| FDuring
the 17th century, the archipelago was divided into
two territorial units, one English and the other
Danish. Sugarcane, produced by slave labor, drove
the islands' economy during the 18th and early 19th
centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish
portion, which had been in economic decline since
the abolition of slavery in 1848.
The
Virgin Islands were originally settled by the
Ciboney, Carib, and Arawaks. The islands were
named by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage
in 1493 for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers.
Over the next three hundred years, the islands
were held by many European powers, including Spain,
Britain, the Netherlands, France, the Knights
of Malta, and Denmark.
The
Danish West India Company settled on Saint Thomas
in 1672, on Saint John in 1694, and purchased
Saint Croix from France in 1733. The islands became
royal Danish colonies in 1754, their name in Danish
translating as Jomfruøerne. Sugarcane,
produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy
during the 18th and early 19th centuries, until
the abolition of slavery by Governor Peter von
Scholten on July 3, 1848.
For
the remainder of the Danish time, the islands
were not economically viable and significant transfers
were made from the Danish state budgets to the
authorities in the islands. An attempt to sell
the islands to the United States was made early
in the 20th century, but a deal proved elusive.
A number of reforms in the hope of reviving the
islands' economy were attempted, but none having
great success. The onset of World War I brought
the reforms to a close, and again left the islands
isolated and exposed.
During
the submarine warfare phases of the First World
War, the United States, fearing that the islands
might be seized by Germany as a submarine base,
once again approached Denmark to sell the islands
to the United States. After a few months of negotiations
a selling sum of $25 million was agreed. The Danish
Crown may have felt some pressure to accept the
sale, thinking that the United States would seize
the islands, if Denmark was invaded by Germany.
However, at the same time the economics of continued
possession weighed heavily on the minds of Danish
decisionmakers, and a bipartisan consensus in
favour of selling emerged in the Danish parliament.
A subsequent referendum held in late 1916 confirmed
the decision to sell by a wide margin. The deal
was thus ratified and finalised on January 17,
1917, when the United States and Denmark exchanged
their respective treaty ratifications. The U.S.
took possession of the islands on March 31, 1917,
when the territory was renamed the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
U.S.
citizenship was granted to the inhabitants of
the islands in 1927.
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