Zackery Dahlberg, age 13, of St. Augustine, Fla., for his question:
HOW DID THE UNITED STATES GET THE VIRGIN ISLANDS?
The Virgin Islands of the United States is the easternmost United States possession. Administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the group of islands is governned by one house territorial legislature and a governor elected by the people. The territory was purchased from Denmark in 1917.
Christopher Columbus discovered the Virgin Islands on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. He named the group in memory of St.
Ursula and her 11,000 maidens. He claimed all the islands for Spain_ but the Spaniards never settled there.
The British Virgin Islands, which make up half of the Virgin
Islands group; have been under the British flag since 1672. About that same time, Denmark established a permanent settlement on St. Thomas. The Danes took possession of St. John in 1717 and bought St. Croix from France in 1733. Denmark then sold all of its West Indian possessions to the United States in 1917 for $25 million, or about $295 an acre.
The Virgin Islands of the United States, which covers 133 square miles and has a coastline of 117 miles, proved to have great military importance during World War II, especially as an outpost to protect the Panama Canal. Today the island group is a popular tourist and resort area.
The Virgin Islands lie about 40 miles east of Puerto Rico. Miami, Fla., lies about 1,100 miles to the northwest and Panama is about 1,200 miles to the southwest.
Only three of the islands are inhabited: St. Croix (which is pronounced "saynt kroy"), St. John and St. Thomas. Located on St. Thomas is the city of Charlotte Amalie, the capital and largest city in the Virgin Islands. It has a population of about 13,000.
All residents who are 18 years of age or older and are U.S. citizens may vote in local elections. The islanders send a nonvoting representative to the U.S. Congress.
In 1927, Congress passed a law making all of the people of the Virgin Islands citizens of the United States. Then in 1936, persons who could read and write English were granted the right to vote in local elections.
At the close of World War II, the United States set aside $10 million which was used to further develop island schools, hospitals, roads, sewage and water systems.
Of every 100 islanders, and there are more than 100,000 of them, 64 are black and 17 are white. The rest are of mixed race or belong to other races. Of every 100 islanders, 65 were born in the Virgin Islands, 12 in Puerto Rico and eight in the Continental United States. The rest moved there from other countries.
The tourist industry is the Virgin Island's major industry. Well over 1 million tourists visit the islands each year to enjoy the sensational beaches, fishing, fine hotels, and restaurants, as well as, ruins of castles and forts built by pirates during the 1700s.
Most of the food Virgin Islanders eat must be imported. But there is some farm income from beef cattle, dairy herds, hogs and sheep. Eggs are a leading farm product.