United States Virgin Islands

The United States Virgin Islands are a group of s in the that are an  of the. The islands are geographically part of the and are located in the  of the.

The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of, and , along with the much smaller but historically distinct , and many other surrounding. The total land area of the territory is 346.36 km² (133.73 sq mi). As of the the population was 108,612.

Three of the main islands have nicknames often used by locals: "Rock City" (St. Thomas), "Love City" (St. John), and "Twin City" (St. Croix).

History
The were originally settled by the, , and s. The islands were named by  on his second voyage in  for  and her virgin followers. Over the next three hundred years, the islands were held by many an powers, including, , the , , and.

The settled on  in, on  in , and purchased  from  in. The islands became royal Danish colonies in, their name translating to Jomfruøerne in Danish. , produced by labor, drove the islands'  during the 18th and early 19th centuries, until the  by Governor  on,.

For the remainder of the period of Danish rule, the islands were not economically viable and significant transfers were made from the Danish state budgets to the authorities in the islands. In 1867 a treaty to sell Saint Thomas and Saint John to the United States was agreed, but the sale was never effected. A number of reforms aimed at reviving the islands' economy were attempted, but none had great success. A second draft treaty to sell the islands to the United States was negotiated in 1902, but was narrowly defeated in the Danish parliament.

The onset of brought the reforms to a close, and again left the islands isolated and exposed. During the phases of the First World War, the, fearing that the islands might be seized by  as a submarine base, again approached  with a view to buying them. After a few months of negotiations, a selling price of $25 million was agreed. The Danish may have felt some pressure to accept the sale, thinking that the  would seize the islands if Denmark was invaded by Germany. At the same time the economics of continued possession weighed heavily on the minds of Danish decision makers, and a bipartisan consensus in favor of selling emerged in the Danish parliament. A held in late  confirmed the decision to sell by a wide margin. The deal was thus finalized on, , when the United States and Denmark exchanged their respective treaty ratifications. The U.S. took of the islands on,  and the territory was renamed the Virgin Islands of the United States.

U.S. was granted to the inhabitants of the islands in.

, a small island to the south of Saint Thomas, was not included in the original sale. It remained in the possession of the Danish West India Company until 1944, when it too was bought by the USA for $10,000. It was initially administered by the U.S. Federal government and did not become a part of the U.S. Virgin Islands territory until 1996, when 50 acres of land was transferred to the territorial government. The remaining 200 acres of the island were purchased from the US Department of the Interior in May 2005 for $10, a transaction which marked the official change in jurisdiction.

Geography


The U.S. Virgin Islands are located in the and the, about 50 miles east of. The territory consists of four main islands:, , , and , as well as several dozen smaller islands. The combined land area of the islands is roughly twice the size of

The U.S. Virgin Islands are known for their white sand, including and , and strategic harbors, including  and. Most of the islands, including Saint Thomas, are volcanic in origin and hilly. The highest point is, Saint Thomas (474m). Saint Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, lies to the south and has a flatter terrain. The owns more than half of Saint John, nearly all of, and many acres of. (See also, , , , and .)

The Virgin Islands lie on the boundary of the and the. Natural hazards include s, s, and s.

Politics


The U.S. Virgin Islands are an. Even though they are, Virgin Island residents cannot vote in (although, being citizens, this franchise is extended to them should they become residents of one of the 50 .)

The main political parties in the U.S. Virgin Islands are the, the , and the. Additional candidates run as independents.

At the national level, the U.S. Virgin Islands elects a from its  United States Virgin Islands's at-large congressional district. However, the elected delegate, while able to vote in committee, cannot participate in floor votes. The current House of Representatives delegate is (D).

At the territorial level, 15 &mdash;seven from the district of Saint Croix, seven from the district of Saint Thomas and Saint John, and one senator at-large who must be a resident of Saint John&mdash;are elected for two-year terms to the.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has elected a every four years since. Previous governors were appointed by the President of the United States.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has a, and. The District Court is responsible for federal law, while the Superior Court is responsible for Virgin Islands law at the trial level and the Supreme Court is responsible for appeals from the Superior Court for all appeals filed on or after January 29, 2007. Appeals filed prior to that date are heard by the Appellate Division of the District Court. Judges are appointed by the President and the governor respectively.

The United States Congress has never organized local referendums to aid in the self-determination. As with, the residents have been given the choice of independence, status quo, or statehood via local plebiscites not validated or approved by the U.S congress. However, these measures have failed to attract sufficient civic interest or voter turn-out to produce even a noteworthy plurality, much less a majority, and thus the islands will retain their current territorial status for the foreseeable future. It is theorized that Puerto Rican requests for political self-determination might serve as a catalyst for political interest in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as in other American territories.

With much controversy, these efforts by the federal government to normalize the unincorporated territory's status are completely discounted by the, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are currently in the.

Economy


is the primary economic activity. The islands normally host 2 million visitors a year, many of whom visit on s. Public access to beaches is considered a civil right. (Public access over land, however, is not.)

The manufacturing sector consists of petroleum refining, textile, electronics, distilling, pharmaceutical, and watch assembly plants. The agricultural sector is small, with most food being imported. International business and financial services are a small but growing component of the economy. , one of the world's largest, is located on.

The U.S. Virgin Islands are permanently on Atlantic Standard Time and do not participate in. When the U.S. is on Standard Time, the U.S. Virgin Islands are one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time. When the U.S. is on Daylight Saving Time, Eastern Daylight Time is the same as Atlantic Standard Time.

The islands are subject to tropical storms and. In recent history, substantial damage was caused by in  and  in. The islands were also struck by in,  in  and  in , but damage was not as severe in those hurricanes.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is the only part of the United States where traffic, though almost all vehicles are left hand drive (as they are imported from the United States). See Right Hand Driving: Caribbean.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 108,612 people, 40,648 households, and 26,636 families residing in the territory. The racial makeup of the territory was 76.19% or African Descent, 13.09%, 7.23% from , and 3.49% from two or more races. or of any race were 13.99% of the population.

There were 40,648 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.2% were living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.34.

In the territory the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The annual population growth is -0.12%.

The median income for a household in the territory was $24,704, and the median income for a family was $28,553. Males had a median income of $28,309 versus $22,601 for females. The for the territory was $13,139. About 28.7% of families and 32.5% of the population were below the, including 41.7% of those under age 18 and 29.8% of those age 65 or over.

Districts and sub-districts
The U.S. are administratively divided into two s and subdivided into 20 s.

The are:

The fourth U.S. Virgin Island is, formerly a district of St. Thomas.

Official sites

 * Convention between the United States and Denmark for cession of the Danish West Indies - Document signed in New York, August 4, 1916
 * US Virgin Islands - Official site for United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism
 * Transfer Day - Denmark's consulate in the U.S. Virgin Islands
 * Virgin Islands - The World Factbook, CIA Publications
 * "Scholten and the emancipation of Danish Slaves in the Danish West Indies"
 * USVI Governor's Website - Governor John P. deJongh's Website
 * USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Virgin Islands
 * Office of the Lieutenant Governor - Office of Lt. Governor Gregory R. Francis

News and media

 * The Virgin Islands Daily News - Daily newspaper in St. Thomas
 * St. Croix Source - Daily online news source from St. Croix
 * St. John Tradewinds - Weekly newspaper in St. John