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St. John, Virgin Islands - Island History
St. John, Virgin Islands, is the home to over two dozen vacation rental homes and villas offered by Catered To. The island is rich with beauty and has an exciting history.
St. John and Virgin Islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He named the islands for St. Ursula and the other virgin martyrs associated with her. Columbus attempted to land at St. Croix in November 1493 but was driven away by fierce Carib Native Americans who inhabited the island. The Carib Native Americans were annihilated, but no permanent settlements were made. The Virgin Islands remained a Spanish possession throughout the 16th century.
Denmark colonized St. Thomas in 1666. The Danish West Indies Company controlled the group until 1755, when Frederick V, king of Denmark, bought the islands. In 1800, during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain blockaded St. Thomas and in 1801 occupied the island. In 1802 St. Thomas was returned to Denmark. From 1807 to 1815 the British again occupied the Danish West Indies; in 1815 the islands were once more restored to Denmark.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Virgin Islands flourished as a center for the slave trade and as a producer of sugar. To harvest the sugar, the Danes began to depend on slavery and started importing slaves from Africa in 1673. The slave trade was prohibited by the Danish government in 1792. A slave revolt on St. Croix in 1848 led to the slaves' immediate emancipation. The slaves had the tacit support of the Danish governor of the islands, Peter von Scholten, who was opposed to slavery. After the emancipation of the slaves, the economy of the Virgin Islands disintegrated. The population of the islands dwindled. It was not until the 1940s that the economy began to recover.
During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union began to negotiate with Denmark for the purchase of the Virgin Islands in order to establish naval bases in the Caribbean. Nothing came of the negotiations, however, until World War I (1914-1918). In 1917 the United States bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million and built a naval base in order to protect the Panama Canal and to prevent Germany's seizure of the islands.
Virgin Islanders have been U.S. citizens since 1927. After World War II (1939-1945), the Virgin Islands began to prosper again. Federal aid, local industry, and the growth of tourism helped improve the islands' economy.
Come and experience the history and character! Catered To's vacation rentals can provide you with all the peace or excitement you wish and let you enjoy this remarkable paradise! The following information is designed to help you as you select the location that will be just right for you and your group.
