Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Map of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

File:DSC00835.JPG

Trunk Bay Beach, in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Reef Bay and Virgin Islands National Park from Cocoloba Point.

Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is the smallest of the three main islands: Saint John, Saint Thomas, and Saint Croix. St. John is located in the Caribbean Sea about 4 miles east of Saint Thomas, the location of the territory's capital, Charlotte Amalie, and 4 miles south and west of Tortola, part of the British Virgin Islands. It is 50.8 km² (19.61 sq mi) in area and has a population of 4,197 (2000 census) [1]. Because there are no airports on St. John, there is only access to the island by boat. Ferry service runs hourly from St. Thomas and daily from Tortola; regular ferries are also available from Virgin Gorda, Jost Van Dyke, and Anegada.

History

St. John was first settled by the Arawak Indians who had migrated north from coastal Colombia and Venezuela around AD 300. The Arawaks inhabited the island until around the year AD 1300 when they were driven off by the more aggressive and warlike Carib Indians. Extensive archaeological work was done from 1996 to the present at Cinnamon Bay and the artifacts from this dig are just now being studied and should yield more detailed information on pre-Columbus civilization in the Virgin Islands (Taino).

Christopher Columbus is credited with being the first European to see the Virgin Islands during his Second Voyage to the New World in 1493. He named the island group "Once Mil Virgenes", or Eleven Thousand Virgins, in honor of the feast day of Saint Ursula and the 11,000 virgins who were martyred with her.

The Danish West India and Guinea Company was the first to settle the island in 1718. They are also credited with naming the island St. John (Danish: Sankt Jan). The Danish Crown took full control of the colony in 1754 along with St. Thomas and St. Croix. Sugar plantations, such as the famous Annaberg Sugar Plantation, were established in great numbers on St. John because of the intense heat and fertile terrain. The opening of sugar plantations also meant the importation of slaves from Africa. St. John was the site of one of the first significant slave rebellions in the New World in 1733, when slaves took over the island for six months.

The Danish were able to defeat the enslaved Africans with help from the French in Martinique. Many Africans committed suicide by jumping off cliffs instead of returning to slavery, as it was commonly believed that upon death they would return to Africa. By 1775, it is estimated that slaves outnumbered the Danish settlers 5 to 1. The indigenous Caribs and Arawaks were also used for slave labor to the point of wiping out the entire population. Slavery was finally abolished in St. John on July 3, 1848.

The United States of America bought the Virgin Islands in 1917 in order to establish a naval base to prevent German expansion in the western hemisphere. The U.S. government paid $25 million for the three islands. They also agreed to recognize Denmark's claim to Greenland, which had previously been disputed.

Virgin Islanders are now U.S. citizens, although they are not able to vote in U.S. presidential elections and have only non-voting status in Congress. The Virgin Islands are an organized, unincorporated territory of the US and, since 1972, have elected their own Governor and have a large degree of self-rule through a small, 15-seat local legislature.

In 1956, Laurence Rockefeller donated most of the land he had acquired on the island to the United States National Park Service under the condition that it be protected from future development. The remaining portion, the Caneel Bay Resort, continues to operate on a lease arrangement while the park owns the actual land. The Virgin Islands National Park borders encompass 75% of the island, but various in-holdings within the park boundary (eg. Peter Bay, Maho Bay) reduce the actual land the park owns to 60%. However, much of the islands waters, coral reefs and shoreline are protected by inclusion within the park and this was expanded with the creation of the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument in 2001.

Sub-districts

US Virgin Islands administrative divisions.

Saint John is divided into the following sub-districts:

1. Central
2. Coral Bay
3. Cruz Bay
4. East End

Government and demographics

Residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands elect a legislature of 15 delegates every four years. Of these 15, seven are from St. Croix, seven are from St. Thomas and St. John and one is elected at-large, but must be a resident of St. John. This assembly is responsible for most of the islands' internal affairs. The Islands also elect a governor every four years.

St. John itself does not have any local government; however, the Governor appoints an island Administrator. He has no actual authority and acts more as an advisor to the Governor and a spokesperson for the Governor's policies.

Cruz Bay has become the principal town on the island since ferry service from St. Thomas became the main entry to the island. Previously, Coral Bay was the hub of economic activity on the island as its natural port offered both protection to the sailing vessels of the day, and an easy sail with minimal tacking to the nearby British Virgin Islands. In fact, until the late twentieth century, residents of Coral Bay and East End had easier and more frequent access to Tortola than those of either Cruz Bay or St. Thomas.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, St. John has a residential population of 4,157 people, most of whom live in either Cruz Bay or Coral Bay on the eastern end of the island. However, as a U.S. territory, its population is not included in the overall U.S. population count.

Tourism and sites

File:Little Cinnamon beach.jpg

Little Cinnamon Beach, in St John, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Cruz Bay, in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Cruz Bay on the western coast of the island serves as the principal port of St. John. From there, a ferry runs throughout the day to and from Charlotte Amalie and Red Hook in St. Thomas. It is also home to (among other things) car rental locations, several restaurants, a supermarket, and several shopping centers, the major three of which are named Mongoose Junction, the Marketplace, and Wharfside Village. Coral Bay on the eastern side of the island is the other (smaller) town on St. John which offers some of the same amenities.

Entrance to Mongoose Junction, a popular shopping center in Cruz Bay

Participant in a Carnival Troupe in St. John

Most of St. John is National Park land, so the majority of the island is undeveloped. Some of the most popular beaches in the Caribbean are located along the island's north shore. The most spectacular and well known of these is Trunk Bay, which has consistently been voted one of the "Ten Best Beaches in The World" by Condé Nast Traveler magazine and has received similar recognition from other publications. Since the beaches are on National Park land, they are all open to the public and are not home to any hotels or resorts. One notable exception to this is the Caneel Bay resort on the north shore, which lies on Rockefeller’s former personal estate. The remaining coastal land, mostly in the north and in the east, is private property and is home to many secluded private villas and cottages. The National Park Service also offers two campgrounds on the island's beaches at Maho Bay and Cinnamon Bay. The reefs near the beaches of St. John are also world famous for their snorkeling. In some areas, such as Trunk Bay and nearby Cinnamon Bay, signs identifying the different sea life have been placed by the National Park Service among the many offshore coral reefs to assist visitors.

Trunk Bay is a favorite destination for day trips from both St. Thomas and from visiting cruise ships so it can often be very crowded.

The beaches on the South Side of St. John are considerably more wild and remote. In some cases they are only accessible by primitive dirt roads.

Economy

The main export of St. John used to be sugar cane, which was produced in abundance using African and Indian slave labor, however, this industry all but fell apart in the 19th century after the island's slaves were declared free. The economy of St. John is now almost entirely built on tourism and tourism-related industries, real estate development, guest houses [ie. Hillcrest Guest House, http://www.hillcreststjohn.com] and hotels.

References

• Districts of the United States Virgin Islands, United States Census Bureau

External links

Official sites

• St. John - Official Website for the United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism
• Cruz Bay Visitor Center - Virgin Island National Park, U.S. Department of the Interior
• St. John, USVI - Official site for the US Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association

Map

• St. John USVI Google Map - Satellite Map of St. John, USVI

News and media

• St. John Sun Times - Bi-monthly newsmagazine covering arts, culture, people and events in St. John
• St. John Tradewinds - Weekly newspaper in St. John
• St. John Source - Daily online news source in St. John

18°20′26″N 64°44′47″W

Places to Stay

• Hillcrest Guest House, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands - One of the oldest guest houses on St. John. Available daily and monthly rates; (340) 776-6774