spain	New Spain		New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain	New Spain					1493
1580										Puerto Rico (ES)*	Puerto Rico (ES)*					1580
1625	Dutch Virgin Islands			British Leeward Islands**	Dutch Virgin Islands**											1625
					Puerto Rico (ES)**
1628							Dutch Virgin Islands									1628
1648						Dutch Virgin Islands		Dutch Virgin Islands								1648
1650																1650
1651	Danish West Indies			Knights Hospitaller												1651
1664				French West Indies												1664
1671			Danish West Indies													1671
1672						British Leeward Islands										1672
1680							British Leeward Islands									1680
1684			British Leeward Islands													1684
1685		Brandenburg-Prussia***														1685
1689											Brandenburg-Prussia					1689
1693											Puerto Rico (ES)					1693
1698				Danish West Indies												1698
												British Leeward Islands**	French West Indies**	Danish West Indies**	Scottish Darien Company
1699																1699
1718			Danish West Indies													1718
1733																1733
1750									British Leeward Islands							1750
1754																1754
1801	British Leeward Islands															1801
1802	Danish West Indies															1802
1807	British Leeward Islands															1807
1811																1811
1815	Danish West Indies															1815
1816						British Virgin Islands										1816
1833						British Leeward Islands										1833
1898										Puerto Rico (US)						1898
1917	United States Virgin Islands															1917
1958						British Virgin Islands										1958

* Largely under control of pirates.

** Coexisting claim.

*** Leased/shared territory.

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The total population of the Virgin Islands is 147,778: 104,901 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 31,758 in the British, and 11,119 in the Spanish. Roughly three-quarters of islanders are black in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, while the majority of inhabitants in Culebra and Vieques are Puerto Rican of European descent, with a significant Afro-Puerto Rican community. The main languages are English and Virgin Islands Creole in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Spanish in the Puerto Rican territory. St. Thomas is the most populous island, with St. Croix close behind (51,634 and 50,601, respectively).

Motor vehicles are driven on the left-hand side of the road in both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although the steering wheels on most cars are located on the left side (as is the norm for drive-on-the-right localities). In the Spanish Virgin Islands, vehicles are driven on the right-hand side of the road.

• Culture of the Virgin Islands
• Danish Virgin Islands
• Dutch Virgin Islands
• Music of the Virgin Islands
• Virgin Islands Creole
• Virgin Islands patch reefs

• Colin Thomas, J.; Allard, William Albert; Wolinsky, Cary (February 1981). "Paradise Comes of Age: The U.S. Virgin Islands". National Geographic. Vol. 159, no. 2. pp. 225–243.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Virgin Islands.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Virgin Islands.

• BVI.gov: British Virgin Islands government website
• U.S. Office of Insular Affairs: United States Virgin Islands government website
• Digital Library of the Caribbean: University of the Virgin Islands information
• "Virgin Islands" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. XXIV (9th ed.). 1888.