Page 32 - The Virgin Islands

The first residents of the present United States Virgin Islands (USVI)
were the Ciboney, Caribs, and Arawaks. The Carib were the last of
the Native Indian people to inhabit St. Croix. The Carib people were
originally from the Guiana region of South America. They were not
the first Indians on St. Croix. The Tainos or Arawaks came before
them and the Caribs didn’t arrive on the island until the early 1400’s.
It was the Carib that greeted Columbus on his second voyage through
the islands. In 1493, Christopher Columbus visited these islands. He
had been searching for a route to India and consequently he called
the people he encountered Indians. Columbus named the beautiful is-
lands ‘The Virgins’ in reference to the legendary beauty of St. Ursula
and her 11,000 virgins. Christopher Columbus is credited as the first
European to have discovered the island in 1493. He landed at what is
know known as Salt River, which is on the central north coast. He was
searching for fresh water but didn’t find any because a river, was just
an inlet from the sea that resembled the mouth of a river. There can
be small running streams/rivers in the rainforest, depending on how
much rain there has been, but nothing navigable. The far eastern part
of the island is a bit more arid than the west end. You will see a lot of ish on Puerto Rico invaded the small colony; the French then quickly
cactus plants, with some growing up to 15’ high on the rolling hills.
Even though the island is only 27 miles long, east to west, the western
end of the island has lush green hills that rise up much higher than on
the east end and even includes a small rainforest. There are pristine,
white sandy beaches all around the island.
The period after Columbus’ visit was quiet as far as exploration and
colonization is concerned. Explorers as late as 1587 reported evidence
of Indian habitation however settlers by 1625 reported not finding In-
dians. It is believed that Spanish settlers on nearby Puerto Rico raided
the islands on a regular basis. Some Indians were forced to work while
others fled. Indian groups lived throughout the Caribbean, however
European exploration and colonization brought demise to the indig-
enous groups. They had no immunity to European diseases and were
not prepared to deal with the harsh labor they were forced into. The
Caribs continued to inhabit St. Croix for about a decade after Colum-
bus’ visit. During this time they lived with an understanding of mu-
tual coexistence with the Spanish on Puerto Rico. This understanding
ended when a Spanish adventurer raided St. Croix for Carib slaves.
The Caribs then joined with the Tainos of Puerto Rico, to fight against
the Spanish. As a result of their uprising, the Caribs were ordered to
be eliminated by the Spanish Crown. With ‘legalized’ extermination
and military action inevitable, the Caribs permanently abandoned
St. Croix. Within several decades following colonization of the Carib-
bean, Indian populations had plummeted. Today they are found on
reserved lands on only a few islands. They no longer exist in what is
today the USVI.
In the early 1600s many countries took interest in the Caribbean and
in “the Virgins”; Holland, France, England, Spain, Denmark and the
Knights of Malta all sought colonies. England and Holland colonized
and jointly inhabited St. Croix in the 1620s. The neighboring Span-
moved in, removing the Spanish and taking over themselves. St. Croix
remained a French colony until 1733. Fort The Danish West India
Company first attempted to settle St. Thomas in 1665. They success-
fully established a settlement on St. Thomas in 1672 consisting of 113
inhabitants. They expanded and settled on St. John in 1694. The Dan-
ish had claimed St. John as early as the 1680’s, however hostility from
the neighboring British on Tortola prevented the Danes from estab-
lishing a settlement.