Useful Notes / United States Virgin Islands

A territory of the United States in The Caribbean, the United States Virgin Islands are the southwestern Virgin Islands that are under American control, while the British-controlled ones are to the northeast. They use the US dollar as their currency, and have the same national anthem. Charlotte Amalie is the capital and largest city of this territory. The Islands' population of about 107,000 people is predominantly Afro-Caribbean, with whites and Hispanics as the largest minority groups. The University of the Virgin Islands is counted among the US's historically black colleges and universities.

Previously controlled by Denmark as the Danish West Indies, the territory was sold to the United States by Denmark in the 1916 Treaty of the Danish West Indies, with the territory holding a holiday known as Transfer Day every year on March 31 to commemorate the acquisition of the islands by the United States. U.S. citizenship was granted to the inhabitants of the islands in 1927. The Danish influence is still apparent in the names of the towns and the roads, and the people's surnames. Tourism is big here, since if you are American, you need neither a passport nor working knowledge of another language to get by. Tourism makes up most of the economy, in varying degrees. St. Thomas is the most popular port of the three islands; St. John, whose landmass is about a third national park and thus uninhabited, is close by and easily reached via ferry. St Croix, about forty miles south, has historically been more industrial, hosting one of the western hemisphere's largest oil refineries, Hovensa, until its closure in 2012.

Like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands have their own Olympic Committee, separate from the United States.

Each of the islands have their own cultural identity and practices, many of which are shared with the other Lesser Antilles. These include Carnival, Jouvert, the Three Kings' Day celebrations, moko jumbies, and similar. They also maintain the practice of referring to areas/neighbourhoods by their Dutch "estate" name, like Estate Rust Op Twist on St. Croix. Cuisine is also similar to the other Antilles, incorporating barbecue, root vegetables such as yams, plantains, hot peppers, seafood, salt fish, rice, fresh local fruit, and shellfish. St. Croix is especially known for its rum export- the popular Cruzan Rum brand is based on-island.

Another interesting bit of trivia is that while the rest of the US drives on the right side of the road, the US Virgin Islanders drive on the left side. However, most vehicles have the steering wheel on the left (U.S.-style), rather than the right-side steering wheels typical in most left-driving countries.

U.S. Virgin Islands in Media

• 1983: Doomsday: After hearing that the U.S. federal government relocated to Australia, the U.S. Virgin Islands renamed itself as the United States Atlantic Remnant.
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2: The U.S. Virgin Islands is the setting for one mission in the Soviet campaign.
• Tim Duncan, formerly of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020, was born on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• The Lesson: An alien race occupies the islands, creating political tensions.

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United States Virgin Islander flag

This flag consists of a simplified version of the American coat of arms between the letters V and I, standing for Virgin Islands. The yellow-colored eagle holds a sprig of laurel in one talon, three arrows in the other, and a shield with the same colors as the flag of the United States in it's center.

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Miscellaneous

• Capital and largest city: Charlotte Amalie
• Population: 105,870
• Area: 346.4 km² (133.7 sq mi)
• Currency: United States dollar ($) (USD)
• ISO-3166-1 Code: VI
• Country calling code: 1 (area code 340)