Editing Virgin Islands

{{Short description|Island group of the Caribbean Leeward Islands}}
{{About|the group of islands in the Caribbean|other uses|Virgin Islands (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox islands
| name               = Virgin Islands
| image_name         = {{multiple image
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  | border                   = infobox
  | perrow                   = 1
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  | image1                   =  ISS017-E-18774 - View of the Caribbean Sea.jpg
  | caption1              = [[Satellite imagery |Satellite image]], October 2008
  | image2                   = SVG Map of Virgin Islands.svg 
 | caption2                = {{Leftlegend|#F4E2BA|[[Puerto Rico]]|outline=gray}}<!-- comment to suppress paragraph spacing
-->{{Leftlegend|#008000|[[Spanish Virgin Islands]] (Puerto Rico)|outline=gray}}<!-- comment to suppress paragraph spacing
-->{{Leftlegend|#FF0000|[[United States Virgin Islands]]|outline=gray}}<!-- comment to suppress paragraph spacing
-->{{Leftlegend|#000080|[[British Virgin Islands]]|outline=gray}}}}
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| etymology          = 
| location           = Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean
| GridReference      = <!-- UK only -->
| archipelago        = [[Leeward Islands]]
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| country1           = [[United States]]
| country1_admin_divisions_title = [[Insular area]]
| country1_admin_divisions = [[United States Virgin Islands]]
| country1_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[Insular area]]
| country1_admin_divisions_1 = [[Puerto Rico]]
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| country2           = [[United Kingdom]]
| country2_admin_divisions_title = [[British Overseas Territories|Overseas territory]]
| country2_admin_divisions = [[British Virgin Islands]]
| demonym            = 
| population         = 150.000 (estimation)
| population_as_of   = 2022
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| languages          = [[English language|English]]<br>[[Virgin Islands Creole English|Virgin Islands Creole]]<br>[[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| ethnic_groups      = [[Afro-Caribbean]]<br>[[White Caribbean|White-Caribbean]]<br> [[Hispanic-Caribbean]]<br>[[Asian Caribbean people|Asian-Caribbean]]<br>[[Indo-Caribbean]]
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}}

The '''Virgin Islands''' ({{langx|es|Islas Vírgenes}}) are an [[archipelago]] between the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic Ocean]] and northeastern [[Caribbean Sea]], geographically forming part of the [[Leeward Islands]] of the [[Lesser Antilles]] in the [[Caribbean|Caribbean islands]] or [[West Indies]].  

[[Geology|Geologically]] separated from the [[Lesser Antilles]] by the [[Anegada Passage]] and from the [[Greater Antilles]] by the [[Mona Passage|Mona passage]], all the islands except for [[Saint Croix]] lie on the same [[carbonate platform]] and [[Continental shelf|insular shelf]], known as the [[Puerto Rico Bank]], and same [[List of tectonic plates#Microplates|tectonic plate]], known as the [[Puerto Rico–Virgin Islands microplate]]. 

Politically, the islands fall into three [[jurisdiction (area)|jurisdictions]]: the easternmost [[British Overseas Territories|British overseas territory]] of the [[British Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]], informally referred to as the ''British Virgin Islands'', the central [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated American territory]] of the [[United States Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands of the United States]], commonly known as the ''U.S. Virgin Islands,'' and the westernmost island-municipalities of the [[Territories of the United States|unincorporated American territory]] of Puerto Rico, officially named [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]] and [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]] but generally called the ''[[Spanish Virgin Islands]]'' or ''Puerto Rican Virgin Islands.''

[[File:PAT - Virgin Islands.gif |right|thumb|upright=1.2|Political map of the Virgin Islands]]

==Etymology==
[[File:Virgin_Islands-map-CIA.jpg|thumb|The locations of the US and UK Virgin Islands]]
[[File:Rigobert-Bonne-Atlas-de-toutes-les-parties-connues-du-globe-terrestre MG 0031.tif|thumb|Rigobert Bonne: Map of the Virgin Islands, 1780]]

[[Christopher Columbus]] named the islands after [[Saint Ursula]] and the 11,000 Virgins ({{langx|es|Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes}}), shortened to the Virgins ({{lang|es|las Vírgenes}}). The official name of the British territory is the Virgin Islands, and the official name of the U.S. territory is the Virgin Islands of the United States. In practice, the two island groups are almost universally referred to as the [[British Virgin Islands]] and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

==History==
{{Main|Danish West Indies|History of the United States Virgin Islands|History of the British Virgin Islands|History of Puerto Rico}}

The Virgin Islands were originally inhabited by the [[Arawaks|Arawak]] and [[Island Caribs|Carib]], many of whom are thought to have perished during the colonial period due to [[slavery|enslavement]], foreign disease, and war brought about by European colonists.<ref>{{cite book |title=Genocidio en América |publisher=Editorial MAPFRE |last=Pereña |first=Luciano |year=1992 |location=Madrid |pages=351 |isbn=84-7100-453-4}}</ref>

European colonists later settled here and established [[sugar plantations in the Caribbean|sugar plantations]] and at least one [[tobacco plant|tobacco]] plantation, and bought [[Slavery|slaves]] from [[Africa]]. The descendants of the enslaved people remain the bulk of the population, sharing a common African-Caribbean heritage with the rest of the [[English-speaking Caribbean]]. Instead, African slaves were brought to the islands to work on sugarcane and indigo plantations. There are now no sugar plantations, but the descendants of slaves remain and make up the majority of the West Indian culture of the island's population, as well as the English-speaking population of other islands in the Caribbean.

Like mainland Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands that belonged to [[Spain]] were ceded to the United States in 1898. The United States took possession of the islands after the signing of the armistice that put an end to military operations in the [[Spanish–American War]].

A 1916 [[Treaty of the Danish West Indies|treaty]] between the United States and Denmark (not ratified by the United States until 1917) resulted in Denmark selling the [[Danish West Indies|Danish Virgin Islands]] to the United States for $25 million in gold.

=== Historical affiliations ===
The Virgin Islands have been under the sovereignty of several nations and groups throughout history. Below is a table which represents the affiliation of the various islands:

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+
! rowspan="2" |Rule began
! colspan="5" |present day U.S.V.I.
! colspan="4" |present day British V.I.
! colspan="6" |present day Spanish V.I. (P.R.)
! rowspan="2" |Rule began
|-
! colspan="2" |St. Thomas
!St. John
! colspan="2" |St. Croix
!Tortola
!Virgin Gorda
!Anegada
!Jost Van Dyke
!Culebra
! colspan="5" |Vieques
|-
|1493
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background:#F2ECCE;" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;' rowspan="2" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE;' colspan="2" rowspan="2" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;' rowspan="2" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;' rowspan="2" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;' rowspan="2" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;' rowspan="2" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| style='background:#F2ECCE;' |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
| colspan="5" style="background:#F2ECCE;" |{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Cross_of_Burgundy.svg|border=|size=23px}}<br>[[New Spain]]
|1493
|- style=height:3em
|1580
| rowspan="4" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;" |[[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] (ES)*
| colspan="5" rowspan="4" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;" |[[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] (ES)*
|1580
|-
| rowspan="2" |1625
| colspan="2" rowspan="5" style="background:#E6FBFF; border-style : solid solid none solid;" |[[Dutch Virgin Islands]]
| rowspan="7" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;" |
| rowspan="5" style="background:#E6E6FF;"|[[British Leeward Islands]]**
| style="background:#E6FBFF;" | [[Dutch Virgin Islands]]**
| rowspan="3" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;" |
| style='background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;' rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="3" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;" |
| rowspan="19" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;" |
| rowspan="2" |1625
|-
| rowspan="4" style="background:#F2ECCE;"|[[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] (ES)**
|-
|1628
| rowspan="7" style="background:#E6FBFF;"|[[Dutch Virgin Islands]] 
|1628
|-
|1648
| rowspan="5" style="background:#E6FBFF; border-style : solid solid none solid;" |[[Dutch Virgin Islands]] 
| rowspan="6" style="background:#E6FBFF; border-style : solid solid none solid;" |[[Dutch Virgin Islands]] 
| rowspan="25" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;" |
| colspan="5" rowspan="9" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid none solid;" |
|1648
|-
|1650
|1650
|-
|1651
| colspan="2" rowspan="6" style="background:#FFE6E6; border-style : solid none none solid;" |[[Danish West Indies]]
| colspan="2" style="background:#EEEEEE;"|[[Hospitaller colonization of the Americas|Knights Hospitaller]]
|1651
|- style="height:3em"
|1664
| colspan="2" rowspan="8" style="background:#F7E6FF;" |[[French West Indies]]
|1664
|-
|1671
| style="background:#FFE6E6;" rowspan="3" |[[Danish West Indies]]
|1671
|-
|1672
| rowspan="18" style="background:#E6E6FF;"|[[British Leeward Islands]] 
|1672
|-
|1680
| colspan="2" rowspan="17" style="background:#E6E6FF;"|[[British Leeward Islands]] 
|1680
|-
|1684
| rowspan="7" style="background:#E6E6FF;"|[[British Leeward Islands]]
|1684
|-
|1685
| style="background:#FFE6E6;" rowspan="9" |
| rowspan="9" style="background:#DDDDDD;"|[[Saint Thomas (Brandenburg colony)|Brandenburg-Prussia]]***
|1685
|-
|1689
| colspan="5" style="background:#DDDDDD;"|[[Brandenburg-Prussia]] 
|1689
|-
|1693
| colspan="5" rowspan="2" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : solid solid none solid;"|[[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] (ES)
|1693
|-
| rowspan="2" |1698
| style="background:#FFE6E6;" colspan="2" rowspan="7" |[[Danish West Indies]]  
| rowspan="2" |1698
|-
| rowspan="9" style="border-style : none solid none solid;" style="background:#F2ECCE;"|
| rowspan="9" style="background:#E6E6FF;"|[[British Leeward Islands]]**
| rowspan="9" style="background:#F7E6FF;"|[[French West Indies]]**
| style="background:#FFE6E6; border-style : solid none solid solid;" rowspan="9" |[[Danish West Indies]]**
| style="background:#CEE6F2;" |[[Company of Scotland|Scottish Darien Company]]
|-
|1699
| style="background:#FFE6E6; border-style : solid solid solid none;"  rowspan="8" |
|1699
|-
|1718
| style="background:#FFE6E6;" rowspan="4" |[[Danish West Indies]]  
|1718
|-
|1733
|1733
|-
|1750
| rowspan="7" style="background:#E6E6FF;" |[[British Leeward Islands]] 
|1750
|-
|1754
| style="background:#FFE6E6;" colspan="2" |
|1754
|-
|1801
| colspan="5" style="background:#E6E6FF;" |[[British Leeward Islands]]
|1801
|-
|1802
| style="background:#FFE6E6;" colspan="5" |[[Danish West Indies]]
|1802
|-
|1807
| colspan="5" rowspan="2" style="background:#E6E6FF;" |[[British Leeward Islands]]
|1807
|-
|1811
| colspan="5" rowspan="4" style="background:#F2ECCE; border-style : none solid solid solid;"|
|1811
|-
|1815
| colspan="5" rowspan="4" style="background:#FFE6E6; border-style : solid solid none solid;" |[[Danish West Indies]]
|1815
|-
|1816
| style="background:#E6E6FF;" colspan="4" |[[British Virgin Islands]]
|1816
|- style="height:3em"
|1833
| colspan="4" rowspan="3" style="background:#E6E6FF;" |[[British Leeward Islands]]
|1833
|- style="height:3em"
|1898
| colspan="6" rowspan="3" style="background:#CECEF2;"|[[Puerto Rico]] (US)
|1898
|- style="height:3em"
|1917
| colspan="5" rowspan="2" style="background:#CECEF2;"|[[United States Virgin Islands]]
|1917
|-
|1958
| style="background:#E6E6FF;" colspan="4" |[[British Virgin Islands]]
|1958
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Largely under control of [[Piracy|pirates]].

<nowiki>**</nowiki> Coexisting claim.

<nowiki>***</nowiki> Leased/shared territory.

==Demographics==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2019}}

The total population of the Virgin Islands is 147,778: 104,901 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 31,758 in the British, and 11,119 in the Spanish. Roughly three-quarters of islanders are [[Afro-Caribbean|black]] in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, while the majority of inhabitants in [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]] and [[Vieques]] are [[White Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican of European]] descent, with a significant [[Afro-Puerto Rican]] community. The main languages are [[English language|English]] and [[Virgin Islands Creole]] in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] in the Puerto Rican territory. St. Thomas is the most populous island, with St. Croix close behind (51,634 and 50,601, respectively).

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! Name
! [[List of dependent territories|Sovereign State]]
! class="unsortable"|Subdivisions
! [[List of countries by area|Area]]<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
! [[List of countries by population|Population]]<br />(2005 est.)
! [[List of countries by population density|Population density]]<br />(per km<sup>2</sup>)
! class="unsortable"|[[Capital (political)|Capital]]
|-
| [[British Virgin Islands]]
| United Kingdom
| [[Districts of the British Virgin Islands|Districts]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|153.0}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|31,758}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|207.6}}
| [[Road Town]]
|-
| [[Spanish Virgin Islands]] ([[Puerto Rico]])
| United States
| [[Municipalities of Puerto Rico|Barrios]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|165.1 }}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|11,119 }}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|67.3}}
| [[San Juan (Puerto Rico)|San Juan, PR]]
|-
| [[United States Virgin Islands]]
| United States
| [[Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands|Districts]]
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|346.4}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|104,901}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|302.8}}
| [[Charlotte Amalie, United States Virgin Islands|Charlotte Amalie]]
|- style=" font-weight:bold; " class="sortbottom"
! Total
|
|
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|664.5}}
| style="text-align:right;"| {{nts|147,778}}
| style="text-align:right;"| 222.4
|
|-
|}

==Traffic control==
Motor vehicles are [[right- and left-hand traffic|driven on the left-hand side of the road]] in both the British and the U.S. Virgin Islands, although the steering wheels on most cars are located on the left side (as is the norm for drive-on-the-right localities). In the Spanish Virgin Islands, vehicles are driven on the right-hand side of the road.

==See also==
{{portal|Caribbean|Puerto Rico|United States|United Kingdom}}
* [[Culture of the Virgin Islands]]
* [[Danish Virgin Islands]]
* [[Dutch Virgin Islands]]
* [[Music of the Virgin Islands]]
* [[Virgin Islands Creole]]
* [[Virgin Islands patch reefs]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

==General sources==
* {{cite magazine |last1=Colin Thomas |first1=J. |first2=William Albert |last2=Allard |first3=Cary |last3=Wolinsky |title=Paradise Comes of Age: The U.S. Virgin Islands |magazine=[[National Geographic]] |date=February 1981 |volume=159 |issue=2 |pages=225–243 }}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Virgin Islands|<br/>Virgin Islands}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.bvi.gov.vg/ BVI.gov: British Virgin Islands government website]
* [http://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/virgin-islands U.S. Office of Insular Affairs: United States Virgin Islands government website]
* [http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc/?h=uvi&n=dloc Digital Library of the Caribbean: University of the Virgin Islands information]
* [https://guides.loc.gov/virgin-islands-state-guide U.S. Virgin Islands: Resource Guide, from the Library of Congress] 
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Virgin Islands |volume= XXIV  | page= |short=1 }}

{{Caribbean topic}}
{{Caribbean topics}}
{{Danish overseas empire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Virgin Islands| ]]
[[Category:Leeward Islands (Caribbean)]]
[[Category:Geography of the British Virgin Islands|.]]
[[Category:Geography of the United States Virgin Islands|.]]