The U.S. Virgin Islands

Tourism is the lifeblood of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The white beaches, spectacular coral reefs, and sparkling aquamarine waters of St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John are internationally famous. The average temperature is 78 degrees, and trade winds blowing from the east help keep the humidity at comfortable levels. Historic eighteenth century buildings and picturesque ports add to the charm of the islands, which attract thousands of visitors by plane and ship each year.
The U.S. purchased the islands in 1917 from Denmark, which had colonized them in the seventeenth century. With the outbreak of World War I in Europe, the U.S. wanted the strategically situated islands as a base to help protect the Panama Canal. Included in the purchase were the three main islands and more than 50 tiny islets, many uninhabited. Today, the islands have about 100,000 residents, most of whom are descendants of African slaves brought to the islands to work on sugar plantations. The slaves rose in revolt against the Danes in 1848 and won their freedom. A few miles to the northeast are the British Virgin Islands consisting of four main islands and some 30 islets.
Christopher Columbus named the Virgin Islands in 1493 in honor of the feast day of St. Ursula. Ursula was a British princess. She and 11,000 virgins were said to have been murdered by barbarians during a pilgrimage to Rome in the third century.