Page 212 - The Virgin Islands
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GOVERNMENT - The BVI is a British dependent territory with a lo- THE MAIN ISLANDS
cally elected government that is responsible for the country’s internal JOST VAN DYKE - Named for an early Dutch settler and former pi-
and financial affairs. A crown-appointed governor possesses reserved rate, rugged scenery and colorful folklore make up Jost Van Dyke.
legislative powers in the areas of defense and internal security, exter- With fewer than 300 inhabitants, it measures just four miles by three,
nal affairs, conditions of service of public officers, and the courts. The with the highest point at 1,054 feet and has been home to Arawak Indi-
government is headed by a chief minister and a cabinet of three other ans, Caribs, Dutch, Africans and the British. Notable inhabitants have
ministers, all of whom are selected from among members of the Leg- included William Thornton, architect of the U.S. Capitol Building, and
islative Council. The Legislative Council consists of thirteen members John Lettsome, founder of the London Medical Society. Like many of
elected by direct popular vote—one member from each of nine elec- the neighboring islands, it is volcanic in origin and mountainous. The
toral districts, and four at-large members. Elections to the Legislative highest point on the island is Majohnny Hill at 321 meters (1054 ft).
Council are held at least once every four years and are structured by TORTOLA - capital island of the BVI - In the late 16th century, the
a party system. The four major BVI political parties are the Virgin Is- English, who had successfully usurped control of the area from the
lands Party (VIP), National Democratic Party (NDP), United Party Dutch, established a permanent plantation colony on Tortola and the
(UP), and Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM). surrounding islands. Settlers developed the islands for the sugar cane
The BVI National Parks Trust has installed more than 200 mooring industry, with large plantations dependent on the slave labor of Af-
buoys (surface buoys attached to stainless steel pins set in bedrock) ricans transported across the Atlantic. The majority of early settlers
throughout the islands. Moorings are in place at BVI dive sites and came in the late eighteenth century: Loyalists from the Thirteen Col-
mooring rules are strictly enforced. Anchoring is prohibited. Most onies after the American Revolutionary War were given land grants
dive sites average in the 40- to 60-foot (12- to 18-m) range, which will here by the Crown to encourage development. They brought their
allow divers plenty of bottom time. Snorkeling in the BVI is also some African-American slaves with them, who outnumbered the British
of the Caribbean’s finest and many sites are suitable for both activi- colonists. The sugar industry dominated Tortola economic history for
ties. Any diver who’s ever heard of the BVI has likely heard about the more than a century. In the early 19th century, after Britain abolished
famous wreck of the royal mail ship Rhone, a 310-foot steamer that the international slave trade, the Royal Navy patrolled the Caribbean
went down just off Salt Island during a hurricane in 1867. The wreck of to intercept illegal slave ships. The colony settled liberated Africans
the Rhone can be explored at several levels. The bow rests on its star- from these ships on Tortola, in the then-unsettled Kingstown area. St.
board side in 90 feet (27 meters) at its deepest point; the midsection Phillip’s Church was built in the early 19th century in this community
is a favorite with upright column like framing at 60 feet (18 meters) as one of the earliest free black churches in the Americas. Tortola is a
and the stern sits in less than 30 feet (9 meters), offering an enormous mountainous island 19 km long and 5 km wide, with an area of 55.7
bronze propeller and plenty of fish life for freediving. It’s no wonder square km.
that the wreck has become a favorite backdrop for photographers and
filmmakers.
