U.S. Virgin Islands — books & literature

The story of U.S. Virgin Islands

The islands now called the US Virgin Islands , Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, Saint John, and dozens of smaller cays , were long home to Taino and later Kalinago (Carib) peoples before European contact. Columbus sighted the archipelago in 1493 and named it for Saint Ursula and her legendary 11,000 virgins. Denmark-Norway colonized Saint Thomas in 1671, Saint John in 1718, and bought Saint Croix from France in 1733, building a plantation economy on enslaved African labor that made the ports of Charlotte Amalie and Christiansted centers of Caribbean sugar and rum trade. A major slave rebellion on Saint Croix in 1848 forced the Danish governor to abolish slavery in the colony immediately. With the plantation economy in decline, Denmark and the United States negotiated for over fifty years before the US finally purchased the three islands for $25 million in gold, formalized in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and transferred on 31 March 1917 ('Transfer Day'), partly to secure the Caribbean approach to the soon-to-open Panama Canal. The territory became unincorporated US soil in 1927, when residents also gained US citizenship. Today the US Virgin Islands is a Caribbean territory whose economy runs on tourism, rum distilling, and a resilient blend of Danish, African, and American heritage.

Timeline — key moments

1. 1493

   Christopher Columbus sights the islands on his second voyage and names them for Saint Ursula.

2. 1671

   Denmark-Norway establishes a colony on Saint Thomas.

3. 1718

   Danish settlers colonize Saint John.

4. 1733

   Denmark buys Saint Croix from France, completing the Danish West Indies.

5. 1848

   An enslaved-led uprising on Saint Croix forces Governor Peter von Scholten to abolish slavery immediately.

6. 1917

   Denmark transfers the islands to the United States for $25 million on 31 March ("Transfer Day").

7. 1927

   The territory becomes unincorporated US soil; Virgin Islanders are granted US citizenship.

8. 1936-1954

   Organic Acts establish elected local government, culminating in an elected governor by 1970.

Top 10 things to know about U.S. Virgin Islands

1. The territory is made up of three main islands , Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, and Saint John , plus around 50 smaller islands and cays.
2. Traffic drives on the left, a holdover from British and Danish maritime-era influence, even though cars are mostly US left-hand-drive models.
3. Saint John is about 60% Virgin Islands National Park, donated to the US in the 1950s by Laurance Rockefeller.
4. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, has one of the deepest natural harbors in the Caribbean and a long history as a free port.
5. The US dollar is the official currency, though the Danish West Indian daler circulated until 1934.
6. The islands were Danish territory for nearly 250 years before the 1917 transfer to the United States.
7. Residents are US citizens but cannot vote for President and have only a non-voting delegate in Congress.
8. Quelbe, a folk music style played on gourds, washboards, and ukuleles, is the officially recognized traditional music of the territory (2003).
9. The US Virgin Islands is one of the few US jurisdictions where driving is on the left side of the road.
10. Rum distilling remains a major industry, tracing back to the Danish-era sugar plantations.

Famous people from U.S. Virgin Islands

Say it in U.S. Virgin Islands's language

Did you know?

• ★On Saint John, about 60% of the island is protected as Virgin Islands National Park, gifted to the US by Laurance Rockefeller in the 1950s.
• ★The 1848 emancipation of enslaved people on Saint Croix came from a mass uprising that forced the Danish governor to act on the spot, years ahead of many neighboring colonies.
• ★Traffic in the US Virgin Islands still drives on the left, even though it is US territory and most vehicles are left-hand-drive.

U.S. Virgin Islands culture

• Quelbe (also called "fungi music"), played with gourds, washboards, and improvised instruments, is the officially designated traditional music of the territory.
• Carnival season , St. Thomas Carnival (April-May), St. John Festival (June-July), and the Crucian Christmas Festival on St. Croix (December-January) , anchors the cultural calendar with parades, calypso, and moko jumbie stilt dancers.
• Fungi (cornmeal and okra) and callaloo (a leafy greens soup) are staple dishes, usually served with fresh local fish.
• Virgin Islands Creole, an English-based Creole with African, Danish, and Spanish influences, is widely spoken alongside standard English, with Saint Croix's "Crucian" variant being the most distinct.

Why read U.S. Virgin Islands's books

Virgin Islands writing weaves together Danish colonial records, African-descended oral storytelling, and a modern Caribbean-American voice shaped by the 1917 transfer and the territory's ongoing search for full political voice. Reading its books is a way into that layered island story.