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The US Virgin Islands were divided between the English and the Danish during the 17th century. The United States purchased the Danish owned islands in 1917.
• In November of 1493 Christopher Columbus landed on the north shore of St. Croix.
• Christiansted is one of the main towns on St. Croix, USVI. It has beautiful architecture reflecting its Danish heritage. Many of the yellow bricks used for builiding were shipped over from Denmark during the 18th century.
• Frederiksted is the other main town on St. Croix which is more like a village. The cruise ship pier can be found here along with Fort Frederik, completed in 1760.
• The countryside of St. Croix has many large plantation homes and over 100 sugar cane mill ruins.
• Indians were the first inhabitants of St. Croix. There was the Igneri tribe, and then the Tainos.
• Oil, sugar, agriculture, and tourism are the major industries on St. Croix.
• St. Thomas is the most developed of the US Virgin Islands. It is home to the capital city of USVI, Charlotte Amalie. This is also one of the most popular cruise ship destination ports in the Caribbean.
• Around 1500 B.C., the Ciboney indian tribe inhabited St. Thomas.
• In 1493 Christopher Columbus sailed through the USVI and St. Thomas on his second voyage to the New World.
• Pirates frequented the waters of the USVI. They wanted to plunder the Spanish ships that were filled with gold sailing from the Americas.
• An Englishman named Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, used to frequent St. Thomas.
• In 1672 work began on Fort Christian which was build on St. Thomas to protect the island.
• Charlotte Amalie was named after the wife of the Danish King Christian V.
• The major industries on St. Croix include tourism, petroleum refining, rum distilling, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and electronics.
• St. John is the smallest and most undeveloped of the US Virgin Islands. It is a very laid back island. There are only 2 major resorts, and two-thirds of the island is designated as National Park.
• St. John was first settled by the Arawak Indians around 300 A.D.
• The major industries on St. John are agriculture, tourism, and petroleum refining.
• In 1733, the St. John Slave Rebellion, which was a slave revolt, took place. Almost half of the slave population was killed off and about half of the plantations were destroyed. This revolt lasted six months and about 150 slaves were killed.
• The United States purchased the Virgin Islands for $25 million. They wanted to establish a naval base there so they could fight off the Germans.
• 75% of St. John is considered a National Park.
• The main town in St. John is Cruz Bay. Other towns are Coral Bay, and East End.
• Trunk Bay in St. John is home to one of the top 10 beaches in the world.
• The main export of St. John was sugar cane until the 19th century. But because it was produced with slave labor, it fell apart after the slaves won their freedom.
• Water Island is the fourth and most recent addition to the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is also the smallest of them all at just under 500 acres.
• Water Island was first inhabited by the Taino Indians in the 15th century. Water Island got its name from having natural ponds of fresh water on the island.
• Pirates used to stop on Water Island to refill their water supply!
• The US Virgin Island locals have nicknames for the islands: "Twin City" (St. Croix), "Rock City" (St. Thomas), "Love City" (St. John), and "Small City" (Water Island).
• There are four main islands of St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, and Water Island as well as many smaller islands.